Nintendo 3DS Gamer’s Sealed Case Crumbles to Dust

Who knew a simple 3DS case could become a pile of dust? I mean, imagine opening this brand-new, sealed box, thinking you’ll find this cool Dragon Quest 8 design. Instead, you’re staring at what looks like crumbs of a demolished cookie. No clue why, but that image stuck with me, you know?

And we all think Nintendo stuff is kind of indestructible, right? Throw a case on it so you can drop it a few times without cringing too hard—makes sense. But now I’m wondering if I should check my own collection. What if something self-destructed and I haven’t noticed?

Anyway, back to Randolph Co. This dude—or maybe it’s an alias, don’t quote me—keeps this thing stored away, all nice and cozy. Then boom! Crypto-particles instead of a case. The packaging is all good, but inside it looks like the aftermath of an old birthday cake. The colors disappeared like magic. Poof! Blue, green, brown… gone.

Hold up. Why’d this happen? So, the case was made from something called TPU. Thermoplastic… something. Apparently, it’s biodegradable. Which sounds great! Yay planet! But not so much if it turns your 3DS swag into nothing. This thing was from 2015—do the math, it’s ancient in tech years.

While I get it, biodegradable equals good intentions, it’s kind of a bummer when memorabilia vanish on you. Whoever made these might not have thought we’d keep using our 3DS for this long—or maybe they figured we’d be clumsy and wreck it after a while. Just me?

Bottom line: if you’ve got any of these, maybe give them a peek. Or don’t. Whatever. Just keep living in blissful ignorance and hope your treasures aren’t secretly eroding. Because let’s face it, there’s probably more than this case turning into dust bunnies from 2011’s tech world.