Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Nintendo Co., the maker of the top- selling video-game console, was sued by a Maryland electronics laboratory that claims its motion-control inventions are being used in the Wii system.
Hillcrest Laboratories Inc. seeks to block imports of the Wii and Wii remotes, according to a complaint filed today with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington. Hillcrest also filed a civil suit in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland.
``We haven't received any notice of the lawsuit and therefore are not in a position to comment at this time,'' Nintendo's spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said by telephone from Kyoto. The company's shares fell 1.9 percent to 49,450 yen in Osaka trading.
Three of the Hillcrest patents are for motion-control technology and a fourth is for graphical interface software used on the television. Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo makes the Wii, a machine that plays games by swinging a motion-sensing controller like a bat, tennis racket or other item.
Rockville-based Hillcrest said it licenses its motion- control technology, called Freespace, to Logitech International SA, Universal Electronics Inc. and other companies. The graphic interface technology, called Home, is licensed to companies that Hillcrest declined to name.
``While Hillcrest Labs has a great deal of respect for Nintendo and the Wii, Hillcrest Labs believes that Nintendo is in clear violation of its patents and has taken this action to protect its intellectual property rights,'' the company said in a statement.
ITC Can Block Imports
The lawsuit, which seeks cash, is likely to be put on hold while the ITC case proceeds. The ITC has the power to block imports of products found to infringe U.S. patents. It typically agrees to investigate complaints and issues a decision in about 15 months.
The Wii is the best-selling game console in the U.S., with 555,000 units sold during the month of July alone. Nintendo said the Wii accounts for 49 percent of the console market, citing researcher NPD Group Inc.
Nintendo has had other patent-infringement complaints filed against it as the Wii gained popularity. The company is facing a ban on the Wii Classic controller, which is sold separately from the Wii system, unless it can convince an appeals court to overturn a $21 million verdict won by Anascape Ltd. of Tyler, Texas.
Lawsuits over the Wii or Nintendo's other products are pending in federal courts in Texas, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Wilmington, Delaware.
The case is In the Matter of Video Game Machines, complaint 2631, U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington. The civil suit is Hillcrest Laboratories Inc. v. Nintendo Co., 08cv2199, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (Greenbelt).
You see, this is why I hate Patent Trolls! If they stop Nintendo from making the Wii and Wii Remotes, then they're gonna put Nintendo out of business, and maybe make them convert to Third Party! On the plus side, it would mean more graphical power for their games, on the minus, It's not a Nintendo Console. I've said it before, and I'll say it again in a different way: THESE GUYS ARE WACKO!!
Wakko Warner: (appears from out of nowhere) NO! I'm Wakko! (starts singing) Baton Rouge, Lousiana / Indianapolis, Indiana, / And Columbus is the capitol of Ohi--
Me: HEY! Wakko, what are you doing here? We're kind of in the middle of something.
Wakko: Oh, it's OK! Steven loves it when we do this stuff. After all, Animaniacs is his favorite.
Freakazoid: (appears from out of nowhere) Uh, sorry to break this to you, Wakko, but if I'm not mistaken, Freakazoid! is Steven's favorite show. We got a memo.
Brain: *Ahem* I believe you're both mistaken. It is the sophisticated wit and charm of Pinky and the Brain that has captured Steven's heart, as well as making it the breakaway hit of the WB's schedule.
Freakazoid: Well, why don't we just go find out?!
(Later, at the Amblin Entertainment building, they continue to argue.)
Steven Spielberg: QUIET!! Now what's this about?
Freakazoid: First of all, Steven, thank you very much for taking the time to meet with us. We realize you're very busy, and--
Brain: Oh, just ask him!
Freakazoid: We were just wondering... who's your favorite?
Steven Spielberg: Who are you people?
Me: Okay, that was really off topic.
Last edited by Sammer Guy Pizza Cat on Wed Aug 20, 2008 8:13 pm; edited 1 time in total
Nintendo is making money as we speak, and they're already ridiculously rich. Maybe a single person would run out of money, but not a huge company like Nintendo.
They have plenty of money, and they're already working on a new console. Nothing to worry about.
WTF? Who is trying to destroy Nintendo?! I know that it's supposedly these weird companies that are NOT well-known, but who the heck is behind these companies?! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't tell me it's Acme Labs, GLaDOS, or some other place trying to take over the world.
(Yes, I know that the whole of Acme Labs isn't trying to rule the world; it's just Brain, but it every Pinky and the Brain episode (even the Animaniacs shorts), it seems like they truly own Acme Labs, and the human scientists are just sockpuppets. Like the emperor was just a sockpuppet for the shogun in feudal Japan... But GLaDOS really was trying to take over the world, if it wasn't for that meddling Morality Core.)
WTF? Who is trying to destroy Nintendo?! I know that it's supposedly these weird companies that are NOT well-known, but who the heck is behind these companies?! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't tell me it's Acme Labs, GLaDOS, or some other place trying to take over the world.
