Well, that sucks.
Yikes. For any readers that snagged a shiny new Nintendo 3DS of their very own in recent days, I hope this doesn’t happen to you, because…bummer, man. But it looks like some of the devices are having problems with freezing, and while there’s no way of telling how many of the things have had the problem or can have the problem, it is definitely happening enough that Nintendo has included the issue on their official troubleshooting website.
Users report experiencing the system freeze while playing a variety of different games, as well as during online play, using the menu system, or just messing around. Sometimes, a simple reboot is enough to solve the problem, but some people have reportedly had to return their new 3DS system to Nintendo for repair after experiencing repeated shutdowns.
If the reboot doesn’t solve the issue, Nintendo UK has suggested that users having problems should first try the latest system update. And if that doesn’t solve it, then users should contect Nintendo’s Customer Service Center. Apparently, system freezes that result in a black or white screen or the inability to power off might mean you need to physically send that bad boy in to have it repaired.
Hopefully, this is an easy fix that an update or two can solve before more of the handhelds turn into expensive paperweights, but that’s not really comforting for anyone that just dropped $250 on the portable system (plus however much for however many games to play) only to be left with a black screen or something that needs rebooted constantly to keep it going. So again, I say “yikes.” Because I’m eloquent like that.
I have to say that I’ve definitely been experiencing some twinges of jealousy over all the folks squeeing about their fancy new gadgets, but I’d already planned to hold off on my own purchase until Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is available in June, and I’m sticking to that plan. If I’m lucky, these issues will be ironed out by that time, and everyone can enjoy the 3DS being awesome without it choking itself on random errors.
image via Kotaku
I’m an avid gamer that spends a lot of time saying things (about stuff) on the Internet. A PlayStation girl at heart, I also keep an XBox 360 around, just in case, as well as various handhelds and older consoles, because no matter how cool next gen gaming gets, the classics are called “classics” for a reason, friends and neighbors.
