With the release of the Nintendo 3DS looming, as well as an upsurge in 3D films and TVs, many people may be wondering whether the effects used to create 3D images could cause lasting eye damage, as well as nausea and headaches. With Nintendo themselves following the lead of Hollywood by recommending that children under the age of seven don't view 3D images, apparently on the basis that no-one knows how 3D could affect young children, as their eyes may still be developing - even though they should technically have stopped by the time they reach three - there hasn't been all that much said about how 3D might affect adults - especially with the news that one in ten of us can't use 3D anyway.
Taken moments before Dave had to rush to the bathroom...
For Nintendo, the area of 3D-induced side-effects is somewhat familiar territory - back in 1995 they released a console known as the Virtual Boy. Made up of a very bulky pair of red goggles and controller, you played it by looking into the goggles - which gave a picture with the illusion of 3D. Because of how the 3D worked, it caused problems for some people, and cases of nausea and headaches were reported - these, coupled with a rather muted reception saw the Virtual Boy being discontinued the following year.
Learning from their previous mistakes, as well as the fact that 3D has come on in leaps and bounds since then, the 3DS should cause none of these problems - and if it does, the 3DS will have a handy switch to turn the 3D effect off. But for all the worried parents out there, one of the problems 3D will not cause is lasting eye damage, according to a top LA doctor, Dr. Mark Borchert - "There are people who get uncomfortable with it, get eye strain or headaches, or on much rarer occasions, a sense of imbalance or nausea, but there is no evidence it can cause permanent harm to your vision or use of both eyes together or anything like that."So there you have it. With the release of the 3DS, glasses-free 3D will be readily available to everyone - and without any effect on your eyes. At least, until anyone proves otherwise.
