dgm, I think you need to clear your head really quickly and start the thread over from the beginning. Nintendo never once said anything about smoking being the cause of the problem. They cited "contamination," which means it can be any sort of dust. The Boston Herald, however, pointed at smoking.
And are you really asking, in essence, why older machines would be more likely to be harmfully effected by a condition that builds up over time? I mean, think that one over carefully... do you think dust just decides to launch a suprise attack on an optical lens one day and that's that? The stuff builds up, over time, and therefore it would follow that older machines are more prone to problems. Like ALL electronics. You have owned electronic devices before, right? Haven't they all had more problems the older they got simply because they were getting older?
So yeah, this problem shouldn't exist, and steps could have been taken to lessen (but certainly not eliminate) this problem. But, as always, Nintendo is being Nintendo and is both honest and up front about there being a problem and they are doing everything to fix it for people with the least amount of trouble possible. Please, tell me when either MS or Sony follow suit, because they've never treated their customers with the respect Nintendo does. Hell, tell me when they make their hardware as good as Nintendo does, because I haven't had an issue with a Nintendo system since my NES and that had a simple enough work around, unlike RRoD and DRE.
I've never once had to have a Nintendo system repaired, never even met someone in real life that has, and from the occasional stories I hear from people who have it's been said that Nintendo's service one of the best experiences you can have when it comes to getting something important to you fixed. Nintendo has done a fantastic job, and if you can point to someone who has a better record in both making quality consonles and handhelds AND the customer service track record that Nintendo has, I'll be sufficiently amazed.
You do not have the right to never be offended.
