“Thousands of customers have reported suffering headaches and dizziness after playing the three-dimensional machine, which works by flashing separate images into each eye, creating the illusion of depth,” Martin Evans reports for The Telegraph.
“But some are angry that they are only being offered partial refunds if they return the console to some retailers,” Evans reports. “Sundeep Tailor, 27, from Luton said he started to feel unwell after playing his 3DS for just three minutes. But when he took the product back to his local Game store he was initially offered a refund of £176.99, which is £30 less than the price he had paid.”
MacDailyNews Take: Say “hello” to restocking fees, Sundeep.
Evans reports, “Nintendo has been forced to defend the 3DS, last week announcing that the console was not safe for under-sevens, while also warning people to only play in 3D mode for less than 30 minutes at a time. Some retailers, including HMV, are offering full refunds but only for a limited period.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If you think the users want to puke, you should see the Nintendo execs.
Jeez, what are they complaining about? I usually have to ingest something to experience those symptoms!
That sounds like fun!
time for the dramamine
3D is a fad, our brains are not wired to accept the input from these devices.
Yeah, people just aren’t used to seeing things in 3D.
LOL.
Funny but HUYA said, “our brains are not wired to accept the input from these devices.”
“These devices” not 3D in general.
I think you may have gotten frighteningly near the point.
Remember this?
Well people aren’t used to seeing Illusion-ed 3D images. The natural world around us is “3D” but it’s not going to hurt our eyes when we look at it. These new Computer generated 3D images is something our eyes were never designed to view. It’s unnatural.
Let’s be natural.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qin4o5TXfzw&w=480&h=390%5D
What a cluster ****. What are these guys thinking. Reminds me of the RJ Reynolds smokeless cigarette screw up. In the movie when the RJR CEO says the cig smells like a fart. I think they had enough sense not to release it. Nintendo releases a gaming device that gives you vertigo and makes you puke. I guess their not long for this world either.
Oh, too rich!
Do you remember the headset that you wore that had battle zone like graphics? It also gave people similar symptoms and they were returned en masse.
Is nintendo so desperate to differentiate itself that they would release a product like this in this Sue-happy day and age?
As my son would say, Epic FAIL
The same company that released the Wii… the game system that destroyed a thousand flatscreen TVs…
Good joke!
Yep, I remember that piece of crap – the VirtualBoy. I remember trying it out in the store and instantly got a headache.
There’s this nice little gauge on the device that let’s you control how prominent the 3D effect is, and turning it down turns it all the way off. Nintendo is not stupid, they gave people the choice to control how strong the effect is. It seems people are the stupid ones.
putting it all the way down turns the effect completely off*
Umm… 3D isn’t just *a* gimmick, it’s *the* gimmick that’s supposed to make the 3DS relevent. It’s right there in the name for a reason.
Imagine if the Wiimote made people dizzy and gave them headaches after 30 minutes. Including a button to turn off the motion controls would be anything but a good solution.
Nintendo are the stupid ones for basing the 3DS around a gimmick that’s so poorly implemented it needs an off-switch just to keep gamers from getting ill. If they couldn’t have done it better, then they should have left it on the cuttingroom floor and made something else the 3DS’s big gimmick. Mark my words, Nintendo did not make a wise decision.
@realistic Do your research. Nintendo has stated that they will not design any games that require the use of 3D. Nintendo has already sold over a million units worldwide in under a month. Probably a good decision. They in a totally different marketplace than the iOS devices and this is why this post belong on a gaming website instead of a Mac site. Not all gamers get sick from watching 3D in a similar manner many people complained about the ill effects of 3D hollywood flicks. Some people feel sick some don’t.
Another dangerous product released .. Lawsuits will pop up everywhere. Nintendo might have committed unintentional hari-Kari with this one..
Easy fix turn the 3D effect off.
No problems here.
The device is absolutely awesome.
I think they did an outstanding job with it.
They pushed the envelope with the design.
You don’t need glasses or anything attached to your body to experience the 3D effect.
Pretty amazing in my experience and def a keeper!
Not that MacDailyNews would take the time to research anything or do any real investigative work, but the “Sun” article you link has been widely questioned.
The sun listed one source, then claimed “thousands” of people were having problems.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/296827/news/nintendo-dismisses-the-suns-3ds-refund-row-report/
and
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/nintendo/8429787/Nintendo-denies-claim-of-thousands-made-ill-by-3DS.html
Seriously MDN get your crap together.
Also WTF is your problem with Nintendo exactly MDN?
The company is an innovator much like Apple.
They don’t just follow the leader and hash out ‘same stuff different name’ products. They innovate and come up with new ways to play video games!
They have redefined the video game industry more than once!
I would have thought you would have respected something like that, I guess too much Apple Koolaid really rots the brain!
They used to support Nintendo, back when the Wii first launched. With the advent of the iPhone, and the gaming that came with it, they turned on them. But yeah, this article is full of crap. Nintendo included a slider on the device so you could turn the effect way up, or all the way off, depending on the game and your tolerance level. All the reviews note that this is one of, if not the, greatest feature of the device. You can experience 3D when you want, and you can control the extent of the effect as well.
