3DS with crooked top screen...

Hyperlancer

Hyperlancer

CAGiversary!
I bought my 3DS a couple weeks ago. After a little bit of playing with it I noticed the top screen might be slanted to the left a bit, but I couldn't really tell at first. Once OoT came out however and I started playing it a lot more, it became noticeably worse. I took it back to GS to get an exchange, and when I tested out the new one back in the car, this one was crooked too!

Convinced that this was some common defect I would have to live with, I walked right back into the GS and asked the manager to turn on a pre-owned system to see if all of them were like that. This one however, was as straight as could be. Since the manager was a douche about the initial exchange, claiming that it wasn't an actual defect, he lied to me by saying he didn't have anymore. Thankfully I still got my old system back with my eShop games intact and will just have to try another store.

Just how common is this? I found a few people online having the same problem with a google search but it doesn't seem to be a widespread defect. Has anybody else here had this issue?

Pretty disappointed with Nintendo at this point. They've always been known to have such build quality on their hardware.
 
IMO Nintendo's build quality went downhill around the time of the hinge cracks on the DS Lite. The original DS phat was pretty solid though of course like anything they can break. The GBA SP was very solid and the GBA and prior systems could pretty much go through anything and survive as long as the screen didn't break.

I have gone through 2 DS Lite's, the first one would randomly shut off in sleep mode and the second one which was a nintendo replacement for my first mysteriously developed static-like lines on the top screen making it unplayable.

I have a DSi now and while the buttons do feel better the battery cover has been loose from day 1 which is really annoying, there is light bleeding on the top screen, the screen's are 2 different hue's (the top one is more purple while the bottom one more white) and the stylus is starting to fall out of the side. I don't even take the stylus in and out of the system. The battery cover is still loose even after I put a piece of microfiber cloth inside to keep it more steady. I am thinking of sending this back to Nintendo for replacement since its under warranty but I am not sure if they would replace a system for a bunch of small defects like that.

I am an adult and while I do play the systems a lot they are always kept in a case when not playing so they don't get banged around.

I feel your pain though, if I bought a 3DS and spent that kind of money on a system I would definitely expect it to be perfect.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']IMO Nintendo's build quality went downhill around the time of the hinge cracks on the DS Lite. The original DS phat was pretty solid though of course like anything they can break. The GBA SP was very solid and the GBA and prior systems could pretty much go through anything and survive as long as the screen didn't break.

I have gone through 2 DS Lite's, the first one would randomly shut off in sleep mode and the second one which was a nintendo replacement for my first mysteriously developed static-like lines on the top screen making it unplayable.

I have a DSi now and while the buttons do feel better the battery cover has been loose from day 1 which is really annoying, there is light bleeding on the top screen, the screen's are 2 different hue's (the top one is more purple while the bottom one more white) and the stylus is starting to fall out of the side. I don't even take the stylus in and out of the system. The battery cover is still loose even after I put a piece of microfiber cloth inside to keep it more steady. I am thinking of sending this back to Nintendo for replacement since its under warranty but I am not sure if they would replace a system for a bunch of small defects like that.

I am an adult and while I do play the systems a lot they are always kept in a case when not playing so they don't get banged around.

I feel your pain though, if I bought a 3DS and spent that kind of money on a system I would definitely expect it to be perfect.[/QUOTE]

I agree, I had to go through a ton of DS lites, DSis, and DSiXLs. Never once had a perfect one. If you do find a 3DS without a crooked screen it may have a different defect. That's always what happened when I tried exchanging all of my DS. I returned my 3DS because the circle pad made a clicking sound which could be heard over game sounds/music. It also had a very limited view angle for the 3D effect (which I suppose is common, though not all units are like that) and tiny indentations in the top screen.

BTW TC, you may want to buy your consoles/handhelds at a different store next time so that you can return it unsealed/opened. I bought mine at Target and didn't have any problems returning it after owning it for nearly 3 months. I figure they'll have an improved version of the 3DS by the time it has a decent library, which made returning it easy for me.
 
[quote name='icedrake523']Kind of a dumb question, but how would you check this? I haven't noticed if mine is crooked and it doesn't really look it.[/QUOTE]

If you haven't noticed, yours is probably fine. The easiest way to tell is to turn it on and focus on the area in between the 2 screens. If the screens don't look parallel to each other, your top picture is crooked.

[quote name='sunghost']you may want to buy your consoles/handhelds at a different store next time so that you can return it unsealed/opened. I bought mine at Target and didn't have any problems returning it after owning it for nearly 3 months.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, GS is the last place I want to buy hardware, but I had over $300 in credit to use. Otherwise I would have taken advantage of either the BB or Target deal.
 
Since a couple of you guys seem to have hell-sent handhelds, I feel I need to insert a comment here. I've owned all the Nintendo handhelds since the Gameboy Color, and the only defect I've ever had was the hinge cracking in my DS Lite. Even that wasn't a big deal, as the crack never spread.

All my handhelds since the GBA SP get extensive play and get carried around in my purse everywhere I go.

In my experience, most damage to portable electronics tends to come from the user.
 
I too haven't had bad experiences with past Nintendo handhelds, with the only exception being the mic breaking on my first DS lite. That's what I got though for not buying a case for it for 2 years. But 2 brand new 3DSs right out of the box with a flaw on the screen that just happens to be its biggest selling point is unacceptable.
 
I noticed my lens above the top screen seemed off center on my 3DS, and my speaker near the 3D slider was totally dead. I sent my back to Amazon for an exchange.
 
Tried another GS yesterday and was able to swap out my 3DS for a flawless one. Really is luck of the draw with these things. The hinges feel a little better on this new one, so apparently I had that problem as well.

Pretty pissed that games you download are still tied to the system. Nintendo really dropped the ball on that one, AGAIN. I knew this going into the exchange, but what makes it worse is that you can tie your purchases to your Club Nintendo account, but it still wont remember what you downloaded and allow to get it again for free on another system.
 
[quote name='Hyperlancer']Tried another GS yesterday and was able to swap out my 3DS for a flawless one. Really is luck of the draw with these things. The hinges feel a little better on this new one, so apparently I had that problem as well.

Pretty pissed that games you download are still tied to the system. Nintendo really dropped the ball on that one, AGAIN. I knew this going into the exchange, but what makes it worse is that you can tie your purchases to your Club Nintendo account, but it still wont remember what you downloaded and allow to get it again for free on another system.[/QUOTE]

Definitely sucks.
 
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