Nintendo are considering including a usage monitor in the 3DS to allow parents to keep track of their children's playing time.

With the tremendous success of the Nintendo DS has come serious concerns from parents about how much time their children are playing it for is acceptable. Nintendo have been considering this when developing the 3DS and may include a gameplay monitor.

The feature, similar to one found in the Wii, is hoped to allow parents and children to reach an agreed playing limit and for parents to be able to easily check. Nintendo considered allowing parents to set that limit and the 3DS would cease to work once it had been reached but decided against it.

This idea was initially raised by a concerned parent who tried to set his own limit for his son's gameplay but it didn't work. He asked Nintendo what their recommended usage is and it led to the development of the gameplay monitor to possibly be included.

Nintendo also conducted some market research and found that video games are still the least socially accepted form of entertainment. They hope that by encouraging a healthy usage of video games they can turn the general consensus from "gaming disturbs study" to "gaming is unexpectedly good".

Excessive gaming has often been blamed for all sorts of problems, justifiably or not, and it is interesting to see Nintendo try and tackle the issue head on. Let's hope their intentions are met and it begins a shift in popular opinion to a more favourable perception of gaming.