I hope Hillcrest Labs fails and fails hard.

Ashkihyena

@Reikson: That book is my favorite actually, really good and very interesting. Loved the Donkey Kong case chapter and the Tetris one.

As for those that love legal matter involving videogame companies...boy is this your WEEK! First Sony and Jeff get sued over GoW and now the investigation from the lawsuit againts Nintendo moves one step closer...all that is left is for more info on the whole Silicon Knights vs Epic!

daknight

Hillcrest labs does look to actually have a legitamate beef and actually produce something as op[posed to just having a patent with no physical backup

TheGreySpectre

@incubushead:
Quote of the week.

@majortom1029:
Exactly. This isn't really a big deal.

@iLov3:
Ya, this happens all the time.
There is a good article here [www.1up.com] about some of the better ones.

Believe me; Nintendo is not worried at all.
If any of you have read Game Over: Press Start to Continue by David Sheff, you know what I mean.

If you haven't read the book I highly suggest you do; it has been called the bible of video games, and is very enlightening.

Reikson

It's not like there's Wiis on the shelves now anyway. Even if Nintendo is found guilty, is it going to make a difference?

GrandfatherParadox

@Unstop: Shut up, you.

This would send their demand through the roof (though I suppose it's already broken anyway), should they lose.

PatMan33

@iLov3: Awesome comment. Let's just make sure to never buy anything from Hillcrap Labs.

synapticflow

It's payback time for too long have you neglected your hardcore base and shun third party support. It all started with the N64. >=[

Unstop

@Zegridathes: Also, just because Nintendo started on the Wiimote in 2000 didn't mean they had patents on it either

djricekcn

@Altersparck:Sad.

@Dexyn:Sadder.

Foxstar Sixtail

@Zegridathes:Nintendo holds motion control patents dating all the way back to the late 70's/early 80's.

Foxstar Sixtail

Nothing major will come of this. Nintendo's been dealing with the US court system for a long while. At worst, Hillcrest gets a money hat, which is what they want, but John Kirby and Howard Lincoln taught Nintendo's legal teams how to play. Even in the East Texas patent hell, no, the Wii's not going to be withdrawn from market.

Hillcrest won't be the only ones to step forward. Sony, Microsoft all have and will have patent trolls.

Foxstar Sixtail

@Dexyn: Haha. Me, too. Haters unite! :P

Altersparck

@majortom1029: Just because the company was founded in 2001 doesn't mean that it couldn't hold patents filed earlier.

Zegridathes

I hope they did, because then I could finally sell my Wii on eBay, and make a giant profit.

LegendK1ll3r

So, are we back in Texas's patent trolling district for this one again? That whole area should just be barred from having courts entirely it's so bad.

DimensionWarped

Oh good. Nothing like an old-fashioned lawsuit beatdown.

FoxyGaz

I think my last comment got deleted but Hillcrest labs was founded in 2001. Nintendo started work on the wiimote in 2000 .

Combine the fact that the company wasnt even around when nintendo started on the wii mote plus the fact that they are using different companies patented ideas that they liscenced hillcrest labs wont win.

majortom1029

@Morphie: don't get into your bomb shelters just yet. :p

bialia

@subnet6:

The make stuff. Stuff that likely doesn't sell to well since one of their products is a motion-controlled mouse.

[www.hillcrestlabs.com]

Thing is, I have no idea what its use would be.

Mact

If that happened, which it won't cause nintendo will pay them off, I would sell my wii. Enjoy the massive mark up, and go on with my life.

Demonbird

Nintendo Responds to Trade Commission Investigation of Wii, Seems Pleased.

Morpork

Patent troll. It's so obvious when the claim is made up, because they always wait until the device is more or less at it's financial peak before filing. Why not file two years ago when the device hit the market, eh, you greedy bastards?

iLov3

@kbomb1upc:

Actually it's just one cut in half then spraypainted white and the controller has been replaced with a 90's stereo remote.

captainapplesauce

nintendo has already been granted patents for the wii remote. so how can they be found infringing on a ptent when they already have one themselves?

majortom1029

@subnet6: They do indeed make stuff. I have a couple of friends who work there. They do stuff with STBs and motion controls, and have been doing so before the Wii ever came out.

