In a rather sudden announcement, Nintendo Letter Box has now ended due to the emergent risk of minors sending “offensive material” to one another.
The free SpotPass service, which could be used to send and receive letters between Nintendo 3DS owners, had grown in popularity as the only method for users to communicate with one another through the device. Evidently without secure methods of monitoring what was being sent, those that safely used the service as it was designed will be disappointed at its disappearance, although surely paves the way for the arrival of Miiverse.
“Thank you for your support,” a message from the company reads. “Nintendo has learned that some consumers, including minors, have been exchanging their friend codes on internet bulletin boards and then using Nintendo Letter Box to exchange offensive material.
“Nintendo has been investigating ways of preventing this and determined it is best to stop this service because it allows direct exchange of photos and was actively misused.
“Nintendo always wants to provide a positive experience for all consumers and limit the risk of any inappropriate activity or misuse of a service. We feel it is important on this occasion to take this action.
“We will be stopping the service listed below. We are very sorry for the 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 service. Thank you for your understanding.
“Nintendo will continue to work to ensure more consumers are aware of our Parental Control features which allow parents to manage their children’s experience on our systems. For more information about Parental Controls on Nintendo 3DS, please visit our Support section.”
Nintendo Letter Box service abruptly ends
