Nintendo is known for having a healthy selection of family-friendly gaming devices and titles, which is why Tom Mayhew got the shock of his life when a 3DS he bought as a Christmas present for his 8-year-old son came loaded with porn.
Mayhew purchased the supposedly brand new Nintendo 3DS at a nearby Walmart. Everything went well when his son opened the gift and starting playing with it. The problem started after Mayhew's son started taking pictures using the 3DS' built-in camera. When they proceeded to check the picture he just took, the Mayhew family was shocked to find out that there were pornographic images saved in the device's memory.
"He went to play his games, not knowing anything was on it," says Mayhew. "After a while, [the kids] took pictures of themselves and when the picture was taken, it went to a file. When that file was opened, there was already pictures on it."
The 3DS had a total of 12 pornographic images in its memory, much to the shock and dismay of the Mayhew family. The unit was purchased brand new at a Walmart store in the vicinity of Hampton, Virginia. According to Mayhew, he believes that a previous owner had returned the unit to the store. The pornographic images on the 3DS were time stamped indicating that they were taken sometime in the first half of December. After taking the photos, the previous owner may have been dissatisfied with the device and must have returned it to the Walmart store, while Walmart employees may have simply returned to 3DS to the store's shelves without bothering to check if any new files were saved in the device.
While the story may seem shocking for parents, this is not the first time that something like this has happened. Another 5-year-old boy also received a 3DS for Christmas with some sexually charged images saved in the device. However, this particular 3DS was purchased at a GameStop store. According to GameStop, the device was sold as a refurbished unit. However, the store's staff also neglected to check if any new files have been added.
