pikachu 3ds xl hinge problems

N

ninjab0yyyy13

CAGiversary!
I'm so upset. I apologize if I'm posting this in the wrong place. But anyway here's my story. I got the pikachu 3ds xl at walmart when it came out. At first I didn't have time to play with it so I left it sealed in the box, and kept it in a safe place.

But last night I had some free time so I decided to play around with the 3ds for the first time. I took it out of the box and then carefully (and I mean very carefully) opened the 3ds and the right hinge made a loud cracking/clicking sound. At first I was frightened that I might've broken it. But I checked out everything and it "seemed" okay. So I proceeded set up the date/time, create a mii, and download my free professor layton game.

However, later I noticed something really strange, I dunno if you can see it in the picture too clearly, but there seems to be some weird silver or grey wire sticking out of the right hinge! I'm literally in shock.

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I don't even know what to say. I'm filled with anger and disappointment. I called nintendo support a few min ago (The guy was a total jerk to me btw.) I dunno if they'll be able to fix this. The jerk at nintendo said that if I "qualify" for a free repair, and if they aren't able to fix my pikachu xl, then they'll send me a blue or red 3ds xl as a replacement. This kinda sucks cause the whole reason I bought the pikachu one is because I hate the blue and red colors with a passion.
 
It didn't come out too long ago, so why not just bring it and the receipt back to Wal-Mart and see if they'll let you exchange it for another copy?
 
That sucks. Didn't the US Pikachu 3DS come out about a month ago? Why wouldn't you qualify for the repair? Maybe you should call them back and talk to a different person, maybe send them the picture you posted above (idk how nintendo's support works).

Unfortunate that you waited though, I think Walmart has a console return restricted to 2 weeks or so after initial purchase. Could have saved the trouble of going through the nintendo repair process.
 
I'd say the only reason you wouldn't qualify for a free repair would be that they decided it was like that through normal use and abuse, not a manufacturing problem.

To me that looks like part of the hinge spring thing that are in there. Not a bad fix, but let them do it for sure.

In my experience, Nintendo has had the best repair service of any of the other console manufacturers and it takes a lot for them to determine something can't be fixed.
 
[quote name='PimpLimp']It didn't come out too long ago, so why not just bring it and the receipt back to Wal-Mart and see if they'll let you exchange it for another copy?[/QUOTE]

Because he's not going to find another one?
 
[quote name='burritoman']I'd say the only reason you wouldn't qualify for a free repair would be that they decided it was like that through normal use and abuse, not a manufacturing problem.

To me that looks like part of the hinge spring thing that are in there. Not a bad fix, but let them do it for sure.

In my experience, Nintendo has had the best repair service of any of the other console manufacturers and it takes a lot for them to determine something can't be fixed.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the input. I've never had to use Nintendo's repair service before, so I wasn't too sure of their reliability. This gives me some confidence that they'll be able to fix it.

It's weird though I still have my black ds lite, which I've used for more than five years and the hinge on that has no problems.


[quote name='whoknows']Because he's not going to find another one?[/QUOTE]

Yeah. I wouldn't be able to get another one. I was so difficult to find. I bought the last one from my local walmart store (they only received two).

Also, I already downloaded my free professor layton game onto the console (which took a good hour or so), and if I'm correct I wouldn't be able to get a refund on that if I were to talk to walmart.

I'm planning on shipping it to nintendo on monday, so hopefully they can fix it.
 
[quote name='62t']Not sure how the Nintendo rep was being a jerk, he is merely stating the policy.[/QUOTE]

Excuse me, but did you listen to the conversation that the Nintendo rep and I had? Unless you're the rep that I had talked to, then no you didn't.

The rep did not "merely state the policy," as you put it. He was a jerk because he had a very rude attitude. At times, I thought I had called Best Buy's customer service line by mistake because of how rude he was. He directed a bunch of snarky and completely unnecessary comments towards me, and the tone of his voice was just downright condescending, which I did not appreciate. There is a polite way of saying things, which he chose not to do. That's why he's a jerk.
 
I called Nintendo a few times and they are some of the nicest people around. More likely you were upset with your situation and he isn't saying what you want to hear.
 
Nintendo can be nice or incompetent. I sent my 3DS in because of the incredibly wobbly screen and they emailed me saying my 3DS had water damage and wanted to charge me to replace it. Now, I barely used the thing so it was 10000% impossible that it did have water damage.

I called and told them fix it or send it back and I'd just drop it off at Gamestop and they sent me a replacement...which had a slightly less wobbly screen.

Ah well. Can't win them all.
 
I have to concur with 62t that my experience with Nintendo's customer service was very pleasant, but maybe I'm just lucky. Heck, the Sony Reps I dealt with were very friendly and professional.

Still, the TC could at least consider that the emotions at the time may have colored your perception about his response to you.
 
Nintendo's repair service is amazing. I handled it all online though. My joystick on my Zelda 3DS just broke when I was playing some Mario within a month after buying it. They got it to me fast.
 
I just checked the status of my repair. Turns out they can't fix it, and it seems they've decided to send me a blue 3ds xl in exchange. So after all is said and done I pretty much spent all that time, money, and effort for a plain old blue xl. I also wasted an extra $10 on screen protectors too. How delightful.
 