Erwos

And in other news Nintendo has apparently CRUSHED Hillcrest Laboratories by drooping obscene amounts of cash money on their offices. There were no survivors.

incubushead

How can that be... I thought the Wii was just 2 GameCubes taped together?

kbomb1upc

Huh.

I'm sure they'll come to some sort of settlement before it gets banned, if it even gets further along in the court system.

Kotae

So, does Hillcrest Labs actually MAKE something or are they one of those "on-paper" companies that goes around buying patents just to file lawsuits against people?

subnet6

I hope people start hoarding them to try and make a buck on the potential with drawl... only to not happen.

theuglyteradon

Itd be nice to see them lose and stop selling in America itd make me lol for certain.

Dexyn

Man, and I've been saving for a Wii, too!

Well, Nintendo's pretty damned good at stopping lawsuits of any kind, hopefully it can kill this one as well.

blackadvent

Man, right before the Holiday season too. Though I don't know if the ruling could pass before Christmas.

[ZTF]

Hopefully, the sale of Wiis get banned in the US.

Then I can sell mine for three times what I paid for it.

One can only hope...

Jage

This will make Wii's harder to get...

Morphie

which is nintendo speaking the legalese for "it's on, bizzatch!"

solar_tf

Drama! I H-A-T-E it! T_T

Shiryu

There is nothing here, no way a company with the size and resources of Nintendo would ever let something like that happen. At worse, they will reach a settlement.

NeVeRMoRe666

I agree that this should have been done a long time ago and not right now. The Wii has been out long enough that, if a problem like this existed, they would have been sued a while back. The cash trolls are about everywhere and they all know that whether the big N is right or not, they will get a big settlement

RPGJunky

Even if hillcrest had a patent for motion control, it doesnt control a wii, it doesnt control a console of any variety.

dillinger23

If by any chance the Hillcrest wins this court thingie, Getting Wiis out of the country would be the last thing thats goin to happen....

@PatMan33: Even w that kind of demand, they wont make as much money they do now, thats for sure.

@all who want the Wii out of the US: wanting the Wii banned only shows hate, If u dont like the Wii just dont buy it. limit yourselves to that.

Mactheridon

@Reikson:If Nintendo can deal with the KGB (Tetris), MGM (Donkey Kong), Atari (Tengen, 10NES shitstorm), and the US Goverment (Antitrust issues), I doubt they are worried about Hillcrest.

@Unstop:Don't be a idiot. I know it's hard.

Foxstar Sixtail

If nintendo loses doesnt that mean the next company they will sue will be soney and then microsoft if they release a motion controlled peripheral?

majortom1029

@Mact: I had a prof. who used a motion-controlled mouse for in-class presentations. He would pull up cases online, display them on the projector, scroll through them and point with his mouse from a distance. I'm not sure how this enhanced my learning experience.

I'd never seen a motion-controlled mouse, so I asked him about, and he told me how great it was for class and how he'd take it home and just lean back in his chair and browse the internets. Again--not sure how or why he was dissatisfied with an "old fashioned" optical mouse.

Lawya

@[ZTF]:

Given the speed at which our legal system works, I'd be surprised if they got it passed before the end of the Wii's life cycle.

TheRockingDead

If this were MS, they would've settled and this would never be mentioned again.

If this were Sony, they would fight it until a judgment came and they have to pay 10 times as much.

Nintendo? Dunno. We'll have to see.

DARTH_TIGRIS

I'm thinking this might all be plot to increase the sales in the coming season. People think they'll drop off the market, so they have even more reason to buy them up. It's all a conspiracy that they've had in place. Create puppet companies that continue to sue them to drive up fear of their products going off the market.

