Nintendo has announced that as of October 31st, 7:00 p.m. PST, the SpotPass feature of its Nintendo Letter Box service (known as Swapnote in the US) has been shut down. The SpotPass feature of the Nintendo Letter Box service allowed 3DS users to exchange 3D messages over the internet with others on their Friends List. Messages could be typed or hand-drawn and users could attach pictures and audio clips of up to five seconds to them.

Nintendo has explained that the SpotPass feature of the service was shut down due to some users, including minors, exchanging offensive material, and they concluded that after investigating ways to prevent this problem, this decision was the best way to stop the service from being 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,” the company said. “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. Thank you for your understanding.”

For more information on the issue, please check the announcement on the website of Nintendo of America.

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