Though a vast majority of gamers were none to happy about Nintendo’s unveiling of the circle pad attachment for the Nintendo 3DS, one publisher, Activision, approves. According to Eric Hirshberg, CEO of the company, adding a second analogue stick was a “smart move.”

When asked whether or not he believes that the addition of the circle pad has convinced the publisher to put development towards the handheld, Hirshberg was fairly mum, but dropped a few hints.

Probably the most obvious assumption is that Activision is planning on bringing their most popular franchise — you know, the one with the guns — to the handheld market. If Nintendo, Activision, and possibly Treyarch can come up with a way to utilize the 3DS' online capabilities they could make a real go out of bringing Call of Duty to a handheld, which would surely sell like gangbusters.

We don’t know when these comments were made — whether it was before the news about a required set of batteries is needed to power the attachment — but clearly just the idea has Activision’s interests piqued.

"Your thinking is very similar to mine. It does make the hardware more relevant and compatible to the style of games we make. I don't have anything to announce in relation to that, but I think it was a great move and it opens up that platform to more styles of games."

Other military shooter franchises like Killzone , and even Modern Warfare, have enjoyed success on handhelds like the PSP and DS, but taking Call of Duty and partnering it with Nintendo could be a huge move.

But it’s also worth considering that Activision might have a Call of Duty in the works for the PlayStation Vita, and doesn’t want the other hot handheld of the moment to miss out. Nintendo and Call of Duty haven’t made the best fit in the past, but perhaps moving forward some big things could be happening.

I also wouldn’t count Hirshberg’s comments as confirmation that Activision wants to utilize the circle pad — he could just as easily be commenting on the hot button issue of the moment. We’ll just have to wait and see.

What do you think of the possibility of a Call of Duty title on the 3DS? Regardless of form or function, do you think the circle pad will open up developmental possibilities for the handheld?

Source: Industry Gamers