News

Sony Interested In Interrupting Your Gaming With Commercials

Are commercial breaks something gamers in the future will have to deal with? According to a newly surfaced patent, they might.


May 12, 2012
Nintendo

Why Yes, This Patent Does Feature A Guy Playing Golf Over A Wii U Tablet

Kotaku AU

The diagram is a bit goofy-looking, but then, that comes with the patent territory. It’s sufficiently detailed enough that we can make out a guy, Wii Remote in hand, standing over a device that looks suspiciously like a Wii U tablet. He’s also playing golf.


April 11, 2012
News

Guitar Apprentice Makers Sue Ubisoft Over Rocksmith Patent-Infringement

The British rock band Rocksmith aren’t the only ones suing Ubisoft over the French publisher’s guitar game Rocksmith. Now, the folks who make the instructional guitar game Guitar Apprentice have filed claimed patent infringement against Ubisoft over tech similarities to their own game.


March 24, 2012
News

‘Player Encounters Hooker’: The Most Epic Video Game Patent Application Ever?

Patent applications let people dream big. Someone out there’s got a killer idea for the Litter Box of the Future or fart-proof underwear. There may be hundreds of hurdles to cross before any such thing gets made, but a patent lets them plant a flag in the land of unclaimed ideaspace.


January 4, 2012
Xbox

Patents Show That The Next Xbox Might Be A DVR, Too

Xbox 3, Xbox 720, NextBox… whatever you call it, lots of rumours are being floated about Microsoft’s next home console. Some say it’ll output Avatar-level visuals while others say it’ll lean heavily on cloud architecture. But the latest hint as to Microsoft’s gaming future point to their ever-increasing ambition to fuse TV, film and gaming content.


August 13, 2011
Nintendo

Nintendo Seeks To Patent The Massively Singleplayer Online Game

Back in 2010, Nintendo filed a patent application for something called a “massively single-playing online game”, something whose interactions don’t take place in real time and what sounds a little Animal Crossing-ish (above).


August 2, 2011
News

FarmVille Maker Has One More Lawsuit To Worry About Now

FarmVille and Mafia Wars maker Zynga, has been slapped with another lawsuit, this time for patent infringement.


August 9, 2010
News

Kinect Patent Says It Can Read Sign Language

The patent for Microsoft’s motion-sensing camera Kinect was released to the public last week, and while we knew most of the stuff contained within, I’d be lying if I said I knew the device could recognise sign language.


In Real Life

Kinect Is A Victorian Gentleman At Heart

You can keep your raft-paddling and dance dancing. I’m hanging out for Kinect’s moustache-twiddling minigame compilation. As seen on the USPTO.


April 11, 2010
News

Another Patent Filing Speaks Of Rumble-Enabled DS

A newly published patent application lends additional credence to what Nikkei reported last month, that Nintendo’s upcoming 3DS handheld will feature force feedback.