The Nintendo 3DS has been getting quite a bit of press time lately, and it hasn’t all been good. Concerned parents are fearful that the new device may damage their children’s eyesight. Since youngsters eyes are still developing, Nintendo issued a warning stating that kids under the age of six should probably pass on the new handheld. This may be painful for many children to hear, but it may be a necessary step for parents to take to ensure the health of their child. Of course, there have been conflicting reports that say the 3DS probably won’t damage children’s eyes, but whether you want to risk that or not is entirely up to you.
According to the final specifications that were released during the Nintendo World Store 2011 event, the 3DS will only have a three to five hour battery life span when playing 3DS titles and anywhere between five to eight when playing regular DS titles. The 3DS will be coming with a charging dock (because it’s going to need it). The charging dock will have your 3DS ready to play in about three and a half hours. Yikes! This conjures up thoughts of my beloved Sony PSP, which I can’t play for more than three hours before it takes a dirt nap on me. A handheld device with a short battery life is a tragic thing indeed and I’m curious how this may affect sales.
Dana is a book worm, nerd and video game enthusiast living outside of London, Ontario. She owns a Playstation 3, PSP, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and a Playstation 2 that is missing its controllers. Her favourite gaming genres include adventure, RPG and MMORPG.
I’m more concerned about the price than anything else. Video games regularly warn consumers that their use can cause seizures, so I don’t find this to be any different. The 3DS being damaging to children isn’t exclusive to the handheld, but 3D in general. I imagine that this problem is also present in 3DTVs.
As for the battery life, there are several factors to consider. Toggling the DS’s brightness and audio will improve battery life, so doing so with the 3DS will have the same effect. I never play my DSLite with the backlight and volume maxed, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
You’re not the only one concerned with the price! Couple the price with the battery life and I think I may have to wait it out a while before purchasing one myself.
Even though Ocarina of Time looks SO amazing ;_;
I’m going to have to wait before purchasing one as well. I just don’t use my DS Lite enough to justify getting the 3DS, unless the price is very reasonable. However, if another Castlevania or Dragon Quest is released for the system, I’ll likely throw all reason out the window and get one anyways.
Nintendo themselves released the specs, so I’m doubting there is too much adjustment that can be done done. And again, Nintendo themselves issuing the health warning is quite worrying. Considering they market their products for and to children, that must’ve _killed_ them to announce. I’m betting they were shedding tears as they did it.
In my case, I can’t have anything that even might be a risk to my toddler, so I guess I’ll have to pass on the 3DS. And you’re right, the price is quite crazy.
I think I could possibly deal with the short battery life, since I don’t usually get more than an hour or two to play at a stretch on any given day, but the price is what scares me off. I really, /really/ want one, but I can’t justify paying that much for something that’s pretty similar to what I already own. I’ll probably wait til the price comes down (though I’ll probably purchase games for it, just so I don’t have to try and hunt them down later).
http://kotaku.com/5725770/doctors-say-the-3ds-is-safe-potentially-beneficial-to-children
‘The American Optometric Association still cautions moderation in 3D use, but in a statement issued today says that there is no evidence that suggests viewing 3D in moderation would have any sort of negative effect in children or adults.’
Having said that I used to play Pokemon Pearl for good 6 hour stretches before I sold my DS.
Yeah I was really bummed about the battery life, too. That, coupled with the color choices (I would assume we get the same or similar as Japan), makes me consider waiting, especially since none of the launch games are like OMG I HAVE TO HAVE THESE NOW games. The NA launch will probably be a little different in what games are offered than the Japan release, but I doubt it will be much better.