Kotaku
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patents
Nintendo Patents WarioWare Take On Othello
The last time we unearthed a big new Nintendo patent, we found hints of a video game paradigm shift. This time, Nintendo may have locked up a multiplayer mode from a 2004 GameCube game. More »
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Comment by Guitarzan2k5 - Bad puns are my business, and business is good!: "The mini-games get harder for players who have more skill." GAH! Why must Nintendo force handicapping on players? This... 20 Responses | Other threads
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rumor
Sony Patents Method To Emulate PS2 On PS3
My single biggest problem with the PS3? The loss of backwards compatibility. It's a gaping hole in the system's feature set. Then again, it may also be one that's on the way back. More »
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Comment by CaptainHavok: Not entirely correct. I have a first gen 80Gb PS3 that plays PS2 games. The Motorstorm pack featured an 80Gb... 24 Responses | Other threads
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edutainment
New Nintendo Patent Looks Like Picture Pages 2.0
A new patent application Nintendo has filed in the U.S. tips its hand to a potential new focus for the game-maker, and no, it is not core gamers. More »
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By Owen GoodComment by CockroachMan: Nintendo has always done educational kids games.. the SNES had tons of those (Mario is Missing, Mario and The Time... 16 Responses | Other threads
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patents
Crazy Old-Timey Game Patents
Insert Credit has unearthed some patents from the early days of videogaming that are.. special. More »
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Comment by TheMadjai: I don't know if this was made by Sega either, but I definitely played this game. It wasn't a video... 5 Responses | Other threads
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nintendo ds
Oh Look, Another Patent Lawsuit Filed Against Nintendo
Yes, another Nintendo lawsuit. A Mr. John R. Martin, from Illinois, claims that the Nintendo DS infringes upon a patent he holds for "touch screen and pointing device gaming technology", filed in August, 2005 (pictured). Only problem? The DS was released in 2004. Bonus problem? While his patent applies to a touch-screen gaming device, it's for a gambling device, one more concerned with GPS and gambling laws than with male cheerleading or phantom hourglasses. More »
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Comment by nightshade71986: @celery: You make some good points but even those who don't know the system can often tell when someone is just... more » | Other threads
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apple
Apple Patent Looks More Than A Little Like The Wii Remote
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. More »
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Comment by Aitrus233: This irks me because I had an idea for a set top box that would use Wiimote like functionality to... more » | Other threads
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developers
Arstechnica has a article up about ridiculous gaming patents, a good example being one on the ARROW in Crazy Taxi owned by Sega. More » -
law
Should Video Game Patents Be Legal?
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: More »
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By Mark WilsonComment by --Core--: As far as this goes, I am againt's it. If this were to happen, it would open a whole can of... more » | Other threads
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guitar freaks
Hot Guitar Hero Patents Exposed
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. More »
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Comment by izrofel: To be honest, I enjoyed Guitar Freaks a lot more than I enjoy Guitar Heroes. The songs were more dynamic... more » | Other threads
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fun for the whole family...soon
Nintendo Online Possibilities
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. More » -
business
Ten Game Patents That Matter
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: More » -
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By kotaku.comComment by Synch: Gee, wish I had thought of this... Oh wait! I did! Five years ago when I made a little pokemon javascript... more » | Other threads
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wii
Hey Flower Children, These Wii Trademarks Are New
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. More »
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Comment by weatherman: Patents are not trademarks are not copyrights. Match the title to the article! more » | Other threads
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psp
PSP2 to Feature Foldable Screen Tech? Patent Says Nothing.
Well, this certainly could make the PSP2 a hell of a lot more portable: Sony has filed a patent for foldable screen technology. More »
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1-17 of 17 for "Patents"
