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The DS Lite U.S. Launch
Yesterday Nintendo began selling the upgraded version of their popular DS handheld system, and by all accounts sales are going very well. 1up has a look at the story of the DS so far, from somewhat rocky launch up through this last amazing Christmas season. From the article: "Nintendo had lost its collective mind. At least, that's how it looked back in January 2004 when the company announced its latest system, the DS. 'We have developed Nintendo DS based upon a completely different concept from existing game devices in order to provide players with a unique entertainment experience for the 21st century,' company president Satoru Iwata stated--a bold proclamation. But few were buying it." PC Magazine has details on what was upgraded, and Engadget has pictures from the NYC launch party.
They were launched here in Australia at the beginning of the month, and my wife and I walked in to the store after lunch, not even being aware that it was a launch day or that the DS was anything special (I'm not really up on Nintendo portables). We ended up just picking one up off the shelf though and buying it for a present for a friend.
There were no lines or stock shortages that I saw...
My wife just upgraded her DS to a DS Lite. On the DS we started out with one of the Nintendo screen protectors, but it quickly got scratched up to where you could not see the lower screen through the mess.
To solve the problem we simply bought some high quality Palm Pilot screen protectors, then cut this to the right dimensions for the DS. It works flawlessly with the DS and the stylus, and looks better after use than the Nintendo protectors do new. This pad hardly shows marks at all, even after playing stylus intensive games. They are less than $1 each at your local office supply store.
Yesterday we picked up a DS Lite and the first thing we did was throw a Palm protector onto the screen. Works like a charm.
Zero.
And here's what you need to run Linux or other homebrew programs on your DS.
This came up during the Nintendo DS launch in November 2004. Nintendo's offical policy on dead pixels was "We want you to be happy with our products and anything that detracts from your enjoyment is not acceptable to us. We invite you to play your DS for a day or two and see if the pixel bothers you. If you find that it is distracting, we'll ship you a new one free of charge."
If you can't exchange it at the place you purchased it, just call Nintendo Consumer Service (1-800-255-3700) as listed on the back of your DS. If you give them a credit card number as a deposit, I'm sure they'll ship you a replacement. Just open the box, grab your new DS, test it... then put your old DS back in the box, slap on the new mailing label, and drop it back in the mail.
But the point is, Nintendo Consumer Service has been superlative since as long as I can remember (1988 at least), so give them a try if the store gives you any hassles.
Where did you get that information? At the original DS' launch, any stuck pixel was enough to merit a replacement under Nintendo's 1 year warranty. Give them a call on their 1-800 number and see if they'll get you a replacement unit.
Ita erat quando hic adveni.