Well, after the news of the second stick being added with an add-on and after viewing what it might look like I am debating on holding of the acquisition of the 3DS till a redesign.   I am very interested in the next Mario Kart, Paper Mario, Animal Crossing games coming out on the 3DS.  These games will most definitely not require a second stick.  However, I am very interested in the Monster Hunter 3D game that is supposedly ushering in the add-on stick.  To me the add-on makes the hand-held look worse and less portable.  Also, I don't understand why Monster Hunter 3D even needs a second stick.  I play MH3 with the Wiimote+Nunchuck just fine and that combo only has one analog stick (view changing is non-issue with using a button).  A second stick shouldn't be required considering I you should be able to just change the view with one of the shoulder buttons.  Anyways, I know plenty of other games could use the second stick for better controls.

  I suppose most of the games I am most interested in aren't going to be released till early next year at the earliest.  Might be jumping the gun a little early but what do you guys think?  Should I just go ahead and get it around holiday season or wait till a redesign?  Do you think the 3DS redesign will include this second analog or do you think this will remain an add-on for a few select games?

Edit with a later post -

I think I might have over reacted. I know the add-on is just being shown for MH 3D but I just rushed to conclusion that this would usher in the redesign even quicker with the inclusion of another stick. I believe the 3DS redesign probably won't be released till fall 2012/spring 2013 like a few other people have suggested. That would be about 1 and 1/2 years since the original was released which puts it in line with the DS to DS Lite releases.

I am not entirely sure if this redesign will even include the second analog stick. I suppose we have to wait till TGS to find out more info and what Nintendo is going do about the entire situation. Even then they will probably not clarify everything. I wish they would just come out and state that this will be just an add-on for a few select games and that they will not be including a second analog in any upcoming redesigns. Even then that will piss people off that demand a second stick. So they are pretty much damned if they do and damned if they don't.  I am going to guess they won't include a 2nd analog stick with the redesign and even if they do I am probably going to get one this holiday season anyways considering most the games I want to play are coming out soon.

Better to wait for next Xmas when Nintendo has competition.

Price will potentially drop again (~$20), far better game library, and you know a redesign is coming.

You should...I couldnt.

I suppose I can wait even though Mario Kart is calling my name..  It was about a year and half for NA to get the DS lite after the original DS was released (DS - Nov 21, 2004, DS lite - June 11, 2006) so I guess releasing the redesign next fall wouldn't be too out of the ordinary. 

I just realized that Nintendo released the Nintendo DS first in NA before Japan.  Is that the first system Nintendo has put out in NA before Japan?

What do you mean rumors? its confirmed already.

and it looks freaking ugly.

^That is an addon right, not a redesign?

Yes, or Grab Vita.

I should have said after the rumors being confirmed (although I still want to wait till the official announcement but I know they are basically confirmed).  I took the rumor part out of the op.  I do agree that the add on looks pretty bad.  Hopefully, the eventual redesign will look 100% better than that.

Yea, that pic is of the add-on.  Too early to tell what the redesign will look like.

I mean, not only is it a good idea to wait for the inevitable dual analog stick 3DS to come, but by the time it does, 3DS' software library will be considerably larger anyway.

So yeah, I'd suggest holding off a bit.