With the recent news of Nintendo's 3DS becoming available for pre-order, gamers are getting more and more excited about the prospects of the new handheld system. There is little doubt in most people's minds that the 3DS will be a hit and Nintendo has even gone on record in saying it will be another landmark in the company's legendary history. However, health concerns may stand between the 3DS and world dominance.

The 3DS hasn't even been given an exact release date and Nintendo is already issuing health warnings regarding the hardware and its highly buzzed about 3D functionality. The bulk of the warnings deal with the effect of 3D on children six years and younger, but some apply to all users.

Check out the full list of health warnings below.

  • Quicker eye fatigue as a result of viewing 3D
  • Some 3D software can cause eyes to become tired quicker than other software
  • Nintendo recommends players take a break after 30 minutes of play
  • “If your physical condition worsens or you become ill, please stop playing at once”
  • 3D has different effects on different people
  • 3D slider allows a wider group of people to enjoy the system
  • 3D not recommended for children under the age of six as the vision of young children is still in developmental stages (like 3D movies and television)
  • “Since the Nintendo 3DS can be changed to 2D to avoid any effects on young children’s vision, it is possible for anyone to enjoy playing it”
  • Once again, there will be parental controls for 3D
Nintendo 3DS Landmark Release

Analysts predict 2011 will be big for the 3DS and video games in general, and these recent health concerns probably won't hinder Nintendo's performance on the sales charts but just in case, Nintendo has included a slider switch that allows users to instantly turn on or off the 3D capabilities of the 3DS. With this slider, worried parents or blurry-eyed kids can choose to turn off the 3D imaging on the 3DS if it becomes a problem. At E3, many users were turning it down when playing regardless.

A potential problem with these health concerns will be in how developers address the issue. If a development studio designs its entire game around 3D gameplay elements and then certain people aren't allowed to fully enjoy them, it could hurt their user base and sales.

Just wait, the next generation of gamers will sneak away from their parents and slide the dangerous 3D slider to the highest "on" position to view the forbidden three-dimensional visuals. Stories will be told in schoolyards everywhere about the magic of 3D graphics along with the horror stories of exaggerated eye damage.

In all seriousness though, the 3DS health warnings may not be as severe as some are pretending it to be and will most likely amount to nothing more than the current health warnings that suggest people not play for more than a hour at a time. Who does that anyway? We can safely say that the 3DS isn't as bad for you as Nintendo's failed Virtual Boy system of the mid-90s.

Do you think the 3DS will suffer from 3D health concerns and how long do you play video games for in a single sitting?

The 3DS does not have an official release date yet, but will be available some time in 2011.

Source: Nintendo Everything