4m Nintendo 3DS globally by end of March
Iwata talks shipments, defends child warning.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said that the platform holder intends to ship 1.5 million units of its new 3DS handheld in Japan by the end of March.
The company expects to ship four million worldwide in that period. Nintendo is expected to announce North American and European launch specifics on 19th January.
Over the weekend Nintendo unveiled the Japanese launch line-up for 3DS, fronted by first-party title Nintendogs+Cats.
Speaking to the Japanese edition of the Wall Street Journal (translated by Andriasang), Iwata also said that the console packaging and documentation would advise parents to avoid letting young children play in 3D for prolonged periods.
This follows advice issued by Nintendo earlier this month that children under six years old should only use the console in 2D mode – something the platform holder enforced at its Nintendo World event in Japan this weekend.
Iwata said that certain unnamed specialists believe extended 3D viewing could have a negative effect on vision in young children – something disputed by US experts last week.
Nintendo was concerned because of the way that parents allow children to use its products for very prolonged periods, Iwata said, as a kind of babysitter – but he also said that the warnings were precautionary and not meant to mean that the systems are dangerous.