Nintendo"s release of its 3DS portable console hasn"t gotten off to a good sales start here in the US. Now the console is dealing with a new issue as Amazon.com has posted word that it is no longer selling the Nintendo 3DS directly from the online retailer. According to the Amazon.com Nintendo 3DS page, "While this item is available from other marketplace sellers on this page, it is not currently offered by Amazon.com because customers have told us there may be something wrong with our inventory of the item, the way we are shipping it, or the way it"s described here. (Thanks for the tip!) We"re working to fix the problem as quickly as possible."
While the page declines to say exactly what the issue might be with the Nintendo 3DS, the Examiner web site speculates that the issue might be related to some 3DS owners complaining that the top screen of the console sometimes comes into contact with the lower screen when the console is closed up. That has apparently led to scratches on the top screen. The article adds, however, that more recent purchasers of the console have noticed that the 3DS now has longer rubber footings that keep the two screens away from each other while the console is closed up.
The Nintendo 3DS launched back in February in Japan and in March here in the US. The console, which offers 3D visual effects on the top screen without the need to wear special glasses, has so far not met the company"s sales expectations which Nintendo"s president Satoru Iwata admitted to in a recent investor Q&A.
Update: Amazon.com has now updated the Nintendo 3DS page and has removed the above note.