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[quote name='ninjab0yyyy13']I just checked the status of my repair. Turns out they can't fix it, and it seems they've decided to send me a blue 3ds xl in exchange. So after all is said and done I pretty much spent all that time, money, and effort for a plain old blue xl. I also wasted an extra $10 on screen protectors too. How delightful.[/QUOTE]

And this is why I actually open and inspect stuff I buy within the first day I receive it. Oh well...live and learn, I guess.
 
[quote name='JoePianist']And this is why I actually open and inspect stuff I buy within the first day I receive it. Oh well...live and learn, I guess.[/QUOTE]

yup you're right it's completely my fault for not doing this. I should've known better.
 
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That seems crazy to me that they couldn't fix it, I'm surprised because like most others I've had nothing but great experiences with their repair service. I'd be upset too, can you call the repair service to ask them what the deal is?
 
That seems crazy, at the very least I would think they would replace it with another Pikachu 3DS, this must mean that they don't replace limited edition systems at all, which sucks if you have a limited edition and need service.

I can verify that MS replaces limited edition systems with the same thing, I have a MW3 console and when I sent it in for repair I received another MW3 console in return.

That doesn't even sound like that big of a problem, I don't see why it can't be fixed, are they just going to throw the whole 3DS away, something tells me they are not doing that.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']That seems crazy, at the very least I would think they would replace it with another Pikachu 3DS, this must mean that they don't replace limited edition systems at all, which sucks if you have a limited edition and need service.

I can verify that MS replaces limited edition systems with the same thing, I have a MW3 console and when I sent it in for repair I received another MW3 console in return.

That doesn't even sound like that big of a problem, I don't see why it can't be fixed, are they just going to throw the whole 3DS away, something tells me they are not doing that.[/QUOTE]

yeah I was really shocked too. I called them this morning to verify, and apparently they said because it's a "limited edition" xl, there aren't enough parts available so they can't fix it. They also said they don't have any pikachu 3ds xls so they can't send me a new one as a replacement. So, It does seem like they are just gonna throw the entire thing away, which majorly sucks. To be honest their explanation did seem a little strange. I guess there's nothing I can do about it though. I'm SOL.
 
[quote name='ninjab0yyyy13']yeah I was really shocked too. I called them this morning to verify, and apparently they said because it's a "limited edition" xl, there aren't enough parts available so they can't fix it. They also said they don't have any pikachu 3ds xls so they can't send me a new one as a replacement. So, It does seem like they are just gonna throw the entire thing away, which majorly sucks. To be honest their explanation did seem a little strange. I guess there's nothing I can do about it though. I'm SOL.[/QUOTE]

Man, that really sucks! It seems like it should be something they should be able to fix unless they don't bother since it is easier to send out replacements. I wonder if it is something you could try fixing yourself. Might be something online that shows you how... Anyways sorry about the bad news :(
 
Maybe its because of how long you waited but I know someone that had a faulty Zelda 3DS and they sent it back to Nintendo and got a new Zelda 3DS but this was within the first week of release.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']Maybe its because of how long you waited but I know someone that had a faulty Zelda 3DS and they sent it back to Nintendo and got a new Zelda 3DS but this was within the first week of release.[/QUOTE]

this is probably why I didn't get a new pikachu one. One of the main reasons I didn't open it till a few weeks after I bought it was because I wasn't able to buy a game the same time I got the xl. I figured I'd open it when I got a game. Bad mistake.

Well hopefully people won't make the same mistake that I did with limited edition nintendo consoles.

Open it right after you buy it, and make sure there are no problems, otherwise you'll end up like stupid old me.
 
I thought that registering your console gave it an extended warranty.

I wouldn't really know because I registered my DSi like two years after I bought it and I didn't have the complete documentation on my 3DS because I got it from a Pawn Shop.
 
Meh. I sent in my pikachu 3ds xl due to some circle pad issues I was experiencing. In the beginning the circle pad would stick as if something were hindering it from moving. That went away after awhile but unfortunately if you applied slight pressure you could feel it grinding as you moved it. So I sent it to nintendo for repair and got a red ds xl as replacement. It said nothing about replacing the pikachu 3ds on the repair support page and the letter I got said they they thoroughly tested my system and could not duplicate the problem. What peeves me off is they couldn't duplicate the problem but they still replaced it with a regular 3ds xl instead... wtf.
 
[quote name='TheShepherdSauce']Meh. I sent in my pikachu 3ds xl due to some circle pad issues I was experiencing. In the beginning the circle pad would stick as if something were hindering it from moving. That went away after awhile but unfortunately if you applied slight pressure you could feel it grinding as you moved it. So I sent it to nintendo for repair and got a red ds xl as replacement. It said nothing about replacing the pikachu 3ds on the repair support page and the letter I got said they they thoroughly tested my system and could not duplicate the problem. What peeves me off is they couldn't duplicate the problem but they still replaced it with a regular 3ds xl instead... wtf.[/QUOTE]

Wow, F that. I would be severely pissed if I were you. If I were ANYone who got a bunk Pikachu XL. Honestly, a red one?

If I were, though, I'd probably grab the Animal Crossing one to fill the void in my heart. Wouldn't completely... but it'd help.
 
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