While some new Nintendo 3DS owners have reported that they get a "black screen of death" while playing the 3-D gaming gadget, Nintendo has issued an official response saying there are "no widespread issues" with the device.
They've also announced that the 3DS — which lets users play games in 3-D without having to wear special glasses — raked in the highest one-day sales numbers of any of their handheld gadgets in U.S. history.
The 3DS launched in the U.S. on Sunday and in Europe on Friday. And as we reported, shortly thereafter some new owners began encountering a black screen while playing games on the device. Instructions on the screen tell owners to hold down the power button to hard-reset the device.
The screen (pictured above) doesn't appear to be associated with any one game in particular and players have run into the issue even while using the device's own pre-loaded apps. PC World games reporter Matt Peckham experienced the problem while exiting the pre-loaded "Face Raiders" game, for example.
After contacting a Nintendo of America representative for some insight into the problem, I was sent this official statement:
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.
The folks at Nintendo UK have offered a slightly different response, as the NowGamer site reports:
If anyone is experiencing any problems with their Nintendo 3DS console, we recommend that in the first instance they download and install the latest system update, now available online. If the problems still persist we recommend they contact their local Nintendo Customer Service centre to investigate the problem further.
Meanwhile, Nintendo has not yet released the official number behind the 3DS' record-setting one-day sales. Instead, the have issued a statement explaining: "More details about U.S. sales numbers will be made public on April 14, when first-week U.S. sales figures will be tallied by the independent NPD Group. Nintendo worked hard to get as much product as possible to retailers on day one to meet demand, and we will continue with these efforts moving forward."
What we do know is that there are already a whole lot of Nintendo 3DS devices out there in gamer hands. And certainly bugs and glitches are to be expected in some of them.
Personally, I've had a 3DS for going on two weeks now and haven't had a problem with it. But as Brian Crecente from Kotaku reminds us, there are certain risks inherent in being an early adopter.
For more gaming news, check out:
- Six things to love (and hate) about the Nintendo 3DS
- 'Angry Birds' attack world's dictators
- 'Pilotwings Resort' is a soaring good time ... when it's not making you woozy
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things right here on Twitter.
