Nintendo Patents Online Console Gaming

MagicDude writes "Nintendo has patented key console online gaming features. Specifically, it has received patents on things such as player league tables, voice communications and online gaming host services. While the article doesn't address how Nintendo will use these patents, it makes you wonder if this is the first step for Nintendo to become a major player in the online gaming market."

Comments

In another patent

[News for nerds]

Sony submit "Game system with graphics processor". Wow.

Re:Obviousness?

[kid-noodle]

Nope. The patent specifically applies to home consoles, not to anything else.

Even as a Nintendo fanboy, I'd call this questionable given Xbox Live, and whatever it is Sony have, but you can't pull them up on trying to patent telephones.

Re:XBOX Live?

[Anti Frozt]

What they've been awarded is an addition to a patent they filed for back in 1999, long before Xbox Live existed.

The thing is that a lot of this technology already existed prior to the patent application in PC online gaming. Nintendo has just patented the same thing on a different technology.

Re:Homer, hmmmm patents. Yum

[FLAGGR]

It was filed in 1998 for the 64DD. If they had filed for it in 2004 then I would agree with you.

Priority date is earlier than you think

[tepples]

Even as a Nintendo fanboy, I'd call this questionable given Xbox Live

It appears you didn't read the article:

The patent, number 6,769,989, was granted on 3 August this year, but is essentially a continuation of another Nintendo patent, 6,599,194, which was filed in April 1999.

Which Xbox Live service are you talking about that was around before April 1999?

Yes, but before XBL...

[Iscariot_]

Yes, but before Xbox Live there was this:

http://www.megspace.com/entertainment/neskingdom/s pecial/lottery/

As far as I know it was indeed the first online capable console. There were quite a few games for it, only in Japan, like a special version of Zelda.

Back further...

[Thedalek]

Actually, way back when, there was this thing called an X-Band modem, and was available for both the Sega Genesis and Super NES. Using it, you could play multiplayer games over a dialup connection, and even rent and download games to your console (supposedly).

I believe that this predated even the Japanese BS-X (Stellaview) system, but I could easily be wrong on that point.

64DD

[forensick]

Not to be a spoilsport, but this news is a week old and ign and gamespot confirmed a couple days ago that it was just an "add-on" patent for the 64DD so it has nothing to do with future consoles. Unless the Revolution is going to have the 64DD attached to it, but then I would just be confused.

This is a patent for the Nintendo 64 disk drive

[mcc]

This is a patent for the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive. I repeat: This is a patent for the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive. This is not a patent on online gaming. This is a patent on one specific product, one component of which happens to be online gaming. That product was a peripheral for the Nintendo 64.

Here is a link I got off the Penny Arcade message boards wherein Nintendo confirms this:

Nintendo reps contacted by GameSpot confirmed the patent was indeed for the 64DD and not for a new console.

Of course, it's too late; the slashdot blurb has done its damage and this story will likely be filled with nothing but alternating "OMFG THE REVOLUTION" and "they patented the internet!" comments. But, if you were curious, this is what is actually happening here.

Patent Details

[drphil]

Here are the patent abstract and claims from the USPTO site:
Abstract:
An existing video game system is modified to include additional communication and storage capability via a modem and hard disk drive. The modification may involve the use of an expansion device coupled to a video game system port. A cable TV tuner is also included in the expansion device to assist in providing a unique picture-in-picture video capability. TV signals are coupled to the expansion device via the RF input from either cable TV or off-air signals. These RF signals are blended with the output signals from the video game system. A user may, for example, watch TV while viewing overlay information from the video game console. A user may receive a TV channel guide downloaded via the Internet, spot a program which the user desires to view and immediately access, via an IR input, the desired channel through the expansion device TV tuner. A user may also watch TV while simultaneously logging onto the Internet. A hard drive permits downloading from the Internet of entire games.

Claims:
We claim:

1. A home video game system for executing video game programs and for generating game play graphics in response to player controller control signals generated by a player operating a player controller for display on a television, said home video game system including a removable memory insertion port for receiving a removable memory storing video game program instructions, comprising:

a game processing system including a main processor, operatively coupled to receive video game instructions from said removable memory when inserted into the removable memory insertion port for executing a video game program, and a graphics coprocessor for processing graphics information under control of said main processor, and being responsive to said player controller control signal for generating game play graphics for display on a television;

communications circuitry, coupled in use to said game processing system and to a user's communications network, for linking said game processing system to the Internet and permitting communication from the player to another party over the Internet;

a writeable mass storage device coupled in use to said game processing system for receiving information downloaded from the Internet; and

cryptographic processing circuitry, coupled to said mass storage device, for decrypting at least some of said information downloaded from the Internet.

2. A home video game system according to claim 1, further including

audio circuitry coupled to said video game processing system.

3. A home video game system according to claim 1, wherein said communications circuitry and said mass storage device are housed in an expansion device and said video game processing system is housed in a separate video game console which is coupled to said expansion device.

4. A home video game system according to claim 1, wherein said communications circuitry comprises a modem, ethernet port, or wireless connection circuitry, and further including a controller for controlling said mass storage device and said communications circuitry.

5. A home video game system according to claim 1, wherein said mass storage device comprises a hard disk drive which stores a network browser program.

6. A home video game system according to claim 1, wherein said mass storage device is a flash memory storage device.

7. A home video game system according to claim 1, wherein said mass storage device stores information downloaded from the Internet.

8. A home video game system comprising:

a removable memory insertion port for receiving a removable memory storing video game program instructions,

a game processing system including a main processor, operatively coupled to receive video game instructions from said removable memory when inserted into the removable memory insertion port and a graphics coprocessor for processing graphics information under control of said m