“Nintendo: No 3-D games for kids under 6” plus 1 more

Posted: 30 Dec 2010 05:19 AM PST

Nintendo: No 3-D games for kids under 6

By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
Posted today at 6:20 a.m.

Nintendo Co. has issued a warning that children under the age of six shouldn't play 3-D games on its soon-to-be-released handheld game machine, as looking at 3-D images for a long period of time can have a harmful effect on the growth of young children's eyes.

The company posted the disclaimer at the bottom of its Japanese-language Web site promoting a three-day event in Japan where people can try its new Nintendo 3DS, due to launch Feb. 26 in Japan. It asks that 6-year-olds and those younger play games on the 3DS in 2-D mode.

"For children under the age of 6, looking at 3-D images for a long time could possibly have a negative impact on the growth of their eyes," Nintendo said on the Web site. It also warned that users should take breaks every 30 minutes when playing games in 3-D and stop playing immediately if feeling ill.

The Nintendo 3DS is the company's most-anticipated video game hardware product since the Wii home console in 2006. The new handheld device will allow users to play 3-D games without special glasses to create the illusion of depth.

The warning is similar to those made by other makers of 3-D consumer electronics products. Samsung Electronics Co., Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. all provide warnings on their Web sites about the possible risks of viewing 3-D images for children younger than 6 years old.

Most 3-D technologies create the illusion of depth on a flat screen by presenting different images to the left and right eye, typically using special glasses. But Nintendo is offering that effect with the display alone, a technology called autostereoscopic 3-D.

The 3DS comes with a slidebar to allow the user to adjust the level of 3-D effect on the games played on the machine.

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Nintendo warns kids under six should not play 3D games on 3DS

Posted: 30 Dec 2010 06:05 AM PST

Nintendo issued a warning that children under the age of six should not play three-dimensional games on its soon-to-be-released hand-held game machine, as looking at 3D images for a long period of time can have a harmful effect on the growth of young children's eyes, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The company posted the disclaimer at the bottom of its Japanese-language website promoting a three-day event in Japan where people can try its new Nintendo 3DS, due to launch Feb. 26 in Japan. It asks six year olds and those younger to play games on the 3DS in two-dimension mode.

"For children under the age of six, looking at 3D images for a long time could possibly have a negative impact on the growth of their eyes," Nintendo said. It also warned that users should take breaks every 30 minutes when playing games in 3D and stop playing immediately if they feel ill.

Nintendo has more success than its competitors with adolescents and younger children, though it was unclear what age group the 3DS will target upon its release next year.

The warning was similar to those made by other makers of 3D consumer electronics products. Samsung Electronics, Sony and Panasonic all provide warnings on their websites about the possible risks of viewing 3D images for children younger than six.

Most 3D technologies create the illusion of depth on a flat screen by presenting different images to the left and right eyes, typically using special glasses. But Nintendo is offering that effect with the display alone, without the need for glasses, using a technology called autostereoscopic 3D.

For more on this story, please go to The Wall Street Journal.

Kids Games

Thursday, December 30, 2010