The Nintendo 3DS may be my favorite system of all time. The game library will go down as one of the greatest ever when Nintendo finally puts it to rest, but I’ve never owned a system I’ve had so many hardware issues with. It can drive a gamer insane.

I bought the 3DS XL in April of 2014, along with Super Mario 3D Land and Animal Crossing: New Leaf. It came with a free code for Pokemon X . I was a happy gamer.

A few weeks later, my 3DS decided to stop turning on. My system died on me. I lost the twenty-plus hours I had put into Animal Crossing, and all my StreetPass data. I sent it in to Nintendo for repair and got it back in working order.

Fast forward two-plus years later. I bought my Galaxy New 3DS XL in November 2016. In the two years I’ve had it, I’ve had nothing but problems with the top screen. Less than a year from when I bought it, I got a blown pixel on the top-right of my screen. Thankfully, my warranty was still good, so it didn’t cost me anything, other than the hassle of being without my 3DS while it was being repaired. 

When I sent my system in to Nintendo, I also told the customer service rep that my hinge between my top and lower screens was also loose, and asked if they could fix that as well. He told me that was “wear and tear” on my system and wasn’t covered under my warranty. That was a nice way of saying that I somehow caused my hinge to loosen up. Which is not true, but I didn’t make an issue out of it. I got my 3DS back fairly quickly, and everything was fine. The screen was replaced and life was good.

Then about four months later, I noticed colored pixels on my top screen when it was black – almost like glitter on my screen. It wasn’t noticeable when I was playing a game, so I didn’t call Nintendo about it, but it was something I kept in mind.

This is what my New 3DS XL used to look like when it was new.

Then, a couple months after that, I opened up my 3DS to be greeted by a scratch on the deep lower portion of my top screen. A scratch that was not there when I last closed the system. I was astonished. How did a scratch get on my screen when my 3DS is always closed and in its hard case when I’m not using it? Thankfully, it didn’t affect my gaming. The scratch looked deep, but small, and stopped just short of the edge of the gameplay portion of the screen.

A few weeks after that, I got a second small scratch right next to the first one – but again, not in the gameplay area of the screen. Something was scratching my screen when it was closed. So to be safe, I started putting a piece of microfiber cloth between my top and lower screens for extra protection when I closed it. I didn’t know what else to do.

Not too long after, I noticed a slight pixel discoloration right in the middle of my top screen. It was mild and was only noticeable when that small portion of the screen was white or light-colored, but it was definitely there. It was especially noticeable when I played Animal Crossing.

Now I’ve gotten really discouraged. Every couple months, I’m finding another issue with my screen and I don’t know what to do about it. Should I send it in to Nintendo again, even though I already did that once, and I’m still having issues? This time I’d have to pay for the repair, even though nothing of what is going on with my system was my fault. So I waited it out.

I thought perhaps the microfiber cloth caused the discoloration, and maybe using it wasn’t a good idea after all. So I stopped using the cloth. About a week later, I was greeted with yet a third scratch on my top screen. This time, it was in the playing area. Thankfully, it was a somewhat light scratch, and not that noticeable while playing. Now I’m completely disheartened and know that I will have to send my system in for repair yet again – but I was going to have words with Nintendo before I did, and let them know this isn’t acceptable.

So I called their customer service and told them all the issues I’d been having. The lady I talked to was sympathetic and as helpful as she could be. She offered me a discount on my repair, which I took, but since I didn’t have the extra funds for the repair right then and there, I had to put it off for a little longer.

And then, very recently, I opened up my 3DS and was greeted by a very noticeable white dot right in the middle of my top screen. At first, I thought it was a speck of lint, and tried to wipe it off. Then I gently rubbed by fingernail against it to see if it was a ding or a scratch. I couldn’t feel anything. Looking closely at it, I saw it was underneath my screen. How that speck of lint, dust, or whatever got there is a total mystery. I don’t leave my 3DS lying out when it’s not in use. The speck either somehow worked its way in there, or was there when I got my system repaired the first time, and didn’t show up until now.

So the top screen of my 3DS is a mess, and I’m pretty certain none of it is my fault, and I don’t think most of this would have happened if the 3DS didn’t have its clamshell design. I know the clamshell design makes the system more portable, but the downside is that too often, it does more harm than good.

I’ve been playing video games for decades, and I take care of my video game hardware. I shouldn’t be opening up my 3DS and be greeted with scratches and other screen blemishes that weren’t there when I last closed the system a day or two before.  I shouldn’t have to be putting a microfiber cloth in between the top and bottom screens to prevent scratches. I shouldn’t have to be paying Nintendo to repair and replace the screens on my 3DS once a year. Not to mention the loose hinge that causes the top half of my screen to move back and forth, which probably caused the scratches in the first place.

This is what my top screen looks like now as of December 2018. Note the scratches and the white dot.

So that’s been my experience since buying a New 3DS XL two years ago. Fantastic game library, but maybe the sloppiest hardware build I’ve experienced on a Nintendo system.

Remember when Nintendo handheld hardware was built like a tank? Those days are gone.

Even if you’re under warranty, having to send your system to Nintendo and be without it for a couple weeks is a hassle. Not to mention that you can lose all your save data on your system since Nintendo doesn’t guarantee the security of your save data when you send it in for repair. Given that I have over a hundred games on my 3DS, all digital, it’s a cause for concern whenever my 3DS has to go in for surgery, even if it doesn’t cost me anything monetarily.

I usually will back up my saves on my laptop, but for games like Animal Crossing: New Leaf, a game that I have almost 450 hours invested, the save data can’t be backed up because the save file is on the system, not on the SD card. So if something happens, and my system bites the dust completely….yeah, you get the idea. For Animal Crossing players, it’s too horrible to think about.

I was hoping the cloud saves for Nintendo Switch Online would extend to the 3DS, although I knew that was wishful thinking at the time, and it turns out I was right. The cloud saves don’t even extend to all Switch games, let alone 3DS games.

Whatever the 3DS successor ends up being, I really hope Nintendo does away with the clamshell build. Being able to fold up your system looks cool, but is more trouble than it’s worth.

So now I’m relegated to sending my 3DS in for a third time to be repaired, none of it any fault of mine. Hopefully, this time Nintendo gets it right and it will be the last time.