We ran into this problem. The support person didn't act like this was a known problem when I talked with them, but I'd almost bet they have a certain list of failures they just accept and setup a repair rather than haggling beyond the default questions. Sent it back (with some pictures of the snow/gfx holes) and Nintendo apparently replaced the mainboard according to the documentation inside when I got when I got it back. Took less than a week.

Say $10 for a (new release) movie = 2 hours of entertainment. You can argue that movies are overpriced, but I think it's a good starting point. It's in the entertainment 'arena', some are good, some are bad, some are short, but so are games. If a $10 indie game entertains me for 2 hours, I figure it's good value. If a $60 game entertains me for at least 12 hours, then I figure it's good value. If I thought I'd get 48 hours out of Rock Band Beatles ... ok, I still wouldn't consider that. If that doesn't work for me I just pretend I bought it "for the kids". The 6yr old is loving his Killzone 2.