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Nintendo DS Hurts The Children!
GameSetWatch has a humorous lampoon of an ABC-6 Action News report on the dangers your child can face in the seedy world of Mario Kart. From the article: "We've been struggling in trying to figure out how kids can be 'lured into dangerous chat rooms' while using the Nintendo DS, considering that the DS's chat program, PictoChat, can not be used over the internet, and also keeping in mind that the only way to interact with a living being over the internet through your Nintendo DS is to do so through a game that supports Nintendo WiFi Connection, all of which require both parties to input 'friend codes' before they can play with each other."
I don't know what's worse, the self-righteous tone of the article or emblazoning goatse.cx on my retinas.
Skip this stupid article. It isn't funny. It isn't interesting or insightful. It's dumb and obnoxious. Like Carrot Top.
Why is it that whenever I see an article about the DS, I see this terrible old prototype render from 2003?
MOUNT TAPE U1439 ON B3, NO RING
The more obvious danger of any Nintendo system is the imminent addiction to Video Game stores, and the games sections of any major department store. Partial relief from high prices can be found in pawn shops, and on eBay, but the only known cure is complete cold turkey quitting.
Being lured into dangerous chats is a problem more likely from letting your kids sit in front of any Internet connection without ever checking what they are doing online.
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
"Action News"!? I thought that was a Simpsons joke.
Won't somebody please think of the children!
Demented But Determined.
It's all sensationalist shit to get ratings.
How's does it go again: Move along! Nothing to see here!.
It airs tonight at 11 EST. Anyone in the Philadelphia area get ABC 6?
Where's the big foot icon for this post? I mean, reading the article, it's obvious it's a parody.
... Oh, wait...
Do the editors not edit or something?
The article is right. This is completely preposterous.
BTW, anyone who wants to win a free Nintendo DS* just visit AOL Teen Chat and send me your A/S/L.
*Free Nintendo DS not guaranteed
The ______ Agenda
In Soviet Russia children prey on ABC-6.
I'm vaguely reminded of Brass Eye and its satirical criticism of video games (for the non-initiated, they got a bunch of easily-bought celebrities to come on camera and say that a cartoon dog's eyes on a game could be used as a webcam by a paedophile).
In short; utter fucking bollocks.
By summer it was all gone...now shesmovedon. --
Oh, come on. She said she was having trouble with people talking to her child on Pictochat, which only has about a 300 foot range. There is no internet-enabled Pictochat. She could call the cops. It would be an easy catch since she knows more or less where the guy is.
If her child keeps seeing the same behavior in a certain place, she should berate whoever is in charge for letting child molesters use it as a fishing point.
Again, how about posting a direct link to the article making crackpot claims instead of somebodys blog?
ABC News "report" here
They are indeed claiming the Nintendo DS is some kind of perverse tool of evil, they completely ignore the differences between the ad-hoc network capability and the online play and use the word "claim" to downplay Nintendos technical explaination.
This silly news station has an entire section devoted to children (http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=childre n_first&id=3297128). After browsing through it for a moment I found this little gem:
:P .
"I have a friend of mine who told me that his son was on-line when he was thirteen, and a sexual predator had wanted him to send nude pictures of himself to them, and my friend sent him a major virus for his computer."
This is from a *Police Chief* who doesn't seem to realize that he incriminated his friend. But then again, his friend probably wasn't l33t enough to send him a "major virus", so two wrongs might have made a right
Perhaps stupidity is infectious in this community?
Someone could also throw a DS to the kid's face after losing in Mario Kart.
//WR
Let's all go to the channel 6 website, hit the contact button, email them, then say, "Y'all are f'cking retarded."
Also, let's contact the FCC and complain about the slanderous nature of the show. Let's face it, the report is straight up libel. What they say is false, and they most certainly know it. Anyone who has even seen a DS is aware that PictoChat cannot be used over the internet, but they act like it can. False + intent to defame = a crime.
So, let's also encourage Nintendo to sue them.
Go here: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=stationi nfo&id=3293957
To file a complaint. I did. We need to hold these reporters' feet to the fire. Insiste they cease their fearmongering and shoddy journalism.
Mario Kart DS does not require a friend code to play online. A friend code is only required to play against a friend. Of course, there's still no threat to the children. The worst that could happen is somebody draws a penis for his logo. The one that could be a threat since it has a chat function, Animal Crossing, does require a friend code to play a game so you're damn sure whose DS and game cartridge combination you're playing against.
Seriously, this kind of ultra-sensationalized bullshit borders on liable and slander (as there is an article version online as well); it wouldn't be a bad idea for Nintento to consider drawing up a lawsuit.
Ex nihilo nihil fit.
Long day, slight dyslexia. :)
Ex nihilo nihil fit.
On the right side of the article, there is a video link that links to the afore mentioned article.
:-/
The same link is on the front page of the site.
I want to hear a report talk about this seriously with a straight face.
I am aghast.
Not sure at what exactly.
But, don't parents teach their kids that an "unknown person" (what exactly is an unknown person anyways?) who isn't acting like he wants a game of Mario Kart isn't someone you want to talk to?
"All you have to do is be fragile and grateful. So stay the underdog." Chuck Palahniuk, Choke
The **only** real way a Nintendo DS can hurt a child is if the child whacks him/herself with it really hard casusing massive brain damage.
Navicula hydraulica plena anguilarum est. Omnes castelli tuus nostri sunt. Ed elli avea del cul fatto trombetta.
If your kid is reading craigslist. You have a lot more things to worry about than a stranger asking what they are wearing.
let the station know what you think of thier reporting at
866-639-7749
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
RTFP.
They neatly placed a little note...
