Over 6 million Brits can't see 3D

About 12% of the population have 3D vision problems.

According to a study carried out by UK charity The Eyecare Trust, over six million Brits have poor binocular vision, meaning they have difficulty or cannot see 3D effects in games and movies.

"It's more than you think," Dharmesh Patel, chairman of The Eyecare Trust, told MCV. "About 12 per cent have 3D vision problems and you'll find a similar percentage worldwide.

"I don't think there are any long-term negative impacts. But it can create really bad headaches and aches behind the eyes. For these six million people it's like taking the 3D glasses off, making everything all blurry. You can't see the image and that causes headaches, eye-strain and blurred vision."

Patel added that there could be millions of consumers unaware of their vision problems.

"There will be people who have not attended an eye examination in years and are probably unaware they have a lazy eye or something like that.

"Some people won't even know why they can't see it. Sometimes something can be done, but it depends on the individual case."

3D was one of the buzz terms at E3 last month, with Sony pushing 3D games on its PS3 and Nintendo unveiling its 3DS handheld platform. Both technologies rely on our brain processing individual images from the left and right eyes to achieve a perception of depth.