Nintendo has spent decades honing its reputation as a company safe for kids of all ages. But concerns about the effects of 3D visuals on the still-developing eyes of young children have added an air of uncertainty to the impending release of their new 3DS handheld.
Launching in North America on March 27, the system boasts 3D technology without requiring the use of cumbersome glasses. It's the next iteration of the wildly successful DS line, which trails only the Playstation 2 as the best-selling game system ever. It's already proven to be a big hit in Japan -- and with pre-orders through the roof in both Europe and the U.S., it seems destined for (at least initial) greatness in other regions, too.
Parents, however, might be a bit surprised when they see the following warning slapped on the box containing their shiny new hardware:
"3D Mode for ages 7+. Warning: Viewing of 3D images by children 6 and under may cause vision damage. Use the parental control feature to restrict the display of 3D images for children 6 and under."
Yikes. Heavy stuff for a fun-loving machine.
Nintendo acknowledged the issue several months ago, though that sticker shock is bound to raise a flurry of new questions as the device ships to stores. How alarmed should parents be?
According to Dr. Ahna Girshick, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UC Berkeley's EECS Department, the danger boils down to what we know -- and what we don't know -- about the way kids perceive 3D.
"The Nintendo 3DS and all 3D media rely on the brain's ability to decouple two visual processes which we use for depth perception: stereo vision (or "vergence") and focus (or "accommodation")," Girshick told Y! Games. "When viewing the natural world, these two systems are always coupled together."
"In a 3D display," Girshick continues, "we focus our eyes on the display but converge our eyes on the 3D content, which is generally at different distances. This is the trick which allows us to perceive artificial content as 3D. Much is known about these visual mechanisms in adults. However, we do not know what happens to children, whose visual systems are still developing."
Girshick finds that lack of info troubling, and while she notes that to the best of her knowledge "there is no hard evidence that anything harmful will happen" to kids who are exposed to this sort of 3D tech, there's also no data supporting its safety.
"And no parent wants their child to be 'guinea pigs' in an experiment for the entertainment industry," she contends.
It's a fair point, and one that likely echoes the thinking of more conservative parents. But it's not the only opinion out there.
The American Optometric Association, in fact, has come out in support of children using the 3D feature of the 3DS, insisting that it's not only safe for kids and adults, but that the technology might help identify eye problems that would have otherwise gone undetected, such as amblyopia (lazy eye). They've essentially disagreed with Nintendo, stating that "children younger than 6 can use the 3DS in 3D mode if their visual system is developing normally."
So with the science up in the air, where does that leave parents? Playing it safe and following Nintendo's advice -- which is most likely plastered all over the box more for legal reasons than medical ones -- is actually quite easy. The 3DS comes equipped with a full suite of parental control features, including the ability to disable all 3D images, restricting games based on ESRB game ratings, and limiting the wireless transmission of data.
Currently (and for the foreseeable future), no games for the system are designed only to work in 3D, so younger players will still be able to enjoy all of the system's software in 'boring' old 2D. And as the AOA points out, moderation is always a good thing.
"While studies on the effects of prolonged 3D viewing on young children remain to be done, leaning toward the side of caution is advisable in guiding children to use these devices in moderation," they say.
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