company Nintendo
Anon is a gamer
Submitted 3 weeks ago by Early_To_Risa@sh.itjust.works to greentext@sh.itjust.works
https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/77574504-df47-4944-ae3e-91f7a9a3c7e0.jpeg
Comments
Mac@mander.xyz 3 weeks ago
SomethingBurger@jlai.lu 3 weeks ago
And Namco (minigames in loading screens, started in Ridge Racer), Warner Bros (Nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor), SEGA (GPS arrows from Crazy Taxi)…
I know “Nintendo bad” is a popular narrative but they’re far from the only one.
ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
The Namco one ran out in 2015, right on time for SSDs. Though I guess we could still use them for shader compilation 😴
Tartas1995@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
The biggest annoyance is that patents doesn’t prevent usage… Just require permission… they could ask anything or nothing, it just would need to be acceptable. And well here we are.
Dsklnsadog@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
company Nintendo
We from Nintendo would appreciate it if you stopped inventing things immediately. Innovation is a protected activity.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
If only it was just Nintendo
Xerxos@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
When everything had long loading times (and we still have them from time to time) there was a genius idea : minigames on the loading screen to pass the time. ONE company did this, patented the concept and till then no one is allowed to do that.
Krudler@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Which company?
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
It was Namco, and the patent expired in 2015.
imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Nothing mentioned in the game but I am 99% sure Anon is talking about Nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor/Shadow of War.
RichardDegenne@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Is there any other notable example of this?
imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Didnt knew any besides that one before found this article.
For those who do not want to click:
- Nemesis mechanic by WB (expire 2036)
- Mini-games during loading screen by Namco (expired in 2015)
- Ping system - like pinging on the map so your team mates can see or pay attention to it. EA (expires 2039) FUCK EA
- Dialogue wheel like in Mass Effect - fuck EA (s 2029)
- Direction arrow - racing games, Crazy Taxi style - Sega (expired in 2018 but doubt it will be ever used again)
- Pokemon’s fight and catch for later fighting mechanic - fuck Nintendo and Game Freak
- Active Time Battle - not sure, I dont play JRPGs but this one was introduced in FFIV - Square Enix (expired 2012)
- Proprietary guitar controller in sync with gameplay (Guitar hero) - Ubisoft (2029)
- Mouse controlled flight for aircraft games - Gaijin (expires 2033)
- Surprisingly, other plastic musical instruments for Rock Band - Harmonix that was fighting with Konami for rights (expires 2032)
Nemesis system is probably the most notable because it was a great mechanic that everyone liked. And it is only been used in 2 games and never again.
SitD@lemy.lol 3 weeks ago
yep, minigames on loading screens.
eff.org/…/loading-screen-game-patent-finally-expi…
pointless in the age of direct storage and high SSD speeds.
if you’ve lived before that: corporate thanks you for patiently waiting while patent trolls are counting the unrealized gains and lost potential
itsgroundhogdayagain@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
The Nemesis system in the LOTR games is a perfect example
NannerBanner@literature.cafe 3 weeks ago
Isn’t that basically the only example? How many other cases do you ever hear people talk about? Obviously there are others, I see others given in this post, but you never really hear about them.
KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
When games had long load times, there was a company that patented putting short and quick to load mini games on screen instead of loading screens you just stared at.
Trev625@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
I thought there was one on games during loading screens or something as well
HK65@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
Didn’t Warframe do basically a nemesis system with Kuva Liches, Sisters of Parvos and Technocyte Codas?
Recurring boss that you need to find the weakness of via trial and error, can be killed for super nice loot or turned into a minion?
Taunts you and acts as a personal nemesis with a generated personality and looks?
Rubanski@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
How does that work?
Fandangalo@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Generally speaking, most game mechanics are not copyright-able, not patentable. Game mechanics themselves tend to be treated as base components, as in, like a drum beat or a bass line. It’s rare cases where those are distinct, usually in context (see Vanilla Ice & Under Pressure). Because a beat or bass line can be so basic as a component, it’s considered part of the arrangement and not the composition itself. Video game mechanics can likewise be in this configuration.
