Nintendo DS/Pictochat – An All Access Feature for Child Predators?

I’m sure that some of your children have asked for the Nintendo DS or Nintendo DSI for Christmas this year. What may be a surprise to most of you is that predators are using these gaming systems to contact your unsuspecting and vulnerable children.

Most parents buy the system so their children can play video games alone but you may not realize that the system is actually like a mini computer. It even has built-in wireless capabilities which allow your children to play fellow DS gamers, visit chat rooms, and send messages/drawings wirelessly. This feature is called PictoChat. Nintendo says that the PictoChat feature has a range of approximately 65 feet but has been proven that the range can extend as far as 250 feet.

The PictoChat feature is potentially a dangerous problem. Please monitor and/or change your child’s feature on the gaming systems to help prevent unwanted contact. You can find out how to change your child’s settings by visiting Nintendo’s website.