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Saturday, May 7, 2011

Nintendo 3DS = Virtual Boy 2.0?

After a 15 hour nap, passing out in the bathroom for 3 1/2 hours and just feeling like pure shit in general, I bring you my thoughts on the health factor on the Nintendo 3DS and its close ties with the Nintendo Virtual Boy. NOTE: There is no connection with my sickness and this subject as I am too poor to own a 3ds.

No doubt some people have/want the new Nintendo 3DS. But is it the better version of "Virtual Boy" just with better graphics but the same warning label?

Nintendo's first go at portable 3d system. Yes, they marketed this as portable.

Nintendo has a warning on the 3DS advising players to take a break every 30 minutes from the system, should stop playing if they feel ill, and advise against children under the age of 6 from playing it all together. Is this just crazy propaganda started by the same parents that started the "Nintendo thumb" and "Wii elbow" trying to get a reason for their kids to put down the game, or is there a legitimate concern here?

I personally believe that there should be some concern. Other than my theory that Nintendo is trying to take over the game market literally by brainwashing the players to help Nintendo take over the world on top of buy out any and all Nintendo merch out there, I do see what people are trying to say here.

Much like the biggest flop in Nintendo's history, the Virtual Boy, the 3D gaming can cause eye strain, headaches etc. more so and faster than 2D gaming. And much like everything ever made in the history of ever it effects some people more than others, and some people have no effects at all. Does this mean I feel like the system should be pulled off shelves? Nope. I do feel like parents need to know their children a bit better and know if they walk out of a 3D movie with a headache, the 3D feature on this system probably needs to be disabled. The difference between the 3DS and the Virtual Boy? Well if you're not old enough to know what the Virtual Boy is and how horrible it was, here is a quick glimpse into the past of "portable" 3D gaming:

Mario Tenis Virtual Boy 1996
MarioKart 3DS 2011











As you can clearly see Nintendo has made a lot of progress in this market. And thank god! But what bugs me is that both systems carried similar warning labels, and something SUPER FISHY (to me) was that the Nintendo 3DS was released 15 years to the month the Virtual Boy was discontinued. Is this just coincidence? Or is Nintendo elaborately planning something here?!

Whatever the case may be Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata says the Virtual Boy paved the way for the 3DS and I fully agree. Without Nintendo going through that horrific machine known as a Virtual Boy, chances are we wouldn't have this new shiny piece of awesome known as the 3DS, at least not for a few more years.

My only fear is whats next on the agenda of portable gaming? State your opinion in the comments. And for further reading, check out Kotaku's article on the subject!

23 comments:

  1. The Nintendo 3ds, looks good, but I wouldn't buy one.

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  2. I don't see the concern, good to have portable competition and it only raises the quality of portable consoles. Personally though I'll be waiting for the PSP 2

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  3. @Zach The concern being it causes bad headaches and such. As for a new Sony gaming system...good luck on that.

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  4. I haven't had a hand held in a while. I have a 3d tv, and hurts my eyes after a while. So I don't know if I could handle a 3ds. Maybe not on 3d all the time.

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  5. I haven't tried either of them, so I can't really judge whether or not they cause any ill feeling, but I can see where the concern is coming from. I mean, just from looking at the Mario Tennis screenshot alone is making my eyes a little disoriented.

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  6. haha i remember playing the virtual boy man...that thing was COOL. (also kinda hard to play but whatever lol)

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  7. Haven't tried either one so don't know about the effects it has on me. Would be fun to try 3ds someday cos I'm always interested in new technology.

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  8. i'm not a 3d/nintendo fan...so it's nothing for me

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  9. I loved my Virtual Boy, as did everyone who played it. I have no regrets

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  10. Haha never heard of the virtual boy, great post!

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  11. I feel like I'm too old for handheld gaming for some reason

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  12. Haven't bought a handheld in a long time... might need to break the cycle.

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  13. I'm not that much of a nintendo fana nyways, so I'ma pass on the 3DS I think...
    Unless either KH, or FF or Zelda bring out major games (and not remakes...)

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  14. I want to officially go on the record, that I LOVED the Virtual Boy. I owned one, and I had a blast with it. Mario Tennis was great and so was the Wario game for it. As a 3DS owner now, I haven't had any problems with my eyes or anything! The 3D is awesome!

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  15. i kinda want one. but i dont pay attention to the warnings. For example: Killzone 3 has a warning you should take 15 min breaks every hour. yet i play for hours on end and i'm still fine afterwards

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  16. Oh man, at least the 3DS wont cause bleeding aneurisms like the old virtual boy did.

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  17. This 3D-hype is going too far.

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  18. 3D is getting too much now! especially the whole blue and red stuff.

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