Nintendo 3DS Headaches or Eye Sores Are Uncommon, Specialist Says

A specialty doctor has recently weighed in on the possible side effects caused by the use of the new Nintendo 3DS handheld console, which have been causing plenty of debates in the last few weeks.

Ever since the launch of the Nintendo 3DS handheld, the console has been linked with numerous reports about it causing headaches, eye sores and various other things to new owners that weren't used with the 3D effect on the console.

This culminated in a report earlier this week from British tabloid The Sun, which claimed that the 3DS is "the most returned games console ever," with "thousands" of new owners taking it back to stores after complaining of headaches and eye sores.

Now, CVG has talked with University of Cambridge graphics and imaging expert Dr. Neil A. Dodgson, who shared some insight about how the 3D effect works, in general.

"All current commercial 3D technologies (3DS, 3DTV, 3D movies) require a disconnect between accommodation and vergence," Dr. Dodgson explained. "There are two sets of muscles in the eyes, one of which focuses the eyes on the thing you are looking at (accommodation), the other of which converges the eyes at the position you are looking (vergence)."

According to the doctor, the two sets of muscles work together in real world conditions, but are required to move independently when faced with 3D technologies.

There are people that are very sensitive to the situation of the muscles not working together, which results in them experiencing issues like headaches or eye sores.

"Unfortunately, there are some people who are very sensitive to the situation where those two muscle systems are not working together. The effect, for them, will be a feeling of sore eyes or a headache, which will cause no permanent damage but will mean that they cannot use the 3D device. Fortunately for the 3D industry, these 'very sensitive' people are relatively uncommon," he concluded.

His statement backs up others from Nintendo itself, which revealed that the return rate for the 3DS was in normal values and that its customer support service wasn't flooded with complains about headaches or eye sores up until now.

During our Nintendo 3DS hardware and software review, we found that, while in some cases players can easily get headaches from using it, it all depends on how powerful the 3D effect is and the eyesight of the player.