While they haven’t admitted that it’s a widespread problem yet, Nintendo appears to be investigating the hinge cracks on DS Lites and repairing the issue free of charge, at least on a case-by-case basis. Nintendo’s press release states:

“In the U.S., the reported number of small cosmetic cracks in the plastic hinge of DS Lite systems represents less than 0.02 percent of the total units sold. This cosmetic issue in no way impacts the gameplay or integrity of the DS Lite. Nintendo stands behind the quality of our products and encourages DS Lite owners to contact our Customer Service Department if they are not happy with the functionality of their systems.”

The 0.02% number seems a bit on the low side (it’s probably only counting reported cracks), especially given that Kotaku recent poll on the issue reported 10% of users noticing the problems. However, Kotaku statistics could’ve been skewed as well by the fact that users with cracks would be more likely to respond to the survey.

The folks at Kotaku talked to a Nintendo rep about their own DS lite crack and at least in their case, Nintendo agreed to look at their handheld and replace or fix it if the unit was found to be defective (i.e., assuming the crack wasn’t caused by droppage). Nintendo is even sending UPS shipping labels out, meaning that the whole thing can be fixed without even paying shipping.

It’s good to see a company standing behind their product like this (even though it required a bit of pestering), especially with something that doesn’t actually affect the playability of the DS. Now just make sure it doesn’t happen again with the Wii, guys!!