For instance, summoning heroes (Nintendo loss) is a mechanic / part of the composition of that game, but the larger video game is a particular arrangement. Specific characters (pikachu) can very much be copyrighted individually, but games themselves are typically less liable for patents / copyright, and so on.
Also, for good measure, since it’s a massive benefit to the freedom of expression. Video games would be a depressing medium if people could capitalize on mechanics like patent trolls.
To be clear, some technologies used in association with video games can be patented, but that’s when a patentable technology is combined with a game, which is much less common in the medium.
Jesus_666@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Counterpoint: Summoning characters by throwing an item and having the character appear at the position of the item has been patented by Nintendo, as has using a summoned character as a hang glider.
Japanese patent law is pretty terrible.
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Its less terrible than you think, Nintendo has been suffering setback after setback in the totality of their legal battle with PalWorld, in both Japan and the US.
www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/…/ar-AA23uWgi
eurogamer.net/nintendos-palworld-lawsuit-suffers-…
nintendolife.com/…/it-is-ever-more-likely-that-ni…
Basically… both the US and Japanese versions of the patent battles are having things like… Japan just actually rejects a Nintendo patent as being too vague and non novel… the USPTO does a thing it almost never does and re-reviews a patent it had previously given to Nintendo as possibly being vague bullshit as well… Niintendo just completely rewrites the lawsuit in the middle of pre-trial, while also claiming violations of patents that it filed for after the lawsuit started.
…thats actually largely a bunch of bullshit, that has a decent likelihood of pissing off the judges and arbiters involved as essentially being legal misconduct.
Fandangalo@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Those are litigation & therefore in an indeterminate state. They have lost recently within Japanese law just this week on their touchscreens.
Also, IANAL. Nothing I say should be considered formal legal advice.
k0e3@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
What about that arrow in Simpsons driving game? Didn’t they get in trouble for using what Sega patented in Crazy Taxi?
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
Huh… I had never heard of this one. I swear I’ve played games with the arrow like that since
Fandangalo@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Settled privately, no ruling on patent
Hegar@fedia.io 3 weeks ago
Yeah you can tell this is not real because a) it's greentext and b) you can't copyright game mechanics.
If you could we wouldn't have video game genres, or like 99% of board games.
Tore@piefed.world 3 weeks ago
There is one major exception where Warner Bros. holds a highly restrictive patent on the Shadow of Mordor Nemesis system. The mechanic allows non-player characters to remember past encounters with the player, dynamically changes their personalities, and rise (or fall) through enemy ranks. If you never played it, it was a unique mechanic that I’ve never seen in other games since. The patent prevents other studios from utilizing this system and is set to expire on August 11, 2036.
TL, DR: Fuck Warner Bros for patenting this.
Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 3 weeks ago
There’s been some, Bamco had the parent for minigames during loading screens until 2015.
denaggels@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Mini Games during loading screens are patented which is why no one does it.
JcbAzPx@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This is about patents. There have been plenty of game mechanics patents ever since Richard Garfield opened the floodgates by patenting the collectable card game concept.
Senal@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
Still salty about that “Sanity System” bullshit patent by …surprise surprise…nintendo.
SunshineJogger@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Is the nemesis system finally back on the free market?
That should never have been allowed to be patented. Its way too generalized
muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Legend of dragoon has a frustrating but amazing additions system no one else does today. With wireless controller lag I’m not certain gust of wind dance would be possible anyway, but it was so different from everything before and after it.
I’m convinced this is why.
vithigar@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Wireless controller latency is definitely not so bad for timed hours with visual indicators to be impossible. I’m sure many people played Clair Obscur with wireless controllers just fine.
