Like the original 3DS, which launched in February 2011, the 3DS XL has one analog thumb pad to the left of the touch screen. Although Nintendo sells a second stick peripheral for the 3DS, called the Circle Pad Pro, the 3DS XL sticks to the single-stick design of the original 3DS.

Not surprisingly, the move is drawing jeers from gamers and the press, who want their handhelds to feel like home console controllers.

“After the company's recent E3 horror show, the last thing Nintendo really needed was to present its critics with even more ammunition, but the 3DS XL is perhaps Nintendo's biggest own goal in recent memory,” wrote.

“Talk about a missed opportunity,” Kotaku's .

I understand the complaints, but adding a second stick isn't the no-brainer that critics claim.