Misleading News Article about Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and Pictochat

Below is a news article I discovered on another forum that upsetted me, mainly for the reason it is very misleading and gives a wrong impression to a large amount of viewers/readers who aren't intuned with the gaming community. Also I was a bit upset about the article saying the Nintendo DS's target audience are kids and even using some quotes to make it seem like Nintendo themselves said they are targeting kids, something that is grossly false I believe:
Feb. 14, 2006 - We have an important warning for parents. Today marks the three-month anniversary of the launch of the Nintendo DS Wireless Connection. But Action News has learned this popular gaming system could put kids in harm's way.

Parents buy the system so their children can play video games. But we have made an alarming discovery. Strangers can use this toy to lure unsuspecting children to dangerous places.
Nintendo's hot new creation markets primarily to children. It even comes complete with playmates. The handheld gaming system is like a mini computer. It has built-in wireless capability. That allows kids to battle fellow Nintendo DS players across the room or across the world.

"They can play somebody they've never met."
All you need is a home wireless network or a Wi-Fi hot spot. And the game is catching on. Just this week, Nintendo announced more than 850-thousand users have logged on since the service's launch last November.
"It's a great thing for kids to have - they love it."
But as Theresa Keel learned, that revolutionary wireless capability also comes with a potentially dangerous problem..
"It could be putting your children at risk."
Theresa's 11-year-old daughter, Emily likes to doodle so she's using the Nintendo DS Pictochat feature. Pictochat puts you right into a chatroom and let you send messages wirelessly - and on this day we are in one of Philadelphia's many Wi-Fi hotspots.
Theresa Keel/Center City: "This screen name pops up and asks her what her name is and how old she is, and she answers."
Emily Keel/Center City: "And I just felt a little scared and confused."
This has happened to the Keel's once before. But this time the screen name is so offensive, we can't even show it to you.
"It frightened me. It really did."
The stranger asks Emily: "Hey what's up? Are you still here? My name's Jud. What's your name?"
"But it was scary to me as a parent that someone I don't know is talking to my child over what I consider a toy."
And Jud is persistent. When Emily won't tell him where she lives. He says, "Why won't you tell me? Don't want to chat? Why not? Are you afraid?"
Keith Dunn/Internet Safety Expert: "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. Or if they're in a wireless environment, say a coffee shop or whatever, they jump on the wireless network so now you have predators who are trying to get at our kids."
Internet safety expert Keith Dunn says parents need to teach their children to apply stranger danger rules to every and any situation.
"Don't talk to strangers in game rooms if you don't know they're your friends. Don't talk to anyone. Just stop talking. Stop chatting in the game room."
Dunn also says parents should educate themselves.
"Parents really need to pay attention to what they're purchasing, ask a lot of questions, and really find out more about the game, what's involved - other than the video game aspect of it. Can you talk to other people? Can other people connect to my son's or daughter's mini game system?"
Now Theresa and Emily are on alert. They don't plan on taking any chances.
"And eventually I got really scared that I shut the thing off without responding back."
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. Like our expert, Nintendo also warns parents to educate their children not to talk to strangers even on their gaming system. Also, beware, there are other wireless gaming systems made by different manufacturers and they may have similar issues.
(Source Website)

LOL! That's a crackerjack. ABC News is completely retarded. They should research before they post a crap story.

Tsk Tsk. Sounds like Mr. Thompson wrote that. If only they did reasearch more. This is one of the main reasons I hate the news media, they are stupid to put it bluntly. Anything to get ratings.

Besides, just two seconds into researching and they would've discovered that Picto Chat doesn't even work on the Wi-FI connection. It would overflow and eventually the DS would explode. It's in the freakin' manual.

Originally Posted by Fossil

LOL! That's a crackerjack. ABC News is completely retarded. They should research before they post a crap story.

Not where I live. ABC news is the most popular out there. Fox is known in my area as the crapiest, news wise.

Yeah, it's a pretty idiotic story. What's depressing is that they did get the final word from Nintendo in... at the very end... in a single paragraph... and without properly acknowledging that it rules out most of the fearmongering of the rest of the article.

Mind you, the dark humor side of it: It's a very "THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE!" situation, since the mother and daughter seemed to think it was someone more remote chatting with the girl.

It's particulary 'convenient' that the username was not mentioned in the report because, for all they know, it could have been another kid wanting to make friends.

Well....there is a sticker that says "Experience may change during online play" on the back of the games. I didn't bother to read all of it, but I'm geussing that they said Pictochat is Wi-Fi and kids are talking to strangers. This happens with alot of online related things, I doubt that it's going to have much of an effect.

c ';mon, preditors, I mean even if it did happen, they have to be less than 50 feet away from you! Please, if someone's sexually harassing your, get out of the server and draw in MKS or MSpaint! There is no reason kids should be suseptible to this, if your in a chatroom with some crackpot, leave, and go do something productive like learn another language. lol.

Originally Posted by Mr. Wonderful

Not where I live. ABC news is the most popular out there. Fox is known in my area as the crapiest, news wise.

Now where did you get such consensual type of information, I'm guessing that you must have went from door to door asking what your regional people liked better in their news. Well then, I guess in my general area,(With the few people who I know that even watch T.V.) Fox News would be the peoples regional choice. :I

Well, anyways, I have no doubt that this form of child predation has occured. From what I've viewed on NBC, I've reached a conclusion that child predators would do anything to get to a exploitable child. Those type of sick people are definitly out there...

No comment on the content of the article, but whoever wrote that is awful at what they do.

Originally Posted by ProtoLink

Now where did you get such consensual type of information, I'm guessing that you must have went from door to door asking what your regional people liked better in their news.

Okay. If you want to get techinical for no reason, how about this:

Not where I live. ABC news is one of the most popular out there, according to awards the local station's news has recieved, and how in my personal experiance, most people I know watch either ABC or WGN in Chicago. Fox is known in my area as the crapiest, news wise, always reporting almost tabloid like storeis and not doing a very good job with their anchors.

Meh, just go to Nintendo World when an event is going on and you'll see large amounts of bad stuff in pictochat, such as the overuse of the word, wang. As well as drawings. But that girl must have a really sick neighbor.

Originally Posted by Scoria

Meh, just go to Nintendo World when an event is going on and you'll see large amounts of bad stuff in pictochat, such as the overuse of the word, wang. As well as drawings. But that girl must have a really sick neighbor.

I suspect they were taking some of the "remarks" made by whoever had the other DS out of context and I even suspect that since this would involve somebody nearby... it was a news reporter or staff that was using the other DS. :/

Just that for their story they failed to mention that and the point was to demonstrate a situation like that and how the child doesn't yield.

This bugs me too. If a concerned parent read this they'll believe it without a doubt and tell there child they can't have a DS. People are so ignorant.

God!!!!!!!! this article will not ban the DS or anything like that it's the parent's decision.
This is just to inform parents. I also don't thin this article is true, unless someone is stalking them, I mean this is hard to believe

Originally Posted by Mr. Wonderful

Not where I live. ABC news is one of the most popular out there, according to awards the local station's news has recieved, and how in my personal experiance, most people I know watch either ABC or WGN in Chicago. Fox is known in my area as the crapiest, news wise, always reporting almost tabloid like storeis and not doing a very good job with their anchors.

Well, ok then, good for them I guess. Everyone has their own view and general opinion on such things... :/ Much like these child predators, remember people, they are sick desperate beings. In other words and as sad as it may seem, they will do anything... Even possibly picking up a DS to track down someone, I'm sure someone has already tried it before. :0

since when do you go on picto-chat if none of your friends are around?More like that these people were looking for a story to put in the news...