Nintendo, whose primary demographic is younger kids, has suspended its Swapnote service for 3DS as of October 31.

Evidently some customers were using Swapnote to exchange questionable content. Although we aren’t entirely shocked at this revelation, we’re glad Nintendo is trying to find a solution:

“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 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.”

Hopefully disabling Swapnote won’t be a permanent fix, since many users enjoy the service and use it responsibly.

(Source: Nintendo)


This article was written by

Keezy is a gamer, illustrator, and designer. Her background is in teaching and tutoring kids from ages 9 to 19, and she's led workshops for young women in STEM. She is also holds a certificate in teaching English. Her first memory of gaming is when her dad taught her to play the first Warcraft when she was five. You can find her at Key of Zee and on Twitter @KeezyBees.