By Tom Phillips.
"Fears that young children shouldn't be allowed to use the Nintendo 3DS because it might harm their eyesight, some specialists are claiming - suggesting that it could even help diagnose eye disorders in young children."
Nintendo have been warning that children aged 6 or under shouldn't use the 3DS, over fears that the console's glasses-free autostereoscopic 3DS effect might harm their not-fully-developed vision.
But eye specialists in the US are casting doubt on those worries - and are even going further, saying that the 3DS could be helpful in catching eye defects in young children early.
'This has presented my profession, optometry, a wonderful opportunity,' Dr. Joe Ellis, president of the American Optometric Association, told the Associated Press.
The idea is that children who are unable to see the 3D effect - achieved by sending slightly different images to the left and right eyes - may have some underlying vision problem that needs to be examined. Such problems are often easier to correct if diagnosed at a young age, when the body's visual system is still developing.
'The 3DS could be a godsend for identifying kids under 6 who need vision therapy,' said Dr. Michael Duenas, also of the AOA.
But not all optometrists have got the 'yay 3DS' memo - another specialist, Dr. David Hunter, told the AP that he thought the idea that the 3DS could be helpful was just 'speculation'.
Nintendo have not clarified exactly why they issued the warning about young children playing the 3DS - leading many to suggest that they're erring very much on the side of caution.
Some users have complained of dizziness or headaches after using the 3DS, but with the device now having been out for some time in Japan, reports of adverse effects don't seem to be very widespread.
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We should all put a wager on the time it takes the first parent to make a claim against nintendo, i give it a year.
I saw the price of the games for the 3ds, thats just not right @ £34, no wonder people share.
