3DS bothers buyers with black screen of death

Fixed with firmware update?

Nintendo has told 3DS owners worried by reports that the new handheld console suffers freezes, black screens of death and 'restart system' messages to install a system update.

Since the console's release, 3DS buyers have been posting complaints of glitches on online forums. The problem's cause is unclear. It is triggered whether the user is playing a game, navigating menus or using the 3DS' online features.

Nintendo has hit back, though, pointing people in the direction of the first update.

"If anyone is experiencing any problems with their Nintendo 3DS console, we recommend that in the first instance they download and install the latest system update, now available online," it advised. ®