Users report 3DS crashes, loose hinges

by JC Fletcher on Mar 29th 2011 12:30PM

Two issues have come up with the new 3DS -- one kind of serious, and one kind of not. NeoGAF users and a GoNintendo post, among others, document a periodic error screen that appears during gameplay, which requires the system to be shut off and turned back on in order to get back to playing. It seems to be most commonly associated with Super Monkey Ball 3D and Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars.

Nintendo of Europe issued a statement to Eurogamer suggesting that this issue could be fixed by downloading the latest firmware. If that doesn't fix the issue, the company recommends users "contact their local Nintendo Customer Service centre to investigate the problem further."

Some users are also reporting an excessively loose hinge, causing the top half of the system to wobble during play. "The hinge i thought was OK," reports 3DSBuzz forum user Suspiria, "but throughout the day it has got worse and worse." Nintendo acknowledges the possibility of such an issue on its support site, advising those who suffer from it to send the system in for repairs. We're contacting Nintendo about both issues, and will let you know what shakes out. Hopefully, it's not the top of a 3DS.

[Thanks, Don]

Update: Nintendo sent Joystiq a statement asserting that "The number of calls and emails received by our customer support center is well below the rate experienced during past hardware launches, and there are no widespread issues." Find the full statement after the break.

"U.S. day-one sales numbers for Nintendo 3DS were the highest of any Nintendo hand-held system in our history. The number of calls and emails received by our customer support center is well below the rate experienced during past hardware launches, and there are no widespread issues. As always, people who have questions or comments about Nintendo 3DS or any Nintendo products can visit our support website at http://support.nintendo.com or call 800-255-3700."

- Nintendo of America

Source: NeoGAF, 3DSBuzz, GoNintendo

Tags: 3ds, crash, ds, error, glitch, hinge-wobble, nintendo

Reader Comments (91)

Damn. Not buying one of these most hardware problems is fixed.

@yoshi95

It's such a small percentage, however, and this is just like so many past hardware launches. If you do happen to be one of the few unlucky ones then just go swap it out where you bought it.

@yoshi95

You obviously don't own an Xbox360 then.

@yoshi95
Not buying it because of issues or the "fancy pants" attitude Nintendo appears to be using with the 3ds.

"Centre"? Lahdeeda Mr. Frenchman, here in the U.S. We call it a carhole.

@Punkrawk Bbob
I wouldn't want to own an Xbox 360.

All these issues will eventually be addressed with future firmware upgrades and fixes.

This is why I fight the urge to be an early adopter... but I guess it takes someone else learning the hard way so I can get the improved hardware.

@Organic Jerk

i don't think a firmware update'll fix a loose hinge.............

@skyblaze

whoops... totally skimmed over "fixes"

carry on...

@skyblaze
Duh.

Of course it can! You make a background wallpaper of balloons tied to the hinges and you make the firmware lighter.

I scoff at your lack of vision!

@Organic Jerk

we'll see... the DS Lite was prone to cracked hinges, so in that instance the second revision didn't fix the issue.

@Vidikron Well that's rather disappointing... What about the DSi? They seem to be responding and acknowledging (in other words, owning up to it) the problem here, so I'm hoping that in some future HARDWARE (sigh) revision, they address it.

Right now the 3DS is getting some choppy and bad press, between Kotaku's recent "buy early=meh" and all the hardware/software issues. As we ride into the NGP release I wouldn't want these things to linger.

Just how hard are these people shaking these things?! Hopefully the other issue can be fixed with some sort of update?

@otakuzod

A loose hinge is a loose hinge. I don't think people are playing their 3DSs on rollercoasters. It's not like Nintendo has a sterling reputation for quality hinges on their portables anyway, so I don't understand how this is a real shock to you.

@otakuzod

Although 3D pictures taken while on a roller coaster are probably pretty cool. Just sayin.

@Dirty - As long as you aren't taking those pictures with the 3DS camera, they should turn out nicely. People have been posting 3D pictures of their cats all day, and the common thread between the pictures is that they are all a bit blurry, artifact filled, and grainy.

I'm probably going to give in by the end of the week and buy one, but I expect my enjoyment of the camera to last about as long as it takes to marvel at the family jewels in 3D (remind me never to sell it used BTW)

@Shockwave
Indeed. When I first bought my DSi XL last October, I had to send it in to Nintendo b/c the top half was noticeably loose due to the hinges. I love Nintendo handhelds but I mean c'mon: tighten the hinges before release. Like Johnny Tapia said, that's a stupid effing problem.

yea the ds had issues with hinges as well,i had to replace my ds due to that,i had it repaired but then it broke again,i was like forget this and got a dsi and ill tell you the plastic nintendo uses is very crappy

Just about how loose of a hinge are we talking here? Both my DS lite and GBA SP hinges "wobble" when shaken slightly. Never bothered me though. Does the 3DS close up or let the top wobble into its far-back position?