“I guess too much Apple Koolaid really rots the brain!”
Right. This coming from an anonymous coward troll.
So how much does Nintendo pay per troll post these days?
LOL YES I’ve been paid by Nintendo to come here and post!
Jesus christ get a clue.. and a life.
Consider the efficiency of MS Windows, able to make you want to puke using only two dimensions.
3D stuff always gives me headaches…
http://xkcd.com/880/
“warning people to only play in 3D mode for less than 30 minutes at a time”
hmm… I read Nintendo’s marketing spiel and all those articles and gamer blogs saying that Nintendo is the REAL gamers choice and ipad is a worthless toy. So real gamers play less than 30 min at a time …
Nintendo stated that they believe that cell phone market is for casual gamers who buy a game and then don’t play for the same amount of time that they would spend on a traditional game like a Zelda, Mario, or even a Call of Duty. From my experience this is true. You spend a buck or two and get a great looking casual game. I have over 200 apps and I hardly play any of them with the exception of Infinity Blade and Real Racing 2, both still receive casual playing time. Nintendo also noted that you never really own the product because you can’t trade it in, sell it on eBay, or at a yard sale. The product is connected to the device or the device’s OS. Imagine if and when they stop making iOS devices what will happen to all of the apps especially if the device is not compatible with iOS games. The DS has always been a casual device with sparely populated games that are there for the long-haul. that is why the device goes to sleep when you close it. The problem is when you start thinking it is a console system and making console games a-la PSP. That is why the sales are miserable in America. Console games and computer game rule this shore. I don’t mind paying 99 cents for a 99 cent experience but nothing beats Zelda on the DS or Ninja Gaiden on the DS that is some awesome stuff, plus tons of other titles that I don’t have room to mention.
Brits have liberal return policies. This may be a case of buying with every intention of returning. Before restocking fees game system vendors had to stop bundling a game cartridge to stop what this guy is trying to. Just need the ipad2 for the weekend then I will return it low lifes are out there
Not really Mac/Apple news, just fanboy fodder. I have a 3DS and I haven’t experienced headaches at all. It did feel funny at first. My advice start slow with the slider barely up, then increase as you adjust to the effect. 3D without glasses is pretty cool. I haven’t seen it used as a gimmick on the 3DS, yet. It does add a true sense of depth to games like Madden and Lego Star Wars 3. I turn it off for Street Fighter IV.
Bottom line: NOT Mac news
“Also WTF is your problem with Nintendo exactly MDN?”
well stated.
Even if it does affect “thousands” of people by making them motion sick, that’s a very small percent of the end users. I’m sure some of these people can’t stand riding on that big ferris wheel in London, either.
I’ve never been able to handle first person shooter games, but nothing else bothers me. So if the 3DS affects you, don’t buy it or return it.
Doing 3D right is no easy task. This past weekend I visited the Newseum (the News museum) in Washington which has what they call the “4-D Theater” – the fourth D being time. Using polaroid glasses, I found it not just very gimmicky but also quite unnatural.
Makes me think of generated FUD from competitors. Can you say glassgate?
Sounds like the gamers are having the same reactions as movie-goers. The media didn’t report it very widely, but a fair percentage of people simply cannot comfortably watch the faked 3D “effect” that provides the illusion of depth in movies, TVs and video games. They suffer headaches and nausea that get worse the longer they watch.
Not everyone experiences this, but it does seem to be more widespread among younger viewers. A survey in England found that about 25% of children had a negative reaction to viewing 3D content.
Hmm my iPod Touch games never made me sick, just thirsty….. FOR MORE IPOD TOUCH GAMES
I can verify the issue with the 3DS. My wife loves her 3DS, but not for the 3D, which she leaves turned off. I’d feel like I wasted my money if it weren’t for all the other design improvements over the DS Lite.
——RM
Ninttendo telling ppl not to play 3d for more than 30 minutes? What is the point of the 3d then?
It’s like telling the guy who bought the Ferrari not to drive faster than 55mph. Then why buy a Ferrari?
Just to add a fact to the above opinion…
The problem with all current commercial 3-D has been well known for many years, and it is that “our brains are not wired to accept the input from these devices” as stated above. Your brain receives different images to each eye which tells it that an object should be – say 10m/30′ away. However your eyes are focussing on the screen at say 30cm/12″ away. The conflicting signals (often along with almost imperceptible flickering) confuse the brain causing headaches and nausea in many people. It’s a very similar effect to what causes seasickness.
Leaving aside the issue of movies converted to 3D vs. those filmed in 3D, the problems some people have watching theatrical 3D is due to a particular sight-related defect that these people have.
One article about this issue reported that many people with this defect have otherwise normal vision (meaning they don’t wear glasses/contacts), but have a problem watching 3D movies. It also put the number people with this defect (whether they wear glasses/contacts or not) at less than 6% of the population.
Not everyone who wears glasses/contacts has this defect and can watch 3D movies with no problems… like my son and several family friends do.
If watching 3D movies causes you problems… don’t watch them. Go see the flat version.