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Nintendo keeps things PG on the 3DS, kills off Swapnote's internet messaging
It's no secret that the 3DS' Swapnote app makes it easy to exchange salacious images, but that's apparently news to Nintendo. The company has shut down internet-based SpotPass messaging in Swapnote after discovering that online forum goers were using the feature to trade in "offensive material." The move will keep children safe and provide a friendly environment for everyone, Nintendo says. We're surprised that it took so long for the gaming giant to shut down a Swapnote feature that was risky by its very nature, but the closure is at least coming in time to reassure legions of gift-giving parents.
Nintendo shuts down SpotPass features for Swapnote on 3DS
Nintendo has abruptly shut down the SpotPass functionality for Swapnote on 3DS, noting that players were "exchanging their friend codes on Internet bulletin boards" and then using SwapNote to "exchange offensive material." SpotPass allowed players to exchange photos directly with others using the app. "Nintendo always wants to provide a positive experience for all consumers and limit the risk of any inappropriate activity or misuse of a service," Nintendo noted in an announcement on its site. "We feel it is important on this occasion to take this action." The service was stopped as of 7:00 p.m. PT today, and is effective for all regions. Nintendo said it will "work to ensure more consumers are aware of our Parental Control features" for the handheld system, pointing out that minors were among those exchanging offensive material. "We are very sorry for any inconvenience to the many consumers who have been using this service responsibly; however this decision was made considering the point that many minors also use this feature of Swapnote," the company added.
Swapnote update adds photo, filtering features
If you've been keeping up with your Swapnote mailbox on 3DS, you can download an update today and enjoy some new features, including the ability to take photos or record audio and attach it to your notes, undo drawings, and use different colors on each page of a note.Even if, like me, you haven't checked Swapnote in a few months and get kind of sick to your stomach at the thought of the thousands of unread notes building up in your inbox, the update will be of interest. You can delete multiple notes simultaneously now, and filter your messages by sender.
Five 3DS eShop apps have been downloaded over 1m times in US
Netflix, Swapnote, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, Pokedex 3D, and Nintendo Video have each been downloaded over one million times in the US alone, Nintendo's Scott Moffitt just announced. What do these random apps have in common?*
Nintendo pushes connnectivity message on GDC display
You can the see the image above on a wall in Nintendo's GDC booth this week, and discern a new (and surprising) angle for 3DS marketing. The poster advertises the 3DS as "Nintendo's most connected console ever," touting online services like Swapnote, Nintendo Zone, and ... Nintendo Video. In a nicely progressive move, it acknowledges the existence of the eShop!
'Nintendo Direct' presentations in Japan and America tomorrow
We just received the first-ever Swapnote press release -- a note from Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime inviting us to a Nintendo Direct video tomorrow, February 22, at 9AM EST, at this URL. There wasn't much indication in the handwritten note as to what it was about; Reggie only said he was "looking forward to sharing some news."A few hours before that video, Nintendo of Japan will have its own Nintendo Direct hosted by Satoru Iwata, at 6AM EST. This one specifies that it will have some Wii and 3DS news.
How to use Swapnote on 3DS to DM an RPG
The Swapnote app for the 3DS was designed with the intention to, well, swap notes, which we guess are technically tiny stories. Imagine it being used to tell the story of an entire Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG campaign, though. Now hit the play button on the video above. Ben Gray walks us through a game he played with some friends using the free app. Outside of some tedious prep work, it all seems to have went pretty well. If you have some friends but are unable to convene wherever mages and elves get together nowadays, you can still slay the Grue, climb the tower and rescue the maiden. But it's certainly not a perfect system, evidenced by Gray's call for help at the end of the video. He's looking for people to help create a website and do a number of other things to help the overall experience, so if you want to get involved hit up the source link below.
Rolling Western, more 3DS download games dated
If you've been waiting to try out Picture Lives, the build-it-yourself 3DS platform adventure thing I called "E3's weirdest game," you'll be able to do so in November. Nintendo announced the release window for the downloadable game -- now called Freakyforms: Your Creations, Alive! -- today as part of its 3DS info dump. That game will be $6.99 upon release. The Rolling Western, the action-tower-defense game about an armadillo cowboy, is now Dillon's Rolling Western, and it's coming in Q1 of next year. Pushmo is a new puzzle game that just came out in Japan, developed by Intelligent Systems, about pushing and pulling blocks in and out of the screen to solve puzzles. That's coming to North America in December. Finally, Swapnote is a messaging service that allows you to draw 3D messages, with pictures and sounds, and send them over the internet or StreetPass. Nintendo's going to regret allowing you to send filth directly to neighboring 3DS systems when this comes out for free in December. You can see footage of all four of these releases in the new Nintendo Direct video. That's a new thing Nintendo is trying -- a video in which the company just tells people about new announcements.
