battery life comes to 480 hours

Back in August we heard a rumor that ended up being true, that the 3DS was set to get a right analog stick attachment for around $10. The reason was to support games that benefit from having two sticks. Why Nintendo didn’t ship the 3DS with two sticks as standard we’ll never know.

What you may not have realized is the stick peripheral, thought to be called the Circle Pad Pro or Slide Pad, requires power in the form of a single AAA battery. So as well as recharging your 3DS battery, you also need to keep a supply of AAA batteries on hand for the peripheral. The need for another battery isn’t as big of a frustration as it sounds when you hear how long the battery life is for the Circle Pad Pro.

The peripheral isn’t meant to hit store shelves in Japan until tomorrow, but a few have been picked up early. According to the manual included in the packaging, the estimated battery life is 480 hours. In other words, it really isn’t going to be a hassle. One pack of AAA batteries may last the lifetime of your 3DS unless you’re a really heavy user.

Such a long battery life looks to be a blessing. If you check out the image of the peripheral above, it appears you need a screwdriver in order to get the battery cover open. I’m also a bit taken aback as to how big and clunky the clip-on plastic housing looks. You certainly won’t be fitting your 3DS in a standard case once this is attached.