apple
A patent's been uncovered by VentureBeat, which Apple first filed in November 2006. It's for a pointer/remote device, that communicates via IR, and has a sensor bar you place in front of the tellie to detect 3D movement. You know, just like a Wii Remote. The patent states the following:
...the absolute x- and y-positions of [the] remote control can be used, for example, in video games to position a user's character or to otherwise track the movement of the remote control in a user's environment.
Interesting. Now, as anyone who has ever used AppleTV with a remote will tell you, entering text is
not fun. This device is most likely intented
primarily to make stuff like entering text and navigating menus a lot easier than it currently is. Then again...that does say games up there. What's stopping Apple from adding some Wii-like titles to iTunes, available to AppleTV users? Nothing, that's what.
Apple copying the Wii concept for Apple TV gaming? [VentureBeat] [
Pic]
Arstechnica has a article up about ridiculous gaming patents, a good example being one on the ARROW in Crazy Taxi owned by Sega.
Thats right, the directional arrow which points to where you should go next is actually patented by Sega.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080309-patents-on-video-game-mechanics-may-strangle-innovation.html
law
Over on Gamasutra, designer Ernest Adams has posted an interesting piece on video game software patents. He argues that not only are such patents morally gray, but that they are too encompassing—citing an example from Namco's PSOne version of Ridge Racer in which they patented, we kid you not, load-time minigames. He explains:
The US Patent and Trademark Office has taken a much more vague approach to determining what may or may not be patented. Its guidelines for patent examiners requires that the invention produce a concrete, useful, and tangible result, and gameplay patents are being allowed.
Then he later continues:
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guitar freaks
When Harmonix released the first
Guitar Hero on the PlayStation 2, many rhythm game fans wondered exactly how the company would fare once Konami's legal team smelled the patent violations in the water. Harmonix was noticeably quiet on comparisons to Konami's
Guitar Freaks franchise, clearly an influence on
Guitar Hero, but no indication that any bad corporate blood between the parties was ever publicly evident.
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fun for the whole family...soon
The Wii has been great for parties. People come over, they have some snacks, dance around the living room like wild animals thrusting the wiimote into the air, and always leave happy. But you know what? People are messy. And cheap. I say, get your own Nintendo Wii and play with me online so I don't have to vacuum every other day.
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business
The rumble. That
Crazy Taxi arrow. And
Pong. Website Gamasutra has a smart look at the industry's ten most important patents based on these metrics:
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jogging
All this newfangled full-body gaming has me a little worried about the upcoming heart attack epidemic. I intend to play Red Steel until I keel over from sheer awesome, and I'm sure not a few fanboys will suffer Twilight Princess-related "fishing accidents".
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patents
How odd. Though video game patents usually seem to vaguely describe some rather obvious technical innovation. This time, though, Nintendo has taken it upon itself to request a patent that vaguely describes some sort of rather obvious gameplay innovation. In this case, in regards to multiplayer Pokemon. Ah, progress!
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xbox
Someone should just flush the entire patent system down the toilet: ultimately, patent disputes are as tedious as they are frivolous. And anytime companies get involved in a gaming-oriented patent dispute, it's usually bad for gamers.
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nintendo
Looks like someone besides hyperactive fan boys (we count ourselves amongst their noble ranks) have noticed Nintendo's recent tendency for running off at the patent mouth. The Electronics Frontier Foundation have updated their list of Top 10 patent abusers and number 8 on the list? Well, we spoiled it in the first sentence... it's Nintendo!
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wii
Nintendo of Japan has registered two new Wii-related trademarks: WiiPointer and WiiCulture. Details are scant, but it's likely the WiiPointer is connected with the Wii-mote. But, WiiCulture? That's either the console's answer to Touch Generations or some hippy campfire sing-a-long.
Brian Ashcraft
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psp
Well, this certainly could make the PSP2 a hell of a lot more portable: Sony has filed a patent for foldable screen technology.
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Kotaku
