Nintendo 3DS May Have Trouble With Your Beard

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The Nintendo 3DS is just a few days away from being released in the Western world. With the big jump in hardware performance, augmented reality gaming and of course, 3D gaming, you may think the facial recognition stuff is getting lost in the shuffle of new 3DS features. And you’re probably right. But, a leaked page from the US version of the 3DS manual shows that your new Nintendo 3DS may have trouble recognizing you depending on your facial hair, and other things.

This problem isn’t unique to the 3DS by any means. All facial recognition software has trouble recognizing people. But, I guess the front-facing camera on the Nintendo 3DS may have more trouble than most?

Here are the tips listed in the leaked pictures of the instruction manual:

• Take photos in a well-lit area.
• Face the screen directly.
• Move bangs/hair so the camera can see your eyebrows.
• Remove glasses.
• The background, hair color, beard and facial/hair decorations can interfere with the facial recognition.
• (I quote) “In rare cases, differences in facial features may make the facial recognition process fail.”

Regarding that last bit, I believe all facial recognition software looks at your cheek bones – so if yours are disfigured or something, you may have issues using the Nintendo 3DS front-facing camera.

Will this affect gameplay? I believe the only thing that uses the facial recognition feature of the Nintendo 3DS at US launch is the Mii Maker utility. There is a dating game for the 3DS coming to Japan where your virtual girlfriend will recognize your face and will respond differently if somebody else opens up the game.