Iwata Claims 3DS Warnings Will Fend Off Potential Lawsuits

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has claimed that company warnings about the potential effects of 3DS 3D use by young children do not represent an admission that the system is in any way dangerous, but only that Nintendo wants to keep its customers fully informed. The company has reiterated its recommendation that the forthcoming system's 3D features should not be used by children aged six and under. At last weekend's Nintendo World event in Japan, Nintendo enforced the recommendation by having young children play 3DS demos exclusively in 2D, despite statements from some specialists pointing out the lack of evidence of negative effects from 3D on young children's vision. The 3DS hardware, launching in Japan next month and in the U.S. in March, features a slider that lets users adjust the intensity of the 3D stereoscopic effect. Players can turn off the effect completely. Speaking to the Japanese Wall Street Journal (translated by Andriasang) Iwata said that the warnings should inform parents to make their own decisions over young children's use of 3D on the system while preventing against potential lawsuits. Iwata said that some specialists believe that extended viewing of 3D video can lead to negative effects on vision in young children, but did not point to any specific studies. A leading ophthalmologist told Gamasutra in August last year that viewing 3D stereoscopic images should have no adverse affects on children older than three years of age. Last week Gamasutra's editor-at-large Chris Morris looked at the media furor surrounding 3D warnings in an exclusive Gamasutra column.