In the past week or so, reports have been surfacing on the Internet of Nintendo DS Lite systems developing cracks on their hinges near the L button.

DS Lite hinge crack

Nintendo has acknowledged the problem as of yesterday, issuing the following statement:

"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."

Reports yet differ on whether the repair is covered under warranty or subject to a discounted repair charge at this time. GameSpot reports Nintendo of America currently offers standard repair at a reduced charge to fix the crack while Kotaku says repair service is being offered for free. Update: Several outlets are now reporting that what NOA is doing is inspecting the systems, and if they determine the cause of the crack is a manufacturing defect, they will fix it for free—otherwise a cost for repair will be provided.

DS Lite systems are also the subject of several Internet reports of other problems. Two N-Sider staffers currently have their systems on their way to Nintendo's repair depot for a problem with the system's directional pad; it functions fine with cardinal direction presses but is very unreliable registering diagonal presses, making playing of some games difficult to impossible. Another staffer and a few members of our forums have confirmed their systems do not suffer from this issue. This problem has also been reported on NeoGAF by other users of the system.