Talleh

I can picture people responding to this with "Oh shit! The Wii might disappear?!?!? I better go buy one before it is too late!"

Most cases like this just disappear but I agree that this actually sounds like they might have a case. I doubt that the Wii would be taken off shelves. If this company wins it will probably result in the motion sensing controllers not being sold anymore, or a huge 'donation' to the company, or it will disappear like every other case.

PS3AN

Why did it take this long for Hillcrest to file their case....or is this the first time we have heard of it. The Wii has been out for ages?? If I had patents that I reckoned were being infrinnged I would be on that company's case ASAP. Not over two years after the console is out.

topbanana

@Talleh:

Is your avatar a Zoidberg/Kirby lovechild?

captainapplesauce

@TrifeLife: And I hope they don't, just to piss you and all the other haters off.

Ashkihyena

@captainapplesauce: That's what happens when Kirby swallows him in Super Smash Bros. vs. Futurama.

DorkimusPrime

@topbanana: Probably knew all along, just waited until it was a total success so they could get as much out of a lawsuit as possible.

TrifeLife

My prayers have been answered! Hopefully nintendo will have to axe it and get to work on a real console.

TrifeLife

What bugs me the most about all this is all the things Nintendo has just stood by and let be stolen from them. Controllers alone, they were the first to do D pads, diamond button layout, shoulder buttons, analog sticks, rumble, and wi-fi. ALL of those have been stolen by Sega, Sony and Microsoft just to name a few and are all in use today, and taken for granted.

SubZippo

@TrifeLife: Naw, you sound pretty much like a hater. Personally, I think the Wii is fine as it is, and to be honest, I like the controls, at least on games that use them.

Besides, even if Hillcrest won and Nintendo had to make something else, all I'm sure I'd be reading are even more complaints about the new console.

Ashkihyena

Holy crap, I keep underestimating how much irrational douchebaggery people can deliver. And then I read these comments. So thank you for lowering my hope for humanity, you fanatical fanboys.

blackadvent

@Ashkihyena: How could you possibly be content with a gamecube with mediocre motion controls? Granted, SMG is probably in my top 5 as far as best games of this gen goes. Then they go and announce the motion plus, true 1:1, (what I thought I was getting with the console in the first place?) That will take it up a few notches in my book, but lets not forget how I'll have to drop $120+tax on those things to accomidate all 4 of my controllers.. I'm not a hater, just disappointed.

TrifeLife

@Acebuckeye13:

/agree

EnigmaNemesis

@TrifeLife:

I don't know. Probably in a more sophisticate manner than you are content with those tired old cliches against the Wii.

Mact

@Lawya:

Exactly my point.

They only people who would buy the thing would be big businesses who like to look cutting edge and colleges with too much funding.

There really is no reason an average consumer would purchase one as I'm sure the markup is huge.

Mact

I really get angry at a lot of Kotaku posters defending their respective companies. People are such blind idiots as they go out and claim that every patent lawsuit is trolling. Like that wii-mote vs. wee mote thing. In the newspost, the representitive from the comapny claimed that people were avoiding their product because they thought it was buying off Nintendo's sucess, even though they were out first. That is a ligitimate issue, but everyone and their grandmother was calling "Patent Troll!" Not every company is out to get yours, and yeah, sometimes you company does some shitty stuff. Don't go around attacking people JUST because they have filled a lawsuit. Find out the details, see if they have a ligitimate case, or it's just a load of bullshit. Please, people, take your brain out of your rectum and into your head.

Acebuckeye13

Let's get some things straight. Nothing is going to change if the Wii gets taken off market, it's just that Nintendo will lose a hefty amount of money. Not much point in worrying about that since they'll just be back in the next generation with something similar.

Yes it will be similar because if this goes through then the Wii had trouble because of a patent and not because it was neglected by core players.

On that note, why do core players even care about the Wii? If it doesn't have the games you like then buy a different system. The Wii isn't "stealing" good titles from the other consoles since, in your opinion, it doesn't even have any good titles. So why should you care?

