The Sun still not shining on Nintendo's 3DS The Sun stepped up its slagfest towards Nintendo's 3DS today, subjecting a self-less volunteer to two hours of 3DS gaming to show just how bad the console may be for your health. 3DS sickbag After yesterday's spat in which the tabloid claimed retailers had received huge levels of 3DS returns - heavily disputed by Nintendo …
just lol.
i wonder if they've run these tests on readers?
page 3 could have the same effect on certain individuals...
"If this was your resting rate, I'd recommend you saw a GP about high blood pressure", said doctor Carol Cooper. "If this rate is sustained for a long period it could damage circulation".
Similarly, if your current rate of ageing is sustained for a long period it could make you older.
el reg, please stop reporting on the sun. it raises my blood pressure
She needs to be reported to the BMA for clearly not knowing anything about adrenalin.
Do they not teach things like that in medical school anymore?
"Getting excited increases pulse" shocker. I think that was on the first page of my A-level psych text-book.
She also doesn't appear to know how to conduct an experiment. Where's the control? If they had tested this against someone using a normal DS then that might have been vaguely scientific.
Even your average GCSE science student could design a better "experiment"
EX as in "has been"
SPURT as in "Drip under pressure".
Expert.....
This is nearly as funny as the profound comments we see from the page 3 girls..
"The micro economics of the last budget coupled with a sustained GDP will contribute to a healthier micro biotic climate." said sally, 21 as she stroked her baps...
The Sun is a fucking joke of a paper.. Thats why i read it...Keeps me amused and tethered to reality (which the Sun has no concept of).
it's probably a case of:-
doctor: "subject has high pulse after playing the game. as expected, due to adreneline, etc"
reporter: "pulse is high. gotcha. what would be the effects of resting pulse was that high, normally?"
doctor: "not good."
reporter, writing headline: "playing 3DS makes your heart go boom!"
He was playing *while walking* and his heart rate was above resting. That's... normal.
He played it in a car, and felt sick. Ohmygodsomebodythinkofthechildren -- carsickness... in a car! The 3DS is 3v1l incarnate!
And what's this nonsense about a sustained heartrate of 85 causing circulatory problems? My heart rate never drops below 120 during a sustained workout (including half-day cycle rides). This is to be expected.
I think the good^H^H^H^Hcrap doctor is confusing cause and effect. People with certain cardiovascular and/or circulatory problems may have high heartrates, but having a high heart rate at a given time doesn't indicate cardiovascular or circulatory problems.
I mean, do you honestly think that was the complete information that she gave? I would expect it probably went more like:
"Hi, I'm Dave from The Sun, have you got a minute to answer some questions on blood pressure?"
"Sure."
"If someone had a heart rate of 85 could it cause problems?"
"Not necessarily, it would be considered high if that was their resting rate, but other than that it would have to be raised to that level for very long periods of time before it would cause any form of circulatory problems."
"Thanks"
See what I did?
I think it's prudent for experts to never talk to such trash, but some of them probably:
a) could do with some easy cash to answer a few questions
b) naive and honestly think their views will be used fairly, and see something stupid and want to discredit it
The real fault lies with the shoddy reporting (and the fact that nowhere near enough is made of it) which could probably be quite damaging to the careers of some well-meaning people.
The Sun is owned by Murdoch, the 3DS is (for some weird reason) a competitor to the iPad, Murdoch makes dosh through the iPad app, The Sun has a vested interest in getting people away from the 3DS and buying the iPad instead - or am I being cynical?
I'll happily surrender myself to testing a 3DS for El Reg though, feel free to send me one in the post for extensive testing.
...The Sun are pissed off because they didn't get any of those 'scoop' full page advertising deals off Nintendo this time?? Possibly along with a 'Buy The Sun For A Year And Get A 3DS For Not Quite Full Price' promotion?
I'd suggest to The Sun that they get back to reporting news, but they've not actually done that for, well, ever really!
I still get nightmares from playing alcohol fuelled Doom network sessions 20 years ago. If you don't have any reaction then you're more than likely playing The Teletubbies meet Noddy without the naughty monkeys(*) add-on.
(*) The original is probably not allowed.
Doom was scary when I was playing it (I'm still not as old as some of those here, so I was of a frightening age when it came out). Especially that level with the demons in the dark and the flickering lights. It just pales into insignificance when compared to later things. AvP was indeed scary, as was System Shock 2.