(Yes, I know that the whole of Acme Labs isn't trying to rule the world; it's just Brain, but it every Pinky and the Brain episode (even the Animaniacs shorts), it seems like they truly own Acme Labs, and the human scientists are just sockpuppets. Like the emperor was just a sockpuppet for the shogun in feudal Japan... But GLaDOS really was trying to take over the world, if it wasn't for that meddling Morality Core.)
Relax. It's not Acme Labs, or any other random organization seeking global domination. It's probably just some Patent Trolls. First it was Anascape, now it's Hillcrest, an actual company. Maybe Microsoft and Sony WANTED Nintendo to fail, and it would force Nintendo to make themselves go THIRD PARTY, and with the sacrifice of a Nintendo Console would come greater graphics. Would you REALLY want to play Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the XBox 360, just to have ACHIEVEMENTS, and VOICE CHAT THAT WILL MAKE THE GAME M-RATED IN AN INSTANT?!
Besides, They just want to be able to cash in, so they could further advance their technology.
Last edited by Sammer Guy Pizza Cat on Thu Aug 21, 2008 4:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
Maybe this ridiculous lawsuit is exactly why Nintendo is making the Wii 2. And if you want to play Baseball for real, go join a team and play for real, and if you wanna be a true gamer, go get either an XBox 360 or a PlayStation 3! That's what I plan to do, once I earn/save up enough money.
WTF? Who is trying to destroy Nintendo?! I know that it's supposedly these weird companies that are NOT well-known, but who the heck is behind these companies?! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't tell me it's Acme Labs, GLaDOS, or some other place trying to take over the world.
(Yes, I know that the whole of Acme Labs isn't trying to rule the world; it's just Brain, but it every Pinky and the Brain episode (even the Animaniacs shorts), it seems like they truly own Acme Labs, and the human scientists are just sockpuppets. Like the emperor was just a sockpuppet for the shogun in feudal Japan... But GLaDOS really was trying to take over the world, if it wasn't for that meddling Morality Core.)
Relax. It's not Acme Labs, or any other random organization seeking global domination. It's probably just some Patent Trolls. First it was Anascape, now it's Hillcrest, an actual company. Maybe Microsoft and Sony WANTED Nintendo to fail, and it would force Nintendo to make themselves go THIRD PARTY, and with the sacrifice of a Nintendo Console would come greater graphics. Would you REALLY want to play Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the XBox 360, just to have ACHIEVEMENTS, and VOICE CHAT THAT WILL MAKE THE GAME M-RATED IN AN INSTANT?!
Besides, They just want to be able to cash in, so they could further advance their technology.
I'm completely convinced you're both the same person now. EDIT: Voice chat doesn't change a game's rating. That's why you get "Online interactions not rated by the ESRB" messages at the start of every game with online.
Last edited by Paper_Waluigi on Thu Aug 21, 2008 4:33 pm; edited 1 time in total
Note- As rich as a company is, you must realize that a massive console failure will most likely affect the company in drastic ways. Companies regularly go out of business based on the failures of single games- and, as much as Nintendo seems "rich," they aren't as big as Sony or Microsoft, who could survive a console failure. There is no reason to doubt that if the Wii fails, the company fails, and Nintendo won't release a new console for some time to come.
That said, I doubt the Wii is going down because of this. Nintendo will, obviously, win- but, maybe it could be a good thing if the guys attacking Nintendo win. I mean, it would certainly help "de-casualize" the industry, to an extent.
Quote:
Maybe this ridiculous lawsuit is exactly why Nintendo is making the Wii 2.
They were developing the Wii 2 well before the Wii was released. Companies do that all the time; a year or two is simply not enough time to make a good console.
WTF? Who is trying to destroy Nintendo?! I know that it's supposedly these weird companies that are NOT well-known, but who the heck is behind these companies?! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't tell me it's Acme Labs, GLaDOS, or some other place trying to take over the world.
(Yes, I know that the whole of Acme Labs isn't trying to rule the world; it's just Brain, but it every Pinky and the Brain episode (even the Animaniacs shorts), it seems like they truly own Acme Labs, and the human scientists are just sockpuppets. Like the emperor was just a sockpuppet for the shogun in feudal Japan... But GLaDOS really was trying to take over the world, if it wasn't for that meddling Morality Core.)
Relax. It's not Acme Labs, or any other random organization seeking global domination. It's probably just some Patent Trolls. First it was Anascape, now it's Hillcrest, an actual company. Maybe Microsoft and Sony WANTED Nintendo to fail, and it would force Nintendo to make themselves go THIRD PARTY, and with the sacrifice of a Nintendo Console would come greater graphics. Would you REALLY want to play Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the XBox 360, just to have ACHIEVEMENTS, and VOICE CHAT THAT WILL MAKE THE GAME M-RATED IN AN INSTANT?!
Besides, They just want to be able to cash in, so they could further advance their technology.
I'm completely convinced you're both the same person now.
I AM NOT Wacko McGoose, and he is not me! You're crazy, and I need to talk to Nintendo about this! So, be quiet, or I shall have to hurt you five times!
I think that if wii falls, nintendo will lose a large amount of money. They are not as rich as sony or microsoft, but there a chance they can resist one ONLY ONE console fall. Lets Just hope they dont end up like sega. That im still waiting for a dreamcast 2