Rhys

haha

Jonathan

@TrifeLife:

True Story!

EnigmaNemesis

@Mact: Just because the cliche's are old doesn't mean they aren't still true.

TrifeLife

If the wii gets taken off the markets, then a) a lot of people are going to firebomb Hillcrest, and b) no one at Hillcrest will survive.

antisniper

@TrifeLife:No, your a hater.

Foxstar Sixtail

The way I see it, Nintendo keeps getting sued for the same damn thing. How many people own the patent for the controller? This needs a big battle royale between all of the patent holders to see who gets to sue Nintendo for the big prize.

Galidan

This Hillcreast place better be ready for one hell of a fight. Nintendo is not going to pull the best selling console in history from one of the major territories without a long drawn out battle. Hell, as much money as they are making they could just keep drawing it out until Hillcreast has no more funds to fight with.

EmeraldDragon

I always love the fanboy hatred of all things non-whatever. There are pros and cons to each system. Fact is, that each system helps to strengthen the industry.

Nintendo is drawing in large numbers of people into the gaming industry. Yes, some of them enjoy quick play games and games that are fun in groups, ala the "casual gamers" as people have labeled them. Those games that are "hardcore" (a.k.a. blood filled, FPS, multifests) are fairly absent from the Wii.

Microsoft has an excellent online multiplayer experience, however, there are flaws in the management of it, as it is more difficult for parental control. This is in reference to voicechat which despite being 'optional' is essentially necessary for a variety of games.

Sony has a long standing history of extremely good third party support. The PS2 is the largest selling system in history because of this. However, the PS3 is sorely lacking in an abundance of games that stand out from the other consoles. Most PS3 games are also 360 games, thus making it not as crucial as the PS2 was.

Perhaps the biggest problem of all, is that games that are fun are no longer seen as 'fun' unless they are part of the 'hardcore' section of gaming.

Johivin

@antisniper:

How? I thought Nintendo didn't have any "hardcore" left?

EnigmaNemesis

I've said it once and I'll say it again, fuck, Read: F-U-C-K, patent squatters.

MrMister

Actually the real question is: Is Hillcrest Labs a publicly traded company? If so, if Nintendo loses, expect hillcrest labs to be owned by ninty the next morning.

maverickuw

yea nintendo will have a hard time getting its wii out. people will simply stop playing with their wiis, and companies will stop making games for peoples wii. wii will be on the, streets on the walls, at the dump. someone will be walking and someone wii hits his head, cuz the guy took his wii out the window.

ok ok im done im done...i just gotta go wii thats all :P

last_dread

y'know, this is all sadness. Even if this is not patent trolling, is unavoidable to think that because of the delay and missinformation.

then, those haters and fanboys who do nothing more than say "I hate the wii" thus giving us the polite wii haters a very bad ehmm.. feeling. (I hate what the wii is doing to my friends, noone of them can use more than two buttons on a controller now! Who am I gonna play SF$ against?)

and then, dont tellme nintendo cannot buy ANYTHING. even If they were stealing.

DLNO-001

why does the link send me back to this page?

INDIGOVENOM

@Johivin: "Perhaps the biggest problem of all, is that games that are fun are no longer seen as 'fun' unless they are part of the 'hardcore' section of gaming."

This, definitly this, unless game consoles are not "hardkore", people like TrifeLife there will bitch about them.

Ashkihyena

@Rhys:

That's the thing though. It won't get taken off the market.

Even though they don't fall under the definition of patent-sitters, they are after money.

That's what every business is about.

Mact

@TrifeLife:

That's assuming they were true in the first place.

@EnigmaNemesis:

Can you just write a code to post for you, please?
Because it'd be nice if you were less predictable.

Mact

@Foxstar Sixtail: If having a neagtive attitude towards the wii, (with facts to back up my opinions) makes me a hater than I guess I am.

