Another day, another lawsuit for Nintendo. Their wacky ideas have probably been done in some form or another over the years, and now everyone wants a profitable piece of the action. The latest candidate for a chunk of Nintendo's payroll is John R. Martin, who claims to have patented touch-screen and pointing gaming technology in 2005. One year after the DS was released. Despite being a bit late, the origins of the patent date back to 1995, so it's fair game for the courts now.This image was submitted with the patent filing, apparently showing a device "switchable between an amusement mode and a gaming or gambling mode." The whole touching thing can be found under "operating a touch screen on a CRT or ICD." But gambling? Looks like that diagram is for someone who hides stuff under the table to cheat at blackjack or roulette.
Nintendo has denied the infringement, while Martin is pursuing another suit against Apple.
In some deeply weird alternative universe, perhaps one in which Japanese people actually bought Microsoft consoles and England's footballers weren't quite so irredeemably rubbish, we might never have experienced Super Mario Bros. as we know it. Instead, we could have been playing Super Mario Sisters.
No doubt you read about the newly-discovered Nintendo patent that describes a handheld gaming device with accelerometers in it to read motions. Ben Richardson from Games Radar got excited enough about the idea to take some silly pictures of hypothetical play sessions with such an item! Maybe 'excited' isn't the right word.
Why limit all your retro gaming to the living room when you can do it in the car as well? Nintendo wants to bring a sort of Virtual Console to your trunk, a game server that can download new content and games that can be enjoyed from any passenger seat in the vehicle.
