Fox News Flash top headlines for January 30
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A group of pet fish whose motions are tracked by a Japanese gaming YouTuber have allegedly gone on a Nintendo Switch shopping spree, while putting their owner's financial information at risk.
Mutekimaru Channel, a YouTube channel created in May 2020 by an unidentified gamer who reportedly lives in Japan, has been uploading "Fish Play Pokémon" videos that have served as entertainment for 93,900 subscribers, according to YouTube stats and a self-written description in the channel’s "About" section.
On Monday, Jan. 16, the Mutekimaru Channel livestreamed a Pokémon gaming session with three fish swimming in a motion camera fish tank, which is said to be connected to a keyboard overlay and red laser pointer overlay that follows each fish’s movement. The motion capture system is reportedly hooked up to a Nintendo Switch – allowing the fish to "play."
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"I created a controller with my own electronic circuits and used opencv (python) to recognize the movement of the fish," Mutekimaru Channel wrote to Fox News Digital in a translated email. "The microcontroller board is arduino."
A Japanese gaming YouTube channel claims its motion-detected pet fish made adjusted settings and made purchases on a Nintendo Switch during a recent "Fish Play Pokémon" livestream. (Mutekimaru Channel)
During the livestream, the Pokémon game appears to crash, but the fish’s continued swimming seemingly allowed the aquatic animals a chance to take over the game console’s settings, the video shows.
The trio of fish seemed to have changed the Nintendo Switch account username, self-published a game on the Nintendo eShop, sent an email, launched the game brand’s online store and made several purchases with the Mutekimaru Channel’s saved credit card information, according to the YouTube video.
Viewers of the livestream left comments in real time while they watched the fish.
"I was out of town when the incident occurred and did not return home until the evening," Mutekimaru Channel wrote to Fox News Digital.
Mutekimaru Channel, a YouTube channel focused on Japanese gaming posts regular "Fish Play Pokémon" livestreams where tetra fish control a Nintendo Switch by swimming like they normally do. (iStock / John Keeble/Getty Images)
Mutekimaru Channel shared a six-minute, 26-second clip of the fishy antics to YouTube. The user titled the video, "Pet fish revealing owner's credit card details on livestream ended up with shopping."
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In the spliced clip, the Mutekimaru Channel provided English subtitles that detailed each move the fish made and how it was reflected on the Nintendo Switch.
"Fish eagerly read the terms and conditions," Mutekimaru Channel joked in the video. "Many of us humans don’t read the terms of service. But fish are smarter than we are."
The user behind the Mutekimaru Channel documented the refund request that was reportedly sent to Nintendo’s inquiry desk near the end of the video.
"I am very sorry, but is it possible to get a refund for items purchased in error by my pet fish?" the translated request reportedly said.
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Mutekimaru Channel’s video has been viewed more than 491,662 times.
News outlets in Japan published articles about the unexpected "credit card fraud" the day the Mutekimaru Channel uploaded its YouTube video, which appears to have helped the video go viral.
"A victim of a phishing attack," a Twitter user joked under a post sharing the viral Fish Play Pokémon video on Jan. 28.
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"What if we’re all just fish, going about our lives, unknowingly inputting signals to some vast, incomprehensible cosmic game? What if that’s all everything is?" one Twitter user pondered on Jan. 25.
"Imagine calling the credit card company and telling them you need to cancel your card because your pet fish revealed your information on the internet," another Twitter user commented on Jan. 24.
Mutekimaru Channel wrote in an email to Fox New Digital that there have been multiple refund inquiries made, but Nintendo hasn't issued a refund.
The Nintendo Switch video game system was developed and released by Nintendo Co., Ltd. in 2017. (iStock)
The Mutekimaru Channel was reportedly started as a way to encourage people to stay home and "prevent the spread of COVID-19," according to the channel’s description.
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Videos posted by the channel have generated more than 45.2 million views at the time of publication, according to YouTube analytics.
