Video: DS Accused Of Being Pedophiles' Aid
Didn't we just go through a news story like this? No, wait, that was last year, sorry. This time around, the Nintendo DS system isn't getting so much of a bashing as this Fox news story is simply advising parents as to the dangers of how pedophiles could use the Pictochat feature to contact their children. That's admittedly better than some of the news features I've seen, but I still find the story to be generally alarmist and over the top.
This time around, the reporter mentions that Nintendo DSs need to be within 65 feet of each other in order to communicate, and then proceeds to show how he was able to send Pictochat messages from over 300 feet away. That last bit made me do a double take, mainly because I rarely have luck using the chat feature when I'm outside of the same room as someone, let alone covering the distance of a football field (which largely makes that aspect of the DS useless to the pedophile in me).
The truly laughable part, though? The bit where it's suggests child molesters will whip out (hee hee!) their DS when they see a kid using one in a car and start chatting with the little tykes while they're still driving!
[via GamePolitics]
Boy of Tomorrow
Posted to Miscellany, Videos on 19 October 2007
· Comments (10)
Other stuff like this: alarmist, children, fox, news, nintendo ds, pedophile, pictochat, yellow journalism
Aren't these the same people who reported about the threat of Anonymous from 4chan and how bad Maple Story is because a couple brats stole from their parents to buy stuff on there?
Not to mention, I never heard of a pedophile using the DS to seek out kids, mostly because kids that young are always with their parents. If kids are going to be victims of pedophiles, parents need to look not at strangers, but people they know because more likely than not, if a child is moltested, it's by somebody they or their parents know.
I think it's funny that he says "No wonder gaming gurus predict:" and it cuts to the big head honcho Reggie. Of course he'd push his own product. :P
Poppycock.
Sometimes I forget how much Fox hates salt, but these stories serve as a reminder. On the same note, they seem to know nothing about telephones, or how cars are driven, or sexual predators or Nintendo or ... But that's OK, it's not like anybody listens to what they're saying, right?
When the DS first came out, for a couple weeks I actually would sit in a mall food court across from an EB Games trying to set up Metroid demo matches. (Never found anyone within range.)
Then I realized just how creepy that was, and I stopped. Haven't done any multiplayer since then outside family or friends except a bit of anonymous Mario Kart over the internet.
Does anyone actually, randomly, sit in pictochat waiting for a pervert to message them?
@ YuppieKin
No but I will from now on!
Old news is old.
I'm sure most of the Pedos never even considered it... until they saw the news and got inspired... then waited 2 weeks with Pictochat on never seeing anyone at all cuz all the kids are too busy PLAYING GAMES.
Honestly, the only time I got any public Pictochat was at the Play! Symphony Toronto... and most of the cock drawings were done BY THE KIDS... I drew a baby chocobo. (^_^ )
Who the fuck is using Pictochat, anyway?