Nintendo Issues Warning on 3D Image Safety for Kids

There is a parental control feature.

Yep, but does it turn the 3D effect off? I've not seen that confirmed anywhere.

Who buys their 6 year olds $300 gaming handheld anyways?

The best parents in the world.

Anyone who would buy a 3DS for a 6 yr old is just asking for trouble anyway. Never give a kid that young anything expensive. Wait until they are old enough to learn responsibility.

@James: I do believe I read somewhere (don't remember where) that the parental controls do include control of the 3D slider. Its possible I was mis-informed but I'm quite sure of this info. It would be quite smart of Nintendo to include it.

But the six and under year olds are the only ones who will excessively use the effect!

Perhaps one of the parental controls may just turn off the 3D slider functionality for good? So even if it is all the way up, it's still 2D. Of course, later in the years, the slider could be turned on again, making the 3D come back.

@WaveBoy Yeah, well, you're not supposed to play Wii or DS (or any videogames) for more than an hour at a time without a 10- or 15-minute break, so I don't think this changes things. If you can play them for a couple of hours at a time, you can play 3DS for about the same, I reckon.

This whole story came about because Nintendo isn't allowing kids under 6 to test out the 3DS when they do their public showing thingo. Also, there is a lock.... didn't remember where I heared about it but did some research and found this: http://www.siliconera.com/2010/12/30/nintendo-including-a-3d-lock-feature-in-nintendo-3ds/

Isn't the warning to only play "30 minutes at a stretch" on most games anyways, these days?

@skywake We're catching up on news that some people may have missed while they were enjoying time with their families and friends over Christmas and New Year

Wow, what parent would give a 6 year old a 3DS or a DS for that matter thats what a Game boy is for!

I would or more exactly, I did.

I wouldn't buy a new 3DS for a 6yo but I did buy a 2nd hand pink DS for my daughter's 6yo birthday.

I have a DSi myself and many of the features (the recorder, the camera, some of the DSiWare apps) are exactly the kind of thing a 6yo would love. My daughter's been eyeing my DSi since I made some mention of getting a 3DS when it comes out.

But yes, I wouldn't buy a 300 euro gaming device for a 6yo.

Isn't this related to 3d in general, not just 3ds?

I'll see as much 3D as I want to, like the times I didn't take a break. But still, I know when to stop watching 3D.

Does this 30 minute also include going to the cinema and watching a 3D movie? 'Cos I've never seen the movie stop 30 minutes in so everyone can rest their eyes. Unless the 3D glasses block that kind of damage?

Anyways, why would you let a 6 year old play with something THAT expensive in the first place?

And also, I've played Wii games for 5-6 hours straight and nothing's happened to my eyes yet lol. So this "take a break every 30 minutes" is probably more Health and Saftey bull.

I collected stereographs (Magic Eye, etc) as a young kid -- which are like the effect on the 3DS but perhaps worse due to needing to actively unfocus your eyes -- and it didn't do any damage, so of course it's just a precaution. I also remember plenty of youngsters playing with Viewmaster 3D.

system will flop just like virtul boy did

It sucks for them

I have a hard time believing this is anything other than a purely CYA move by Nintendo.

The 3DS achieves its effect by sending different images to each eye. Of course, this is how real 3D objects in the real world look 3D as well!

The only thing that is different and which may be worrying Nintendo is that on a 3DS the eye may be focusing at a depth that is different than the perceived depth (the difference between the actual depth of the screen and the perceived depth of the objects in the scene). Maybe there is a potential problem because of that, but even so it doesn't sound like anyone has produced an actual study demonstrating a problem.

@Arkaein: Perhaps you're not familiar with the term "lawsuits"?

Oh please. Nintendo is the only gaming company that persists to show Health care warnings every time you start up their consoles. It's wise to take their advices with a pinch of salt, or maybe a truck load. I'm hoping for a warning screen that says "Warning, 3D!" in 3D though!
How ironic when the person who was eye damaged by the device and attempt to sue Nintendo is asked the question "Did you read the Health and Safety screen???" Either way it can be held against him! xD

The tech for 3D used today hasn't been in common use very long in movies. It will be a while before there are any decent studies. It's unethical to sit kids down in front of a 3D screen for hours every day to see if it hurts their eyes, so you have to wait until kids grow up and compare how much time they spent viewing 3D movies/games and their eyesight to get an idea of the effects.

I think the warnings for the games make sense, because most people see one 3D movie occasionally at the theaters, but you can play a portable console every day. I get warning messages on Wii series games about every half hour, so that part isn't new at all.

Viewing 3D is very different from viewing in real life. In real life you focus on different depth levels. Not everything is in focus at any given time. In 3D movies, everything is the same distance from you, but it looks like it isn't. Your eyes can't focus on something in the foreground or background like they naturally would. That's why some people get headaches, etc. I could see why Nintendo would want to cover their butts from lawsuits on this one, because such unnatural viewing could hurt young eyes still learning how to work in the real world.

You can say "who would buy their 6 year old a 3DS," judgmentally, but think about it. The real question needs to be, " who would buy themselves a 3DS and let their 6 year old play with it sometimes," or, "who would buy thier 6 year old a 3DS in a couple years or so after the price has dropped." Those things can do wonders for kids on long car trips (remembers childhood game gear memories), so there's no judgement here. Even if most parents won't be waiting in line at launch to get one for their kids, there's still plenty of times kids could get their hands on it.

