Damn, forgot it took a AAA battery, what is it the 90's again?

400 odd hours is great news tho, now make the 3DS battery last just as long please!

480 hours of life off of ONE AAA battery is pretty good. At first I figured the circle pad would just run off of the 3DS's battery itself, (guess not). But anyway, I look forward to this attachment.

Yeah, I'm pretty impressed, as well. That's a long time of gaming with that thing!

It uses the IR port for communication. The 3DS wasn't designed with external electrical connections, so this was the best option.

The fact it uses IR really is funny. I know why it doesn't use wireless (battery life) but IR is such inelegant solution.

What other option was there?

Like I said, wireless.

What other option is there? A hardware revision. That's what other option there is. Just wait long enough and it will happen.

Aside from wireless (which I'm not sure would have worked concurrently with Wi-Fi), they could have rigged up something using the microphone part of the headphone jack or even something using the SD card slot (though that would have been even more hackish than the IR port).

Knowing Nintendo, the device is also going to include one AAA battery, so people won't have to worry about supplying a battery for it for a long time.

I wonder though, could this device get more milage out of a different type of battery? It seems like those round, nickel-sized batteries that are used to power long-term components might provide even more battery life. I'm talking about the ones used for computer clocks, Nintendo's old cartridge saving, certain TV remotes, and more, I don't know what they're called.

There is little reason for Nintendo to not supply the battery. They are trivial in terms of price.

Mop, you mean "button" batteries? I think that's what they are called, but I'm not sure. Frankly I'm glad Nintendo went with AAA because its a common battery type which everyone is either likely to have or will have no problem finding. Those little button batteries are a bit more complicated to deal with because there are several different kinds and I think they are more expensive and harder to find.