WraithGear@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Gusto wind De’ Dance
nahostdeutschland@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
I never played that game - so what does this mechanic do?
muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Overlapping squares shrink into the character performing their move. You attack or counter based on the opponents reaction to you, you sync your response to the squares which train you timing. Different attacks have different timing. Gust of wind dance is complicated.
magnue@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
RIP super soaker water pistols
filcuk@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Work around the patent by making them only moderately soaking
Blackmist@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
Sadly, the real reason is because we’ll buy any old slop if we see enough adverts for it, or enough streamers wanking off over it.
chuckleslord@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Irrelevant, defeatist, and shitting on people what did nothing wrong. Go sit in the corner. Think about what you’ve done.
Quexotic@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
3d sound. Look it up.
Dsklnsadog@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
patents should not exist
kkj@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
The original idea behind them had some merit: in exchange for showing everyone else exactly how to do a cool new thing, you got to temporarily be the only one to profit from it. They’ve devolved into parenting general ideas (see the shopping cart patent) and fucking over anyone who finds a way to make the idea work though.
MoffKalast@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The key is “temporarily” though. Even in the 18th century and prior when technology evolved at the pace of a snail on sedatives that meant 5, maybe 10, at most 15 years.
Then in the 90s the world’s international cartel of IP rights got together and decided they should make it 20 years everywhere, just so corporations can monopolize anything they make for the entire the duration of its usefulness. With the speed of progress today I’d be surprised there are many that aren’t obsolete before they become available to the general public. 3D printing is only a thing now because Stratasys was hoarding the FDM patent since the fucking 90s.
Shit needs to go back down to 5 years again.
stoy@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
I disagree, if I spend time and money to figure out how to solve a problem efficiently, why shouldn’t I get to profit from that idea?
The above only applies to hardware patents, software patents however should not extist.
Regardless, if a company are not actively using a patent, as in a product themselves or through licensing, for X years, then the patent should be void.
Telemachus93@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
Of course it’s work finding solutions to problems and you should be able to live off your work. And in capitalism, a patent sometimes is the only option to do so.
However, patents and other forms of “intellectual property” are absolutely illogical and amoral. Nobody ever made a completely new thing. Every innovation builds on so much knowledge accumulated by so many people that came before. It’s absolutely nonsensical that an advancement that’s 99 % an achievement of humanity and 1 % of a single person should belong to that single person.
turkalino@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I find it interesting that you draw the line at software, as if it doesn’t require time and money to create software solutions.
If it matters, I’m of the opinion that patents shouldn’t exist period. Capitalism loves to brag about encouraging competition and how much it benefits consumers, when in reality patents are super anticompetitive. An idea is one thing, executing the idea well is another. If I “take” your idea and execute it better than you, there shouldn’t be legislation stopping me
NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 3 weeks ago
Why should you exclusively get to profit from that idea? In any case all innovation stands on the shoulders of giants supported by society at large. The idea of owning an idea in the first place is absurd, but setting that aside if someone will assert exclusive rights to an idea they should first repay society for all its indirect contributions to that idea, from past innovators to the workers whose labor makes it all possible. Or course this is impossible, meaning owning an idea automatically becomes absurd. And this is before we get to how pretty much all parents are based on publicly funded research.
SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Software patents don’t exist in the real world. It’s just those dumb Americans living in their fantasy world who do it. Dumb fucks
Dsklnsadog@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
I’m not anti-profit. I’m anti state-granted monopoly.
If you invented it first, you already have advantages: expertise, brand, speed, know-how, first-mover position, customer trust. Profit should come from executing better, not from getting the state to forbid competitors from improving on your idea.
Patents are not capitalism; they are government-enforced market exclusion.
this_jury_is_hung@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It’s a bandaid fix though. Abolishing capitalism so that we could focus on innovation without needing to monetise it in order to eat is a better idea.
JcbAzPx@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I’d say patents should be limited to physical goods. Game mechanics should never have been allowed.
ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
Ideally, yeah. Unfortunately, we live under capitalism, so there should be safeguards for people who actually make and invent things to benefit from their creations, for a reasonable time. Unfortunately, we live under capitalism, and this became another tool for corporations.
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
But that’s not capitalism.
If you invent something and someone can make it cheaper than you can then they should profit off it not you.