"Also, beware, there are other wireless gaming systems made by different manufacturers and they may have similar issues."
You mean, the PSP is ALSO capable of hurting children?
Funny doesn't add to your karma. Informative does. If someone really likes a joke, they'll mod it informative or insightful to make sure the poster gets karma. In this case, Informative was more funny.
Are they assuming that people don't read the media? They say how scared they were of putting their name, age and location into their DS' Pictochat to someone who's within 70 feet of them (or however long the distance is), but they're quite happy to put their name, age and location in an article on a very public website, which subsequently gets linked to by Slashdot and the like, hence being seen by far more people than it would if they'd just put it into their DS to start with...
Actually, they may soon have something to worry about.
Opera for the DS.
Japan only, I'm afraid. We'll see if it can run on this side of the pond.
The ______ Agenda
I can see it now on pictochat...
"Princess Peach! GET OUT NOW! The signal is coming from within the Castle!"
Hasn't Nintendogs got a function where you can record a 5sec voice message, which is sent when the system finds another Nintendog? The only thing left is how to pack as much obscenity and peadophelia into a five second recording.
Of course the DS hurts children, especially when you throw it at them.
What's with the recent surge in stories about evil child predators lurking in the corners of the internet just waiting to solicit your child for buttsecks or at least explicit pics? I get the feeling somebody is pushing an agenda somewhere, and it's not for the sake of the children.
If your child gets solicited repeatedly on the internet, it's your own damn fault for not paying attention to/controlling what your child is doing. If you're not going to supervise your children's behavior on the internet, at least teach them that sometimes Suzie is really Steve, and sometimes 16 is really 46. Stop relying on the government to raise your damn children.
Wow - I discovered your story about Pictochat and the horrors of using the Nintendo DS to play games such as Mario Kart over the Internet, and the issues that my 6 year old daughter could run into.
v acy.jsp ). And it should be mentioned that this program does not run over ther Internet - only local radius. Luckily, I keep my daughter and two sons with a strict no-pedophile radius of 100 yards.
Such as - playing a game (such as Mario Kart) which features no communication ability with a child predator (in neither text nor audio format, since the game connection simply assigns competitors and does not allow them to chat).
And Pictochat - I have to worry about that one, since she will have to be within 65 feet of a child predator for a connection to be made (as detailed at http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/ds/dspri
My apologies. As a father of three children who play everything from catch to chess to - yes, Mario Kart - with them, and who works in the videogame industry, I found your article well meaning, but sorely lacking in facts.
Nintendo should be *praised* for their efforts to allow children to play with each other safely over the Internet. Their system requires either a) close contact (as with Pictochat), which removed the "Internet stranger" fear, or b) allows play without any form of communication, so I can allow my child to play with it over the Internet without fear of molestation. Even other games that allow communication such as "Animal Crossing" do so on a very strict "invite only" system, which prevents strangers from communicating with my daughter. This lets me allow her to play "Animal Crossing" to write letters to the town's animal friends, create clothing and art patterns, and work with a budget to purchase a "house" within the game. All while feeling safe with Nintendo's efforts to protect my daughter on the Internet.
Your intentions were good, and there are issues with certain online technologies (such as the Microsoft Xbox Live which allows voice chat, and should only be used by adults or with adult supervision, as with any full interaction online technology). However, as I mentioned, Nintendo is a company that has worked very hard to allow both adult and children to play online safely, and deserves our praise, not fear mongers.
My apologies for the length of this letter, and I wish you well.
Yours,
John Hummel
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
let the station know what you think of thier reporting
This is like feeding trolls. All you do by inundating them with feedback is prove to them that their grossly inaccurate and misleading story has succeeded in attracting a lot of attention. Which in turn means increased traffic (and thus ad revenues) on their website.
Perhaps a better approach is to sic Nintendo (and their crack legal team) on them.
Must... think up... something... clever!
Once again, your article at http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=special_ coverage&id=3905371 (about the "dangers" of the Nintendo DS) is a pack of lies. None of the claims it makes are true. There are not sexual predators out looking for children with Nintendo DSes. It's simply not possible.
For your own sake I hope you realize you should remove this article from your web site, or you may face a libel suit from Nintendo.
This article is a mockery of the journalistic process and does nothing but expose your station for the sham that it is.
Next time you want to do a program about how video games are "dangerous" for kids, don't call in a paid shill as an expert. The guy you called "internet safety expert Keith Dunn" is selling a program that lets you spy on your children. Let me explain something to you: He wants you to scare parents into buying it so he can make a buck off of their ignorance. Sentences like "Nintendo confirms what happened to Emily is possible but the company claims that person must also be using another DS system and be within 65 feet" are playing into his hands. It's possible for a child predator to go out in public and hold up a big poster with his name on it, too, but I don't see you going after people who make posterboard and saying that they "claim" they don't intend for it to happen. The Nintendo DS' chat function can only operate within a local area of 65-100 feet. This isn't a "claim," it's a scientific fact. The wireless card in the DS cannot reach any further than that. Period.
For a child to be in danger from sexual predators, their parents would have to leave them unattended and walk over 100 feet away from them for an extended period of time. It would be very simple for them to pick out possible child predators, too - just look for people holding a Nintendo DS who aren't your child. Simple as that.
Fearmongering, scare tactics, and an "expert" who is essentially using you to huck a product. Yes, it certainly sounds like you're doing a fantastic job of crapping all over journalistic integrity. Keep up the fantastic work.
I am scientifically inaccurate.
Isn't it the parent's job to protect their children from anything they think might be dangerous for them? Pushing this responsibility on to anyone else (companies, teachers, community) should be considered child neglect.
Just my thought, and I'm a dad.