@sparkster
Well my sister had a ds lite that did as you described. Had absolutely no friction and would flop all the way to the back position to the close position. Was incredibly annoying at times. If this is similar I can see the problem but if its only a "wobble" then is a mute point IMO.

I'm having flashbacks to when I got my DS Lite ... it had hinge problems too. Mine is currently held together by duct tape thanks to that.

@RadiantViper

My cracked and the screen almost came off. Holding ok since I used Gorilla Glue, though.

@MrSmiley1 Yup same here. Big crack through it, fixed it with glue but it was still falling apart so duct tape was the way to go :P

That sucks for 3ds users. I tried a demo unit yesterday, it seemed pretty cool. The one thing I know I don't like is how rigid you have to hold the thing so you don't lose the 3d effect. That just about drove me nuts. It is meant for "on the go". I want to be relaxed when holding a portable. In a car or on a bus, go over a bump and then you have readjust the position of the unit again. That what it seemed like to me anyway. It seemed to only have half an inch room to tilt before the effect was ruined.

these people must be abusing their 3ds, i got mine on launch and havent noticed a loose hinge problem, been playing it for hours everyday

although maybe after excessive use, later down the line i can see the hinge being a problem

@Sayishere
I haven't been abusing my 3DS at all...it just came like that

@Sayishere

As others have mentioned, the DS Lite had hinge issues as well. It's not every single system that's affected in either case. Some people are just unlucky enough to have gotten 3DSes (or DS Lites) that were probably manufactured in a sub-par factory, if I had to take a guess.

Sending them in for repair would probably allow Nintendo to figure out where the problem is coming from and correct it.

And this, my friends, is why I don't buy new hardware at launch anymore.

@PointlessPuppies I've only ever bought one system at launch. It was a Nintendo 64. That is why I will never buy a system at launch again.

@baddates77

Forget buying a system at launch; i'll wait until the 3rd shipment.

Launch 60GB = ylod
Launch Slim 120GB = ylod

Fool me once, shame on... shame on you? Fool me, you can't get fooled again.

Nintendo consoles are always rock-solid at launch. In fact, the only "thing" I could think of was at the Wii's launch they didn't have the time to update the firmware on all of the systems, and if your system was one of them, you got a disc in the box you had to pop in first, and that was it.

Now their portables, hinge problems were noted with the DS Lite and the others.

My 3DS hinge is loose to the point where it wobbles. It won't close on me from being loose, but you can really tell while playing. I called Nintendo and the 3 3DS's he tried at tech support were all loose as well.

I also discussed this with a few people who own 3DS's and they said their top screen wobbles too.

I was paranoid at first, but I guess I have reason to be now... :/

Didn't think the 3DS could crash. Sure hope they resolve this soon. This is bad rep for Nintendo.

@Mrblonde57

yeah I know the feeling I didn't think a 32X could core dump .... until it did. Mind you this was probably well over a decade ago.

You really look to consoles to be an alternative to computer gaming because they are supposed to be rock solid. removing the worries about the dreaded PC B(lue)SOD but now your staring down the barrel of the 3DS B(lack)SOD. I keep my fingers crossed that a simple firmware patch or two will fix this but ..... its not a good sign out of the gate.

Of some consequence immediately after my 32X core dumped on me I took it out back and smashed it with a sledgehammer ...... again I say I looked to consoles to avoid dealing with PC style errors and found it wholly unacceptable.

Of course there is always the possibility that the Software in the 3DS is fine and doesn't need to be patched. Meaning you could be looking at a bad run of chips that made it into either the game carts or the 3DS systems.

Technology is a grand :)

I don't think I've played a Nintendo handheld since the GBASP that didn't have some issues with the hinge, so that's not a big surprise.

The crashes are a bummer though.

no problems here. my 3ds is working fine. i never had problems with my original ds either.

DS Hinge = Achilles' heel

The Phat had no problems, I was fortunate enough to have a Lite without the problem (lot of friends complained about theirs). The DSi XL had a hint of wooble on day one so I exchange it, glad I did, the torque on that system is huge.

@Trilancer Yeah its a huge problem especially for a system that's trying to boast augmented reality that involves a lot of moving the system around to all angles.

I am somewhat disapoint at hearing about the BSOD hopefully a firmware patch or two or three or five will fix that. I do think someone is however far overdue for a trampling by the company brontosaurus.

