Source: Internet wildfire, stoked by Kotaku.com, Maxconsole.net, and others.

　　The official story: See below.

　　What we heard: Sleek, stylish gadgets elicit "oohs" and "aahs" from consumers and make them part with their hard-earned money, not only because of what they can do, but how they look doing it. This year's must-have toy is the redesigned DS Lite, which is basically the bulkier DS after the electronics equivalent of a tummy tuck.

　　Unfortunately, much like the Botox injected into the various flaps of skin of Hollywood celebs, some of the cosmetics of the DS Lite appear to not be holding up too well over time. According to several Internet-savvy DS Lite owners, the left hinge that connects the unit's two screens is prone to cracking.

　　Photographic evidence of the small crack, which is a few centimeters in length, has turned up on several Internet sites, with users explaining that their dual-screened darlings just aren't what they used to be. It should be noted that the crack is merely aesthetic and does not affect the unit or gameplay.

　　Of course it's the loudest voices that are heard on the Internet, and they usually belong to those with gripes, so the extent of the crack epidemic isn't clear. A quick poll of DS Lite-owning GameSpot employees yielded no such broken units, but reports of more cracks are popping up on message boards.

　　As to what causes the alleged cracks, handheld abuse has been ruled out by forum users. Several gamers with pristine DS Lites have reported dropping their units multiple times with no damages, and several who have become the victim of the crackage report that they have treated their DS Lites like a newborn baby.

　　One theory is that opening the handheld all the way at a full 180 degrees puts extra pressure on the hinge, causing the plastic to crack. A brave GameSpot editor opened his DS Lite all the way, and the hinge remained intact, and while he said he has done it before, he admits that it doesn't happen too often.

　　GameSpot contacted Nintendo customer support, who explained that this malady doesn't seem to be what the company calls a "known issue" and appears to affect less than 1 percent of DS Lites. However, unless the broken hinge impairs the opening and closing of the clamshell portable or the overall stability of the top screen, it does not fall under warranty. A damaged unit could be fixed for $50, down from the normal rate of $75.

　　Gamers are no strangers to defective gadgets, with a few consoles released in the past few years also experiencing some problems. After the Xbox 360 was released, many gamers were stopped by red lights on the "ring of light," but Microsoft announced that only 3 percent of units were broken, less than the average rate for newly released electronic gadgets. The PlayStation Portable was stricken by the "dead pixel syndrome" on its LCD screens, and consumers were given the option to exchange units still under warranty.

　　Though Nintendo customer support had plenty to say on the matter, the rest of the company hasn't been so loose-lipped. Attempts to reach Nintendo PR for comment on the matter were unsuccessful as of press time.

　　Bogus or not bogus?: There's plenty of photographic evidence and Internet testimonials, so not bogus that it has happened. However, there's still not enough evidence to call this an epidemic--yet.