GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that Nintendo has taken responsibility for the "red tulip problem" in the Nintendo DS community-simulation title Animal Crossing: Wild World. According to the article, many Animal Crossing DS players had received a red tulip in a letter delivered last week. The tulip, when placed indoors, "could not be picked up, covered or removed". This oddity led to speculation that the Nintedo Wi-Fi system had been hacked, and fear that more red tulips were on their way.

Today gamers can take a deep breath, as Nintendo has gone on the record, stating the glitch was not created by hackers, but was, instead, the result of "a temporary error with the upload tool when this letter was posted". Phew. Disaster averted.