I assume that Nintendo recommends that new users should not play with this device for hours on end.
I assume that it is also recommended, perhaps implicitly, that you do not stick the device up your arse and get a friend to hammer it in with a mallet, and then (you, not the friend, particularly) eat a very large curry.
I don't say that I look forward to reading about the latter experiment in disregard of reason and manufacturer's recommendation, in The Sun, because I almost never touch the filthy thing, but I do almost peruade myself that it would be interesting to hear about, if not to hear close by, or see, or to be in the firing line of.
to write the Nintendo story off because it's The Sun, there is some serious concerns about the the long-term damage to young eyes using the 3DS.
I have pretty good vision, and 20 minutes of gameplay was enough to give me nausea. To be honest thou, after 20 mins of the horrendously bad launch software, that was enough anway.
isn't really the same as damaging your eyes.
There's no physical process by which the 3DS can damage your vision, you just get a bit of eye strain, that's all. Anyone in the world who owns a computer, a television, or a book, is "straining" their eyes to use it. Who cares?
Obviously there are people in this world with a vested interested in making us all scared to death that we will go blind any day now. I've had 12 hours screen time every day for the last decade. My eyes are the only part of my body that isn't suffering.
Besides, when your eyes are suffering, your body tells you, it's called pain. Just like you can't run on a broken leg, you can't use strained eyes.
I'm not a doctor, but if it will make you feel any better, I will buy a doctorate on eBay.
Nintendo don't suggest letting your kids play the 3DS in 3D mode then? Advice from medical experts...
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/12/30/nintendo.3ds.kids/index.html
"Nintendo is warning young children against playing 3-D video games on its upcoming handheld gaming system, the Nintendo 3DS.
Kids age 6 and younger who play the 3-D games may have the growth of their eyes stunted, the company said in a statement on its Japanese website."
THIS IS NINTENDO ITSELF.......
>There's no physical process by which the 3DS can damage your vision
Poking it in your eye should do the trick.
More seriously.
I'm no medical doctor either but as I understand it the way the 3D effect is acheived is by having pixels at slight angles so that one eye sees one set and the other eye a different set. This does put strain on eyes, especially developing eyes, or more correctly developing eye muscles as in the case of young children. Nintendo do not recommend this device for youngsters for this reason. It could potentially cause permanent damage to their vision.
So whether you like it or not, think of the children.
Out of the 5 3ds games I got SF is the ONLY one that gets me mad. That AI in that game is frustratingly cheap. On easy after stage 3 I find all the AI does is counter your moves no matter what you do...
I got pissed with it after 30 mins and not touched it since.
Pilot wings, and ridge Racer the 2 other games I played a lot so far have not made me one bit angry, and I've sat playing them for over 3 hours non-stop.
"Stay on the couch, that walk to the fridge could elevate your blood pressure and kill you. KILL YOU!"
Oh, and forget about sex, too. Or about asking the new cutie in the mailroom out for a coffee, for that matter.
And think of the childrens! All these classes, exams and tests and whatnot are potentially deadly! Ban school!
On the other end, education leads to long meetings in overheated rooms with comfy chairs, which are guaranteed to keep your blood pressure and hearth rate low. Dangerously low, even*. Oh noes, an other death trap!
*if you don't actually listen to the bullshit directly pulled from the latest "management for dummies"-style book, that is. That drivel is guaranteed to make you burst a vein or two.
the sun that is...
Like what every other person said.. when wil the sun do an expose on the dangers of exercise, or rollercoasters (no that would kill the alton towers and thorpe park kickbacks) or watching horror films (actually they've done that one to death haven't they)
I remember seeing a while ago a sun "investigation" into energy drinks where their hapless volunteer had to drink a large can of redbull every 20 minutes or something.. unsurprisingly after a couple of hours he was a jittery monster with a high heart rate and kept rushing off to the loo..
also from what I remember their 22 year old volunteer (new junior writer) likes his kebabs and beers a bit too much so his resting heart rate probably isn't too healthy anyway...
The only justification for the the crap that The Sun pours out is 'But the readers wouldn't buy if they didn't like it'. Show them you don't like it, don't buy it. Vote with your money. It's the only vote that counts any more.*
* probably the only vote that anyone ever took any notice of.
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