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Nintendo has caught a lot of flak for not putting two analog sticks on the 3DS, but they have a cure for the joystick ailment coming as the Circle Pad Pro. The new peripheral will hit store shelves – well, Gamestop store shelves exclusively anyway – for about $20 on February 7th.

The much-needed second joystick isn't the only thing a Circle Pad Pro will do for our Nintendo 3DS. It will also add shoulder buttons in an attempt to emulate a the full-featured console controllers we're all pretty used to at this point. Obviously, it's going to add a little more bulk to our handhelds too. Read more...

Tags 3DS, Circle Pad Pro, gamestop, nintendo

In a story I filed today for MTVNews.com about the sales of "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars," A GameStop spokesman expressed a positive read on the performance of Rockstar's superbly-reviewed but seemingly low-selling game:

"'GTA: Chinatown Wars' is exceeding our expectations and illustrating the power of the franchise on a new platform," GameStop spokesman Chris Olivera said in an e-mail to MTV News. "We've seen a solid lift in sales of 'Chinatown Wars' following the launch of the DSi and believe that the product will continue to enjoy a long life at our stores as the buzz around the new handheld gaming experience continues to grow." Nintendo's DSi model of the DS platform was released a day after NPD's sales-tracking window for March.

For the rest of the story, which includes comments from Take-Two, readers of this site and older "GTA" talk from my interview with Nintendo of America" president Reggie Fils-Aime, check out MTVNews.com: 'Is 'Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars' A Flop?

Former Multiplayer reporter Patrick Klepek has an excellent feature on What They Play comparing Amazon.com's new trade-in program with Gamestop's. He found that Amazon gives you a bit more and you can use your credit on non-gaming items, but that means you'll lose out on some of the deals Gamestop has. Are you going to give Amazon a chance?

The country's biggest gaming chain is directing gamers to a June 2 release. Read more...

Above is a photo of 46 copies of "Grand Theft Auto IV" for the Xbox 360 taken yesterday at a Brooklyn GameStop near my apartment.

Just last week, Rockstar Games announced that the first exclusive "GTA IV" DLC for the Xbox 360 is due out on February 17. And yes, you'll need the original game to play the additional content.

Do these 46 gamers just not care about the upcoming DLC? Or did they not know about it? (The back of the box and the manual mention content downloads but nothing specific.)

Do you see a bunch of copies of "GTA IV" piled up at your local game store?

Related Posts:
First Screenshots Of 'Grand Theft Auto IV' Expansion
Analysts Predict Whether You Will Buy 'GTA IV' DLC

If you want to quickly unlock all 85 master tracks in "Guitar Hero World Tour," GameStop is offering a solution.

In a print advertisement found in the new issue of Game Informer, GameStop promises a code to unlock all of the game's songs -- in exchange for a pre-order at their store.

Earlier this week, we revealed the fastest way to unlock all of the music in "Rock Band 2," also done with a code.

Now, it's unlikely GameStop has a "special" code that can't just be unearthed with a simple Google search, but it's an interesting strategy to invite pre-orders. Most pre-order bonuses are for content that you can't otherwise get. Here, you're just getting the same content as everyone else, but faster.

Does the prospect of easily unlocking every song compel your wallet, readers?

Last week, about 4200 GameStop store managers from across the United States gathered in Las Vegas for the gaming retail giant's annual eXpo. Game publishers showcased their line-ups. GameStop managers discussed the best way to run their stores. Newsweek's N'Gai Croal snapped lots of photos.

(GameStop's big: the company just exceeded 5,555 stores across 16 countries.)

Just a few days before all that, GameStop vice president of merchandising, Bob McKenzie, talked to MTV Multiplayer about where the gaming retailer stands on some of the most important issues related to the sale of games. Here's an edited transcript of our phone interview, in which McKenzie told me:

• Who GameStop is designing their new stores for
• Why GameStop isn't afraid of digital distribution via consoles
• How the company is -- or isn't -- making space for music games
• Why the sales of used games benefit even the publishers who complain about them
• What the chances are of consumers finding Wiis in stores this Holiday seasons
• Why you should buy games at GameStop and not at the competition
• and more… Read more...

Think "Madden" is strictly for the guys? Gamestop doesn't think so.

On Monday, the national video game retailer launched "Girls Night In," a microsite aimed at women encouraging them to host their own "Madden NFL 09" parties and "designed to help educate wives, moms and girlfriends about the Madden phenomenon."

The website promotes the Wii "All-Play" version and offers football trivia and terminology, tips on how to play the video game and what items they'll need to host their own women-only "Madden" party. It begins by saying, "The start of 2008 football season is just on the horizon. Are you worried girls? Well now you don’t have to be... You can even learn some football facts that will impress the most die-hard NFL fans. So get the girls together, throw on a jersey, and get gaming!"

I called up Betty Shock, regional vice president of Gamestop, about their new initiative to draw females into playing the new "Madden."

"Madden is such an incredibly huge game for us, and what happens to females during the winter months is that they become football widows," Shock explained. "So what better opportunity to start the website and really get females to begin interacting with football?" Read more...

Long promised and finally delivered, the Nintendo Channel was made available for North American Wii owners some time after I went to bed last night.

I downloaded it this morning and tried it out.

As expected, the channel features promotional videos and a deep index of Wii and DS games to better inform purchasing decisions. It can also zap demos of DS games to my handheld.

But it can do other stuff I did not expect, and it shows that Nintendo may be craftier about online networking than many people gave them credit for:

The channel lets you buy games and anger GameStop at the same time: You'd think some other company than Nintendo would be the first to let consumers buy a new disc-based game via their console without taking their hands off a controller. Nope. It's Nintendo.

I loaded a promotional video for "Wii Fit and clicked an option to buy the game. The Wii Internet Channel loaded and offered me a selection of stores to choose from: Sears, Wal-Mart, Circuit City, Toys R Us, Target, Amazon, Best Buy and K-Mart.

Who wants to be the person to tell GameStop that they didn't make the list?

Read more...