Two issues have come up with the new 3DS -- one kind of serious, and one kind of not. NeoGAF users and a GoNintendo post, among others, document a periodic error screen that appears during gameplay, which requires the system to be shut off and turned back on in order to get back to playing. It seems to be most commonly associated with Super Monkey Ball 3D and Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars.

Nintendo of Europe issued a statement to Eurogamer suggesting that this issue could be fixed by downloading the latest firmware. If that doesn't fix the issue, the company recommends users "contact their local Nintendo Customer Service centre to investigate the problem further."

Some users are also reporting an excessively loose hinge, causing the top half of the system to wobble during play. "The hinge i thought was OK," reports 3DSBuzz forum user Suspiria, "but throughout the day it has got worse and worse." Nintendo acknowledges the possibility of such an issue on its support site, advising those who suffer from it to send the system in for repairs. We're contacting Nintendo about both issues, and will let you know what shakes out. Hopefully, it's not the top of a 3DS.

[Thanks, Don]

Update: Nintendo sent Joystiq a statement asserting that "The number of calls and emails received by our customer support center is well below the rate experienced during past hardware launches, and there are no widespread issues." Find the full statement after the break.