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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."
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.
But.. But.. But what about all those children!
The ones that surf.. "Craigslist" (Obviously a bastion for Child Surfing) to get Friend Codes.. to Chat and get Lured!
I mean, have you seen the main craigslist page? Might as well be candy to the unsuspecting child.
And then, worst thing of all, is some Lester the Molester might post directions on how to get to his house on a decal in Mario Kart! How can our kids even combat this temptation!
Quick, Someone put a stop to these evil internets and interwebs.
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.
I mean, reading the article, it's obvious it's a parody.
I think they know.
lampoon (lm-pn') pronunciation
n.
1. A written attack ridiculing a person, group, or institution. See synonyms at caricature.
2. A light, good-humored satire.
However, the original article from ABC is, in fact, serious. It's also so ridiculously inaccurate, it's scary. Quoth I: "Predators are using Nintendo DS anywhere in the world. And it's going to be really hard to track down those individuals because of course, they're on a wireless network from a hotspot such as a coffee shop." which is totally false - as PictoChat only works DS-to-DS, which means the person they're talking to is a few feet away.
I dunno about you, but I think I can track a DS user who's a few feet away. I'm probably going to look for the guy holding a Nintendo DS who's not me.
But then again, this is why I don't watch local news. To paraphrase the Daily Show, "Is the media too sensationalist? Find out tonight, in our no-holds-barred expose that just might save your family's life."
I sent them a "compliment" with a "tip" to the concerned mother, telling her to call the police or inform a manager if her child is meeting predators in Pictochat, because they have to be close by to communicate in that program. I also told her to tell her kid not to give her friend code out. I was cheery and "helpful" so maybe that'll help them realize what a bunch of idiots they are for running that story.
I honestly can't believe they found a "security expert" who was willing to ignore the fact that it was technically impossible for someone to incite the described scenario over the internet. He lied to get on TV, so, shame on him.
Also, I wish they'd stop saying that the DS is intended to be a childrens' toy. It certainly is something small kids would enjoy, and it certainly is a toy, but a lot of adults have them and enjoy them and get together at PAX to draw penises at each other while getting smashed. It's not like a Leappad or something.
My favorite part: 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.
If the poster is 65 feet away from your child, then it would be easier to shoot your kid or flash them or something.
Man, I wish I could get Pictochat to work that way, though. A buddy list and a better chat client, and it would be great.
I overestimated and told them 300 feet. Oops.
The PSP has VoIP to anywhere in the world in some games yet they target the system that has to be within 65 feet to send messages.
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...
The story actually states "Nintendo claims". Did anyone else read this as suggesting they would rather believe their moronic so-called expert?
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
Unlikely. There's no real precedent of Action News channels admitting how full of crap they are. And why would they? They have no incentive to do so as it stands. They must have known the story was garbage when they made it. Any idiot can tell that the DS only chats locally. So they willfully overlooked the truth to get ratings through sensastionalism. Pointing out their error won't cause them to correct their mistake, because it wasn't an honest one, it was a willful deception. What are they going to do, go on TV and say, "Oh our bad, we lied right through our teeth the other day, but we got some polite calls, so we'll retract what we said now." Not going to happen.
Basically our only realistic hope is to annoy them so much that they (and other TV news shows) realize that if they libel video gamers again it's just going to clog their phones and email boxes and make their lives miserable. The other options are to complain to the FCC about the blatantly misleading nature of the program and hope that they threaten to pull their license and to encourage Nintendo to sue, but neither is that likely to happen given the spinelessness of the FCC and the difficulty of proving libel in America. There's not really much hope for justice. All we can do is annoy them and hope they learn their lesson.
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