(See Corrections & Amplifications Below.)

Nintendo Co. warned that young children shouldn't play three-dimensional games on a hotly anticipated new game device, citing possible health risks and raising concerns about a technology that many hoped would boost the appeal of 3-D entertainment in the home.

The Japanese company said on its website that children 6 years old and younger shouldn't play 3-D games on the coming Nintendo 3DS hand-held game machine, due for release in Japan in February. The company said looking at 3-D images for a long period of time could have an adverse effect on the eyesight development of young children.

Unlike movie theaters and most high-end television sets on the market today, the Nintendo 3DS is expected to be among the first mainstream products to deliver 3-D images to viewers without requiring them to wear specialized glasses.

Given scant evidence of medical dangers, it wasn't known what prompted the warning from Nintendo, which echoed that of other 3-D manufacturers. Some people in the industry speculated that it was a prospective effort to fend off litigation.