Nintendo's Chief Defends 3DS
The president of Nintendo Co. acknowledged that the company’s recent warning against young children playing its new hand-held 3-D game machine could hurt its sales, but said the 3DS isn’t a “dangerous” product.
“We are being proactive about informing our customer, even though it may not necessarily be positive for our sales,” said Satoru Iwata, Nintendo’s president, in a rare interview.
The health-related warning, which said children six years old and younger shouldn’t play games in 3-D mode on the soon-to-be released 3DS hand-held game device, was meant to be a precautionary measure to inform customers, said Mr. Iwata. He did not deny the view that concerns over possible litigation was one of the factors behind the warning, but he also said that it was not the main reason.
The company said on its website late last month that looking at 3-D images for long periods of time could have an adverse effect on eyesight development. The warning caused a stir, in part because it didn’t provide details on the medical evidence.
