Sony Says PlayStation VR Headset Off Limits To Children Under 12 Years Old

When Sony released the beta for PlayStation 4's 3.50 firmware last week, the company explained what was new: friend notifications, offline mode, event scheduling, Dailymotion streaming support, and more. These are all good things, but as it turns out, a juicy morsel was also included just waiting to be unearthed: an update to the "Health and Safety" warning screen.

Alright, that might not sound too interesting, but the update relates to VR, and signals that we're closer than ever to seeing Sony drop its PlayStation VR kit. It also signals the age group that is meant to use PS VR: to put it simply, it's no one under the age of 12.

It's not mentioned in the update why kids under 12 should avoid using the product, but some speculate that it's due to the fact that at 12, your eyes are still developing, and spending many hours playing VR games probably isn't good for eye development.

The update features some other good advice as well, including reviewing the area to make sure you're not going to trip over something, which includes closing doors and keeping animals out. The last thing anyone needs is to trip over a running cat and land right on top of a fire poker.

This is all good advice, capped off with the most common sense tip of all: stop using the product if you feel motion sickness. Even if VR doesn't bother you at first, it doesn't mean that you'll be fine with it over the long haul. It'd be wise to take regular breaks and evaluate whether you should continue. Playing VR for a long period of time does sound like a more vastly more fun way to get dizzy than many other things on Earth, but ideally, you'll avoid it entirely.