Nintendo 3DS is game for a barf - The Sun conducts 'scientific study'

[b3nn3tt]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3511602/Sun-tests-sickly-Nintendo-3DS.html

Basically, The Sun (UK newspaper) had one of their employees play on a 3DS in four thrity-minute sessions. They measured his heart rate and blood pressure during each session and reported any negative effects

The problem is, the 'tests' are ridiculous. One session was conducted in a moving vehicle, and the guy reported feeling nauseous; I'm pretty sure that has nothing to do with the 3DS, as people have the same reaction to reading a book when driving

There's also a section in the article where his pulse is raised whilst playing the 3DS whilst walking down a street, and the doctor notes that if it were his resting rate he should get himself checked for high blood pressure. But it's not his resting rate, he's walking down the street

They conclude by saying that children shouldn't play the 3DS for two hours at a time, but Nintendo tell you this themselves in the instruction book

Thoughts on this? Personally, I think it's a very poor 'study' with no redeeming features. I was wholly unconvinced by the claims

Apologies if this has already been posted, I did a search and found nothing

EDIT: Obviously, this is The Sun, it is hardly well-known for its high standards of scientific research. But a lot of people will believe whatever they read in a newpaper

 

[dagens24]

Leave scientific studies to scientists.

 

[Jarcin]

Maybe I'm getting my papers mixed up but...isn't The Sun known for being a bit...ridiculous?

 

[Veloxe]

They should have tested his heart rate while running from a pack of bulls and playing the 3DS, that would have given them more dramatic results. Or maybe while sky diving.

 

[imnot]

The Sun
[HEADING=3]The sun[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]THE SUN[/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]THE SUN[/HEADING]

 

[joemegson94]

God, I hate The Sun. The newspaper, not the celestial body. It goes to show that in this country, if you show the average person a woman with a big enough pair of tits, you can come out with whatever crap you want and have thm believe it.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

lol The Sun

Anyway, having finally tried the 3DS for myself, the only real issue I had was eye-strain.

 

[Eddy-16]

Well it was in The Sun what do you expect?

 

[anthony87]

It's The Sun.....so page 3 tits or GTFO.

I kid of course but seriously......it's The Sun.

 

[joemegson94]

On the day othe newspapers were reporting events in Libya, where many people are being killed and things are actually happening, The SUn's headline was Jordan: I've got a Lot in Common with those Fat Gypsies.

Yes yo have, Jordan. Yes, you have.

 

[ten.to.ten]

That's funny, I usually barf when I read The Sun.

 

[TurboPanda]

Basing your results on 1 person is pointless. Then again this is the Sun so what do you expect. I bet in a few years time they'll introduce Page 3D.

 

[DanteVX]

Yeah, see the problem with this 'scientific' study is that they forgot to include the science part, but then hey its The Sun, they aren't actually a newspaper as they fail to produce anything that is actually news.

As the OP points out, all of it is bad science. The reason the 'Doctor' specifically said 'if this were a resting heart rate' is because The Sun were purposely reaching for anything that could make the product seem damaging and couldn't get her to say anything else.

To play positivist advocate here, this is really sloppy. They have not controlled for any variables. See when you do a study as I am sure we all know, as we don't read The Sun for anything other than amusement or annoyance, to do something like this you need to have a set of controls that you would compare to so you know that you are actually testing the variable you want to. So what this article has shown is that blood pressure in overweight people is connected to the physical activities they were doing at the time (tactical face palm for the obvious there).

I don't particularly want to go any further, on the basis I realise I am writing a wall of text on something that really probably doesn't need it as its obviously bad. Lets leave science to the intelligent people and let the The Sun get back to Pop Idol and X Factor.

 

[Aesmodan]

First thing I thought of when I read this thread was this newsbit I read a while ago, where an Optometrist is calling the Nintendo 3DS an excellent tool for detecting vision problems in kids under the age of 6. Another is claiming that the 3DS has no impact on the sight of Rhesus monkeys, which are very close to those of humans.

Interesting stuff to the contrary of what even Nintendo is saying about their own product, but what they're clearly doing is issuing a legal disclaimer to avoid class action lawsuits...

Cheers,
-Aes

 

[TelHybrid]

This is why I don't read pieces of trash like The Sun or The Daily Mail.

 

[Ickorus]

Im pretty sure The Sun is owned my Rupert Murdoch, the very same man who owns Fox News.

 

[Ickorus]

Im pretty sure The Sun is owned my Rupert Murdoch, the very same man who owns Fox News.

 

[MetalDooley]

There's also a section in the article where his pulse is raised whilst playing the 3DS whilst walking down a street, and the doctor notes that if it were his resting rate he should get himself checked for high blood pressure. But it's not his resting rate, he's walking down the street

Not to mention the fact that the "reporter" doesn't exactly look like the fittest guy in the world so any type of physical activity would cause an increase in heart rate

This would be laughable if The Sun wasn't one of the highest selling papers in the UK and Ireland.Unfortunately there's a lot of people who'll believe anything that rag prints

 

[British-Hobo]

Carol's verdict: Children shouldn't play for hours at a time.

Oh, okay, because there must be something wrong with the console if a doctor is reccomending kids don't play it constantly.

I hate the Britsh press. They can write any old shit they want and people will buy into it.