Nintendo 3DS launch: 'black screen of death'; retail reports

[KSoD]

This is likely something a Nintendo 3DS owner does not want to see popping off their screen: "An error has occurred. Hold down the POWER button to turn off the power, then turn it on and try again."

Apparently, there have been several reports of this message popping up on the new handheld. Kotaku reports accounts of the newly-dubbed "black screen of death" have appeared on multiple message boards. According to Kotaku, the errors popped up in multiple scenarios, such as during games or while browsing the menu.

PC World writer Matt Peckham was among those hit with a "black screen" error. "It's happened to my review unit just once so far. I was dropping out of Face Raiders after clicking the "Home" button," he writes in a post recounting the incident.

As Kotaku and PC World both point out, it's hard to tell how widespread an issue this black screen has become. Having played with the 3DS for a couple weeks now, we have yet to witness any errors, including a "black screen of death."

Nintendo's troubleshooting website for 3DS offers details on what to do if your handheld locks up or runs into another issue.

Meanwhile, how difficult is it to snag a 3DS? Gamespot spoke to representatives from GameStop, Target and Toys "R" Us, and all three say there are plenty available. A Target representative told the gaming site the most popular games so far have been Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition, Pilotwings Resort and Lego Star Wars III.

Source

 

[Peter.Cort]

Nintendo's reporting that the 3DS has out sold any of their previous portable systems, and:

Though Nintendo didn't specifically cite those issues, the company told CNET today that it hasn't received too many complaints about its 3DS, and the rate of hardware failure was actually quite low.
"The number of calls and e-mails received by our customer support center is well below the rate experienced during past hardware launches, and there are no widespread issues."

source

 

[KSoD]

Yes of course the company isnt going to say that there is an alarming rate of complaints. How much would it cost them to recall all the units sold just days after the release? IMHO it is still an issue. This is no different hearing these types of things than when there is any major release for any company. There are thousands of threads about Windows when there are tens of millions of users, but everyone seems to blow those out of proportion.

So yes while they did sell out, there is still issues with the unit.

 

[Druid]

There are thousands of threads about Windows when there are tens of millions of users

Bet there are hundreds of millions of users.

 

[cq842000]

I had one black screen after playing Rayman 3D for about four hours. I have since successfully downloaded the system software update (which includes a 3D music video as a bonus) and all is well after another four hour session in Rayman, so apparently Ninty is aware and have already released an update. There is no mention of what it fixes, but it did the trick regardless.