Nintendo Awarded Patent for Instant Messaging

Zwzo writes "Nintendo has been awarded a patent for a video game messaging service that utilizes a buddy list and can display information about game activities and user status." From the article: "Initially filed in 2000, a year before the release of Microsoft's Xbox and two years before the official launch of Microsoft's Xbox Live Internet service, Nintendo's patent is relatively broad and could potentially lead to litigation against other major players in the game console market. Although the text of the patent itself refers to the Nintendo64 and Game Boy Color by name, some have speculated that this patent could portend an instant messaging system for the Wii."

Comments

Re:Groan.

[Kesch]

If you read the TFA it would point out that this is geared toward an integrated messaging/email/game_status system with a serious gaming bent.

It's also specifically geared for consoles, so even stuff like X-fire wouldn't fall under it.

X-box live is really the only similar thing, and the patent was actually filed for 2 years before Live's official release.

Finally, when has the US Patent Office really cared about prior art?

Re:A little ridiculous

[c_forq]

Companies like Valve have used instant messenger in their games (Steam --> Friends)

According to the summary the Nintendo patient was filed in 2000. The first public release of Steam was in 2002. I'm not sure exactly when messaging was added to steam, but it wasn't in the first release, so that is over two years between Nintendo's patient and Valve having such a feature (at least claiming to have such a feature, I sure as hell have never gotten it to work).