TrifeLife

@TrifeLife:

Then get off the interwebz.

NESSter

@kbomb1upc:

It's the tape they used that's infringing copyrights!

Zuiyo

@NESSter: You guys are twice as pathetic as you are trying to make me out to be by getting soo worked up over my opinions. "get off the interwebz"..? Was that an attempt at a joke? You just look stupid.

TrifeLife

@TrifeLife:

I have a feeling that we will be seeing Playstation 3 type CPU and graphic chip sets in the next Nintendo system.

Now I'm not saying Cell Processor and everything, just similar power. By then, like 3-5 years, Nintendo will be able to have a casual friendly motioned control system, as well as great graphics and physics.

Nintendo will always be under the level of power of the competitors though. This way they can keep it much cheaper to attract the casual crowd.

It seems to me that the Wii, much like the successful DS before it, is an experiment to test the Blue Ocean Strategy.

Now they know how to expand the market, and did so by modding the Gamecube with and enhanced and in my opinion, superior control scheme; not to mention the aesthetic appeal. All the while not wasting time developing a new system as powerful as the X360.

As I Said before don't worry about Nintendo, they'll be fine. I do agree though that this generation is a bit of a let down to the hardcore Nintendo fans like myself. But that is the risk they took...

Reikson

yeah me too. to hell with Wii's!!!

block them from being sold!

there should be a law against rehashing Gamecube hardware and adding 3mhz to the clock speed. seriously

DoomLight

Micro$oft put them up to this, didn't they?

Enigma_20XX

Wii will become a collectors item if they actually lost. I really doubt they will though. Everyone, grab your power stars.

PsychoticLad

@Foxstar Sixtail: What, am I supposed to keep lapping up Nintendo's shit-shovel? No thanks. I jumped off the Nintendo bandwagon a long time ago and stayed pretty apathetic until the Wii came out and Nintendo abandoned the gamers who supported then through the lean N64 and GameCube days.

As far as I see it, it'll be pure karma if the Wii gets pulled off the market.

Altersparck

@Altersparck: Karma? KARMA? Gamings revival could be attributed to Nintendo. There could be an argument that could be made that we wouldn't be playing the games we are today if it wasn't for them. They don't owe you shit. You don't have to purchase their products if you don't want to or if it doesn't suit your needs, theres no reason for you to hate.

Just this past year, Nintendo released Super Strikers, Mario Galaxy (AAA), SSMBB (AAA), Mario Kart, Mario Baseball, WiiFit and Metroid Prime (AAA). In the past, we would be lucky if we had two offerings from Nintendo in the same year let alone so many blockbusters. Blame third party support for exploting the Wii's success, NOT NINTENDO. Its sad how quickly so called "realz" gamers forget where they came from.

NeVeRMoRe666

@Erwos: Tell your friends to get real jobs.

Superlocke

@NeVeRMoRe666:

I am, so i think, one of those so called "realz" Oo gamers, and agree on the point that i feel a little kick assed over that low level content on the Wii.

I still like those Nintendo franchaises which you mentioned and own the most significant ones.

BUT, if i do not realy get what i whised for, i do not put power in form of negative emotions (which are the most powersucking emotions cause good ones make you fell them a lot easier) in lifeless BRANDS and NAMES or far distant persons who lead them.

I just move on to something that fits me much more, in my case an 360 (cause at the time of the decision it ws simply LOT cheaper than the PS3), and have my fun with that.

My friendly advise to you, and all those others who put far to much negative emotions in the forums and internet news, is to calm down a bit stand back for like 20 minutes from your screens and just look a little out of your window to enjoy something different and et some distanc between you and those bad thinkings.

That will keep you on an lot easier breathe.

fELIXADER

I don't see what Hillcrest could do if they one this lawsuit. Would they be as innovative as Nintendo with the technology? I hope this is a Nintendo score.

仁天堂その技術で創造されます。僕の以前のコメントにごめんね、ほんとに御免なさい。

bird1988