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Nintendo Obtains New Anti-Palworld Patent and Seeks Even More

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Re: Nintendo Obtains New Anti-Palworld Patent and Seeks Even More

#61

Post by talldayo »

atum47 wrote: post #36

Nintendo is a shitty company. They made some good games 30 years ago and that's it. All the shitty stuff they are pulling today makes me wish they fail more and more. Even back in the day they would do shitty things to third party developers, we just didn't knew about it. Sorry if this hurts your nostalgia but it is the truth. I'll try to mention the previous shitty thing they did that was covered by the news every t…

The top comment there pretty much sums it up nicely. Attacking Nintendo is like attacking Disney or Apple - they're a lifestyle brand. There are some people who spend thousands of dollars annually on their products and might feel irrationally invested in the business. Others might have insecurities or extreme dysfunctions they perceive to be "solved" by the brand. People are deeply entrenched in the concept of these brands more than they care about the utility of them.

Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and even Valve all suffer from this to a degree. They're fighting for shrinking margins in an industry that is consolidating and seeking faster turnaround with lower headcount. Sony wants exclusives, Microsoft wants studios, Valve wants clients, and Nintendo wants to keep their preexisting studios from collapsing. Game Freak is on death's doorstep, HAL hasn't developed a real video game since Mother 3, Intelligent Systems is begging for someone to shoot them and Nintendo EPD has been sliding in quality since the Switch's release. Nintendo has every incentive to stay in their lane and try to salvage what they can.

I personally quite like Nintendo, but I'm also willing to see them for their flaws. I don't think their legal stance against YouTubers or C&Ds against Pokemon fangames will be their undoing, though. Nintendo is most likely to collapse for the same reasons Sony and Microsoft are threatened; games need to be made cheaper and faster, which is hard to equate with quality. If tariffs take away your hardware margins and indies destroy your software margins, the entire concept of a "game console" may not persist much longer.

Re: Nintendo Obtains New Anti-Palworld Patent and Seeks Even More

#62

Post by NotYourLawyer »

dylan604 wrote: post #5
kevincox wrote: post #3

Isn't this impossible because you can't get a patent if there is prior art? So they shouldn't be able to use a patent against a video game that came out before the patent was filed right?

The prior art restrictions are no longer in place, and the system has become first to file. The America Invents Act changed to the first to file from first to invent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leahy%E2%80%93Smith_America_In...

This is completely wrong. Please don’t opine on legal matters if you can’t be bothered to educate yourself.

Re: Nintendo Obtains New Anti-Palworld Patent and Seeks Even More

#63

Post by Hamuko »

portaouflop wrote: post #51
Hamuko wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The success of the Switch 1 might be a reason why the Switch 2 won't be, since game publishers will see that massive Switch 1 install base, still make versions of their games for the Switch 1 if at all feasible and give your average consumer less of a reason to go get one.

You can play switch 1 games on 2 so even if that might happen it won’t impact the success of switch 2

You know what you can also play Switch 1 games on? The Switch 1 that you already own.

Re: Nintendo Obtains New Anti-Palworld Patent and Seeks Even More

#64

Post by NotYourLawyer »

bilekas wrote: post #44

This is really strage but can someone with experience tell us how the approval process works? Is it not a bit difficult to patent game mechanics? Maybe I'm wrong but why wouldn't iD software just patented the concept of an FPS back when?

Depends way too much on the examiner.

Re: Nintendo Obtains New Anti-Palworld Patent and Seeks Even More

#65

Post by runevault »

portaouflop wrote: post #48
runevault wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I missed that one. For me it is the Nemesis System from Shadow of Mordor/War. They made 2 games and haven't done anything with it since but they still patented it.

They patent that stuff not because they want to use it but because they want to block and stifle the competition — it’s truly despicable if you ask me

I'm aware. It is still a massive bummer they couldn't even make anymore games since they limited anyone else from making them without paying out.

Re: Nintendo Obtains New Anti-Palworld Patent and Seeks Even More

#66

Post by pipes »

lelandfe wrote: post #33
gamedever wrote: post #17

Blame the government. You shouldn't be allowed to patent game mechanics IMO. Nitnendo has (had) a patent on ghost cars (showing a ghost of your former performance in Mario Kart) Sega has (had) a patent on zooming between camera positions from Virtua Racing 1 Wizards of the Coast has a patent on card games similar to Magic the Gathering. I don't know what their actual patent is but I do know lots of companies paid the…

The patented game mechanic I am most bummed won’t be appearing in other games is Death Stranding’s desire pathing. Having other players in an open word “wear” paths into the map was extremely cool.

https://www.reddit.com/r/shadowofmordor/comments/pzo3ri/what...

I looked it up. Good grief that is a ridiculous patent

Re: Nintendo Obtains New Anti-Palworld Patent and Seeks Even More

#67

Post by LordKeren »

Hamuko wrote: post #49
LordKeren wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, not even close. Nintendo is not a VC funded startup fighting for their survival. The Nintendo switch 2 is right around the corner and looks like it is going to sell extremely well, after the massive success of the switch 1 Patents are not that expensive to file. They are not diverting any meaningful amount of cash flow to this. This is a side activity of a few employees

The success of the Switch 1 might be a reason why the Switch 2 won't be, since game publishers will see that massive Switch 1 install base, still make versions of their games for the Switch 1 if at all feasible and give your average consumer less of a reason to go get one.

Sure, but that is the norm for any given game system. Early adopters are enthusiasts who want the latest and greatest and accept that there are few exclusive experiences on the new console. Most hold on to their older system as the catalog of games exclusive to the new system becomes more enticing.

There are already a significant amount of mainstream games that do not release on the switch due to hardware limitations. More robust hardware means that many of those games will be able to be ported to the switch 2.

I suspect the switch 2 will sell well, but it always hinges on game support over the long term

Re: Nintendo Obtains New Anti-Palworld Patent and Seeks Even More

#68

Post by markus_zhang »

portaouflop wrote: post #50
markus_zhang wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One easy solution is to give such talks in primary/middle schools so children stop buying Nintendo games. Give them all bad publicity. I wouldn't care separating Nintendo lawyers and gamedevs. If the lawyers are shady then the whole thing is shady.

You can’t solve systemic issues on an individual level — the whole system needs an overhaul, not much consumers can do here.

No I'm not trying to solve a systemic issue. To solve the systemic issue...we probably need a world revolution that won't happen in the foreseeable future.

Re: Nintendo Obtains New Anti-Palworld Patent and Seeks Even More

#69

Post by markus_zhang »

jillyboel wrote: post #58
markus_zhang wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One easy solution is to give such talks in primary/middle schools so children stop buying Nintendo games. Give them all bad publicity. I wouldn't care separating Nintendo lawyers and gamedevs. If the lawyers are shady then the whole thing is shady.

kids really don't care

Maybe yes, maybe not, only need to lower the sales by a few percents.

Re: Nintendo Obtains New Anti-Palworld Patent and Seeks Even More

#70

Post by lelandfe »

Andrex wrote: post #40
lelandfe wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The patented game mechanic I am most bummed won’t be appearing in other games is Death Stranding’s desire pathing. Having other players in an open word “wear” paths into the map was extremely cool.

Sounds like Animal Crossing City Folk's much-hated "animal tracks," which they ditched the very next game because everyone hated them lol. It's interesting to see that mechanic is desirable in a different context.

The way it's implemented is clever. Players gradually wear down challenging terrain, incentivizing you to take those easy paths. But the mechanic subtly solves a problem with open world settings, bringing order to infinite choice: you can go this way.

You also get notified when other players follow paths you've made, which feels great.

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