Topic: Nintendo Responds to Reports of 3DS Headaches

[NWR_pap64]

Nintendo suggests taking short breaks between games.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/25883

The first cases of headaches caused by the 3DS's 3D display have begun to surface. After hours of play, some players have mentioned that they begin to feel eye strain and headaches. Nintendo suggests players to take breaks between sessions in order to alleviate these issues.

Robert Saunders of Nintendo U.K. notes, "We have shown Nintendo 3DS at multiple events around the world to literally hundreds of thousands of people and have received very few negative comments. As with anything that requires focus, from reading to staring at a computer screen, taking breaks frequent breaks is always recommended."

He further elaborates, "When viewing any kind of 3D images (TV, movies etc.), some people might experience minor discomfort. The effects are short term and have no lasting effect, in fact most players can continue after taking a short break. The Nintendo 3DS was designed with a 3D depth slider that lets users adjust the 3D effect to a level that suits them for optimum enjoyment." 

Months prior to the release of the handheld, Nintendo released warnings regarding the 3DS's 3D screen, mainly focusing on young children. Several experts, however, have stated that there is no evidence of impairment of vision development in children by 3D displays.

[TalesOfFan]

I've been playing Pilot Wings for hours with the 3D on and not a headache to be had.

[TJ Spyke]

I got my 3DS today and very quickly realized that I can't have the 3D up all the way. When I have it at max, everything becomes blurry and my eyes start to hurt (at least on PilotWings), Street Fighter wasn't as bad. I just hope other games handle it better than PilotWings (also, what is up with the 2-minute limit for free flight?), because I want to have 3D without everything becoming blurry (it was worse than watching a 3D movie without the glasses).

Also, AR sucks. You have to have perfect conditions for the damn cards to even work. I had good lighting, the ? card on a flat service, and had the cameras pointing at it correctly and I still never got all 3 circles to light up (I could only get 1).

[Discostew]

I tone the 3D setting on mine to about half way to make it just right for my eyes. Not everyone's eyes are the same, so it's good that Nintendo had the slider. There will obviously be some people who can't take the effect well, and that's unfortunate. At least with the 3D off, the battery lasts longer per charge.

[hirokareo]

I had the chance to use a friend's 3DS and got a terrible headache within a few minutes. In the end it really depends on each individual person.

[pyrokamileon]

I didn't buy any games with my system because nothing really stands out for me right now (I was pleased to have some new hardware for my old games though). just using what little 3D stuff that cam with the system I have to say I'm overall not impressed. I'm not trying to give my opinion of the content mind you I'm merely commenting on what I think of the tech. I haven't had any headaches but then again I haven't put in hours of play in 3D.. it's just irritating because I sit there messing with the 3D slider and the distance of the system from my eyes AND the angle of which I'm holding the system AND the angle between my face to the system... *sigh* and if any of those things goes wrong then I lose the depth, the image goes blurry and I just feel like switching the 3D off! I even showed my gf (who gets by technologically just fine) and after messing w/ it for a couple minutes she told me to consider taking it back to the store and see if it was defective..
I have seen a 3D tv in Best Buy and as much as everyone hates the glasses and even though I know that the price for them is ridiculous I loved it was so impressive.. I wish I could use those glasses on this system.
oh well I guess I should take it back to the store and see what they think..

[Chozo Ghost]

To be fair, staring at any screen for too long might give you a headache. I'm sure it probably is worse with 3D screens, though... but the easy way to deal with that is take breaks or don't play for extended periods of time. Fortunately, because the 3DS is a handheld most people aren't as likely to be doing marathon gaming sessions on it as they would on a console. Handhelds are best suited for light gaming like on buses and so on.

[King of Twitch]

Sure, you could stop playing your new $250 handheld just to avoid headaches

[KDR_11k]

If you need a break from 3D just set the slider to zero, it's not hard.

[BlackNMild2k1]

If you need a break from 3D just set the slider to zero, it's not hard.

People aren't that smart. Expect that to be one of the message screens programmed into every game before the actual game starts like attaching your wrist strap and "remember to take a break" messages on the Wii.