And I know now that the 3DSi is probably going to boast some superior hinge technology over the launch 3DS at the very least.

I have also seen a bit reported here and there that the 3DS screens are somewhat washed out when using normal DS games, hopefully that gets cleared up with the 3DSi.

Original DS: Good hinge
DSlite: Hinge Cracked
DSlite: Hinge Cracked
DSlite: Hinge Cracked
DSi: Good Hinge
DSiXL: Good Hinge
3DS: Good hinge

Is my history.

I hate DSlites.

@Kaemon

Original DS: Good
DSi: Good
3DS: So far so good, only 3 days in though. So hopefully its fine.

I've had DS Lite crashes before, but not yet with the 3DS-- then again I haven't played any 3DS software beyond what came on the machine. (Little disappointed with Find Mii.) And as for hinge issues, I haven't had any unreasonable problems-- I'm jittery by nature but the hinge isn't "wobbly" or loose. It's not hard, with a little bit of focus, to keep the thing still.

I don't blame folks for wanting to wait, but I also don't think it's an epidemic-level problem (either of them). I'm also curious to know what version of firmware that people are getting the most crashes on (out-of-the-box 1.0 or OK Go-enabled 1.1).

I love my 3DS and don't regret the purchase at all! I will have to keep an eye out for this hinge problem. But for anyone who has problems, its only been 3 days, you have up to 30 days to just return to any store and swap it out for a new one. That what I would do, it'd be straight back to Best Buy, opening and inspecting every unit.

Always a problem with early adopting a new console there are always the inevitable bugs. It's kind of strange but it seems like in some respects this release for the 3DS was rushed. No online store available yet, already problems with the physical hardware and OS. With the DS already having been out for so many years and several iterations I would have thought that Nintendo would have had a more sleekly designed successor in the 3DS but it's like they're repeating history with it. I'll wait to purchase one of these when the price drops and the bugs are worked out. Need more games in its library too. Other than the new glasses free 3D effect to me this isn't offering anything really substantial over the DS. Maybe we'll see the 3DS Lite by christmas? Might be worth picking up then..............maybe............

Mine is working well. No crashes and the hinge is quite stiff. If I have an issue I can always send it into Nintendo for free as it's currently under warranty.

I haven't had any problems with mine.

I've had 3 crashes in Ghost Recon in about 3 hours of play. I did some research last night, wondering if I had a bogus unit, and found I wasn't the only one. Oh, and these crashes occurred after a system update.

It's the risk you run for buying it on the first week

"It seems to be most commonly associated with Super Monkey Ball 3D and Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars."

These are the 2 games I got and I haven't had any problems yet...

My hinge is rigid and I haven't bumped into a crash yet.

Super satisfied

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 50 Comments

Users report 3DS crashes, loose hinges

Reader Comments (91)

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:32PM yoshi95 said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:25PM ItsameMatt03 said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:56PM Punkrawk Bbob said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 2:53PM ijustw1n said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 5:27PM NerdyNose245 said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:38PM Organic Jerk said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:58PM skyblaze said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:59PM skyblaze said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:07PM Mmmmz said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:07PM Vidikron said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 2:18PM Organic Jerk said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:38PM otakuzod said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:04PM Shockwave said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 2:04PM Dirty said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 4:14PM BananaBoat said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 5:04PM C1ph3rDivyne said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:40PM vipor1979 said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:40PM sparkster said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 3:38PM DV8ing1 said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:42PM RadiantViper said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:01PM MrSmiley1 said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:24PM RadiantViper said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:44PM kraill said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:44PM Sayishere said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:50PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:59PM Zertoss said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:46PM PointlessPuppies said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:33PM baddates77 said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 7:03PM BlazeKing said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 9:20PM Drakkenfyre said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:48PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:49PM Mrblonde57 said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:07PM Scuffles said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:21PM Scuffles said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:51PM Perfidious Sinn said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:52PM KIRBY SMASH said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:56PM Trilancer said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:59PM Scuffles said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:57PM Scuffles said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:57PM Kaemon said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 4:30PM jph89 said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 12:59PM John Z said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:01PM ToKeN2k6 said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:01PM ShadowLordAriel said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:01PM acefondu said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:03PM MEMgrizzlies7 said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:04PM crackilator said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:12PM Schlecht said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:12PM SuperWoody64 said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:12PM ND92 said

Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

WB conjures up Harry Potter for Kinect this fall

Featured Stories

Silver Lining: I Am Alive's unfeeling world

Game Of Thrones and the paradoxes of adaptation

Super Joystiq Podcast 004: 38 Studios meltdown, Gravity Rush, Civilization 5: Gods & Kings, Dragon's Dogma

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW