The next age of video games is upon us, and it's filled with even more technology that will bring us together, letting us connect with people in new and fantastic ways.
But that might not always be a good thing. And just to remind everybody of the dangers of this increasingly online-connected society and gaming landscape, Nintendo pulled a feature from its 3DS on Thursday, after learning that some users were firing off "offensive material" to others.
SwapNote, a nifty 3DS app, just lost ts online SpotPass functionality.
If you're not familiar with SwapNote, here's the lowdown. It's something that really and truly plays into the ethos of the 3DS, letting you handwrite or draw little notes on the console and share them with other users. It's not an essential app, but in this world of connectivity, it was a fun way to send a message.
Except it wound up being misused. So now, you can use SwapNote, but you can't use it with SpotPass, something that will prevent gamers from sending random handwritten messages to people they don't know.
"Nintendo has learned that some consumers, including minors, have been exchanging their friend codes on Internet bulletin boards and then using Swapnote (known as Nintendo Letter Box in other regions) to exchange offensive material," Nintendo said in a statement. "Nintendo has been investigating ways of preventing this and determined it is best to stop the SpotPass feature of Swapnote because it allows direct exchange of photos and was actively misused."
It's the latest reminder of the dark side of this interconnected gaming universe. For as much fun as it is to have a conversation with a friend while playing a game on Xbox Live, or to Skype on the Kinect, or to a simple message over the PlayStation Network, things can get ugly quickly.
The positive applications connect us, help us make new gamer friends, and definitely make gaming fun. And as visuals hit an all-time high and gameplay essentially relies on the same conventions it has for years, this certainly seems like the next step in the genre.
But the negative underbelly exists. Some people will always curse on Xbox Live, and others will continually send you questionable messages if and when you beat them in an online game. Even something as simple as an iPhone FaceTime call can turn dangerous in the wrong hands.
And now, some have apparently taken Nintendo's cutesy note-maker something that's been around for two years, and discovered that they could send lewd notes and pictures on the 3DS. Some people took a kids console and started sending material that might not even be appropriate for all adults.
So Nintendo makes this move, a tough one that's certainly right, and Nintendo gets major props for trying to look out for its young gamers. It highlights the fact that this is a kids console and a kids feature, too, saying its decision was made after considering that "many minors also use this feature of SwapNote," and it instantly shuts things down.
It's a shame, and it's a warning to whatever comes next. Microsoft will debut a new, smarter Kinect in the coming days and Sony will let you live-broadcast your play sessions, and both of those things seem positive and fun.
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