This model is explicitly being marketed to the age groups of 7 and under. As for "how many hinges have been broken", and "why don't they make a sturdier hinge":

This model is explicitly being marketed to the age groups of 7 and under. As for "how many hinges have been broken", and "why don't they make a sturdier hinge": 1. I don't have any hard evidence, but if you do a search for "broken DS" or "broken 3DS" on eBay, an overwhelming majority of them are on there by reason of "broken hinge" 2. As to why not make a sturdier hinge, the other part of this particular console is to bring the 3DS down into a cheaper price range in time for Pokemon-- which is why they additionally stripped it of the 3D and replaced the stereo speaker with a mono one. I'm not personally a fan of the design, but in the short amount of time since it's been announced, I've seen a pretty impressive number of "I'd buy that"s from people on various forums, so I don't think this is as much of an "epic fail" as you think it is. Don't confuse "bad design" with "not marketed towards me".