A 6 year old would have fun staring at a 3D screen until their eyes burn. Probably a good precaution.

@Token Girl.... very well said and exactly my thoughts on this.

I'm one of those lucky people who are just effected by motion sickness, or sea sickness, I don't get headaches from watching movies all day or playing games for 7 hours straight.

The 3DS sounded great at first, but more of these warning are appearing, it might just be a precaution from the big N but at the same time it's got me a bit worried. I think after getting one for the few day I'll use 3D but probably just leave it off for a few months and see what becomes of others from it.

You'd be mad to buy his for exclusive use by a 6 year old anyway. There are parents out there who buy iphones, ipods, video games consoles without properly teaching them values against materilaism and not managing their gaming time. Really, such an expnsive console should be for everyone who game in the family to use like he Wii. My lad is 7 and is a real gamer, but his gaming life is managed properly as I understand the problems which gaming can cause from gaming myself when I was a child. It is good entertainment, but far from the most important thing in his life.

Anyway, I don't think I'll allow my 7 year old to use the 3D function much at all. Maybe 5-10mins now and again, but that's it.

As for adult use, that game regimen for 3d use is fine by me. You can use 3DS games comfortably in 2D I would imagine

@lz20XX: Perhaps you're not familiar with the term CYA? It stands for "cover your a**". The whole point of a CYA warning is to preempt lawsuits, regardless of whether there is any real danger. So yes, that was basically my point.

@Token Girl: you do a good job elaborating on the one potential hazard that I hinted at, but I want to point out that no one has really proven that these screens are safe for adults either! I believe they are, but that's why I believe Nintendo is just watching out for frivolous lawsuits. If there were any likelihood of real danger from the device they probably wouldn't be bringing it to market.

In any case, there has been some evidence for years (though far from conclusive) that staring too long at anything close is bad for vision development, and may contribute to near-sightedness. This includes reading and TV as well as hand held video game systems. So limiting playtime on handhelds for young children is good advice in any case, regardless of whether a 3D effect is enabled.

i've seen a lot of talk about this on friendcodes.com too

I can see some kid ignoring this warning and getting his eyes hurt. Then the parents won't blame that kid and sue Nintendo.

This systems made for BIG BOY GAMES Marcus PS.... I mean 3DS

This sounds more like the warnings on medicine then anything else. It's already been thoroughly tested to make sure it's safe (or they wouldn't sell it as it'd be a financial disaster) but the warnings are stressed anyway to make sure the 1 person in a million that claims it screwed them over somehow can't sue. I've even read an article with an optometrist saying there is no proof whatsoever that a device that functions in such a way (the 3DS screen) would harm anyone eyes of any age.

There is no way a six year old will ever listen to that...

It's a myth, like the whole smoking thing.

it seems that nintendo just covering there backside. 3d with out glasses is brand new and the 3ds will be the first thing to implament it i dont think that even the developers know what the possible side affects of the 3ds could be

Obviously, No 6yr. old will pay attn. But this is just Nintendo covering themselves in the off-chance of being sued. They can (then) always retort that they have already established these warnings, & perhaps even add (to that phrasing) "thoroughly". Knowing Nintendo, it's almost certain that both the 3DS box, & boot screen contain warnings against this.

I won't necessarily be surprised if anti-video game activists start using/citing the possible eye-damage issues again.

@Tasuki: You are right that before things get marketed, they should be tested thoroughly, however greed outweighs most co.s concerns of consumer safety.

I don't really know if the 3DS will induce health issues, or not. Currently, I'm inclined to say it could go either way. It appears to me to look like the system is simply going to output 3d visuals around somewhere between Gamecube, & Wii caliber. Not necessarily 3d visuals that ppl seem to think. Then again, I could be wrong, as of course, I can only see it in action in vids @ this point.

Makes me wonder if I'll be able to purchase from somewhere else, & then sell one on eBay, or not. Of course, for a fair price, considering as a gamer myself, I know exactly what it's like to want a system/game, & not able to afford it.

Sidenote: If there are any issues, I wonder if it will only pertain to ppl w/ specific eye disorders? For instance, I have an eye disorder, that thank God, actually gets somewhat reversed by video games, & pc screens. It's a tracking disorder that is helped by watching/tracking things onscreen. On the other hand, if there are going to be any issues, they may simply be of the depth perception variety, like ppl who are either near-sighted, or far-sighted.

We will all just have to wait, & see what unfolds.

One last thing I almost forgot ~ I've read doctors saying how 3d movies are capable of hurting the eyes of someone w/ decent vision, & further hurting, or hurting to a larger degree, ppl such as myself, who already have eye disorders. I wonder if the 3d put out by the 3DS is the same?

@ 22: agreed,
Suxs to be 6 and under right now.

@warioswoods: How would you know if it did anything to your eyes? It probably isn't saying you'll go blind if you use 3D for more than 30 mins, but just damage your eyes so that you'd never glasses / better glasses SOMETIME in your life, it also might effect some people and not others. So unless your about to die at 80 yrs old, you can't say it hasn't effected you in some way, and even if it hasn't it might have for someone else.

sigh this worries me.. luckily we have a good bunch of japanese ppl to test it out for a month before it is available to the rest of the world so hopefully we'll get some good reviews