The Nintendo 3DS has had its share of problems, not least its fleetingly short battery life. It sounds like the upcoming 3DS Circle Pad Pro accessory may not be sharing in its host’s plight, however. An Andriasang reader with visual proof of owning the accessory — just a tad earlier than its December 10th Japanese launch — says the bundled manual claims it’ll survive 480 hours on a single AAA cell. We’re still slightly mystified as to why Nintendo didn’t use the opportunity of a bulky accessory to extend the stamina of the console itself, but if this pans out, at least the cost has been kept relatively low. The Circle Pad Pro launches in Japan this Saturday for 1,500 yen, or 6,990 yen bundled with a copy of Monster Hunter 3 (tri-) G. We’ll have hands-on impressions of both soon, where we’ll be able to read the manual for ourselves. We also promise to be running a stopwatch for every minute of those dual-thumb-blistering (purported) 480 or so hours.

via Nintendo 3DS Circle Pad Pro accessory has 480-hour battery life? | The Verge.