About
#OperationFaceplateNA is a hashtag used by Nintendo fans in North America to voice their concern over the release of the standard size New Nintendo 3DS in North America, instead only releasing its larger counterpart, the New Nintendo 3DS XL. The name refers to interchangeable faceplates that were a selling point for the system, but are only available with the standard size New Nintendo 3DS.
Origin
On January 14, 2015, Nintendo released a Youtube video on their channel advertising the New Nintendo 3DS XL in the US. No advertisement was given for the standard size system. Users in the comments section voiced their concern, and several people started using the phrase #OperationFaceplateNA. Soon, several people started posting Nintendo of America’s contact information telling people to voice their opinions to them under the hashtag #OperationFaceplateNA
Spread
Within a day of the video’s posting, several petitions appeared on change.org calling for Nintendo to release the standard size new 3DS in America. The largest one has garnered around 1000 signatures as of January 15.