I’ve recently bought an aftermarket black 3DS silicon case off of ebay in hopes of keeping my 3DS protected whilst not sacrificing portability.

There are about three or four different aftermarket case designs going around right now, most of which come from Hong Kong.  Prices vary depending on the location of the seller and I chose a slightly more expensive one from a US seller in hopes of getting it quicker than one normally would get directly from Hong Kong.  With shipping the total came up to $6.50.  Cheaper ones were available from outside of the US for about four bucks.

Silicon cases are quite popular for phones and ipods/mp3 players though ergonomically those devices are quite different from Nintendo’s 3DS.  Where as an iPhone is a one piece device with no face buttons, the 3DS sports a two piece clam-shell design and several buttons and an analog stick.  The silicon case doesn’t interfere much with the usability of an iPhone.  The 3DS is another story.

The black silicone case covers up the 3DS’ buttons and d-pad which forces you to press silicone buttons instead of the devices plastic ones.  It’s not really terrible, but it’s certainly not good either.  The excess rubb
er connecting the top screen to the bottom of the unit  hangs out on the back when the device is open and sometimes interferes with pressing the triggers. I ended up cutting off these straps altogether as they served little purpose and really bothered me during use of the device.

The top of the case doesn’t meld well with top screen as there are no holes to accommodate the 3DS’ top screen rubber bumpers – I had to cut small rectangles out to allow some room for them.

Once I worked everything out the case seemed alright for protecting the 3DS against minor things like scratches and scrapes. Being that as it may it’s just disappointing when you have to cut holes in a BRAND NEW product designed for a particular device.  It’s as though the manufacturer cooked the case up in a matter of hours without properly testing it and shipped it out for new 3DS owners to get ripped off with.

If you can find one of these for one or two dollars and are willing to snip and cut to accommodate your 3DS better then this may be worth getting, otherwise I’d stay far far away from this junk.