Here’s something unique that you rarely see. In Japan, pet fish managed to log on to the Nintendo Switch store, change their owner’s avatar, create up a Pay Pal account, and run up a credit card bill while playing a video game.
And it appeared like everything was being broadcast online live and in real time.
The fish in question are the property of a YouTuber by the name of Mutekimaru, whose channel is well-liked among gamers for its uploads of tetra fish communities “playing” video games.
A Nintendo Switch system could be remotely controlled by fish thanks to advanced motion detection tracking software that Mutekimaru had previously put in fish tanks.
However, while Mutekimaru was live-streaming a game of Pokémon earlier this month, a surprising turn of events occurred as a result of technology and the fishes’ apparent command of it.
When the game crashed because of a system fault and the console went back to the home screen, Mutekimaru had just left for a break.
However, the fish continued to swim as they usually do while also appearing to manipulate the console remotely from their tank.
The fish apparently changed the identity of their owner’s Switch account during the following seven hours before twice login into the Nintendo shop, where customers can buy games and other digital items.
Video from the livestream appeared to demonstrate that they were also able to “check” the terms and conditions, download a new avatar, and even set up a PayPal account from the Switch, sending an email to their owner in the process.
However, things didn’t stop there. The YouTuber added in a follow-up video about the episode that the fish were also spotted adding 500 yen ($4) from his credit card to Mutekimaru’s Switch account during the livestream, disclosing his credit card information in the process.
As fans saw the unintentional takeover being shown live on the station at this point, thousands of comments were pouring in. The episode went viral on Twitter, where thousands of Japanese people expressed their pleasure.
Later, Mutekimaru said that he had gotten in touch with Nintendo to explain what had occurred and request a return of his 500 yen.
Nintendo refuses to speak with CNN, citing client privacy.