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Nintendo Tried to Fight Off Patent Troll, Now Faces Injunction

Chris Moody — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:07:43 -0500

Last year a company called Anascape brought a lawsuit against Nintendo and Microsoft, claiming the companies violated several of its patents on game controllers. Microsoft’s deep pockets settled the case for an undisclosed amount. Nintendo decided to continue the fight, but lost. A jury awarded Anascape $21 million in damages.. The judge has refused to give Nintendo a new trial and threatens to halt sales of GameCube controllers, Wavebirds, and Wii Classic controllers until Nintendo puts up the money or posts a bond so it can continue fighting.

With Sony losing a similar suit to Immersion and Microsoft caving in, it doesn’t look good for Nintendo to win its case.

ArsTechnica looked deeper into Anascape and its patents. They found that Anascape doesn't have a web site. All of its patents belong to Brad Armstrong of Carson City, Nevada. Searches for Anascape’s offices haven't turned up anything. Anascape's lawyer Doug Cawley claims that the company wants to enter the game controller business, but Nintendo has "clogged the market”.

ArsTechnica also listed some of Anascape’s patents:

•   Patent 6,135,886, "Variable Conductance Sensor with Elastomeric Dome Cap"
•   Patent 6,208,271 "Remote Controller with Analog Button"
•   Patent 6,222,525 "Image Controller with Sheet Connected Sensors"
•   Patent 6,343, 991 "Game Control with Analog Pressure Sensor"
•   Patent 6,344,791 "Variable Sensor with Tactile Feedback"
•   Patent 6,347,997 "Analog Controls Housed with Electronic Displays"
•   Patent 6,906,700 "3D Controller with Vibration"

They rightfully point out that these are all pretty broad ideas that could apply to most any type of controller.

Patent trolling is becoming more prevalent, after all why bother making anything when you can sue your way to profits without lifting a finger. This sort of mentality will lead to a decline in innovation, as small companies can’t afford to litigate weak claims and larger companies will seek ways around them.

Patent and copyright law is broken; it is an obscenely long time before technology/music/Mickey Mouse falls into the public domain. Quinn Norton, had a great article in her column in the June or July issue of MPC you should check out on this subject.

We run the risk of patent “gridlock” and it will be small business and consumers that will pay the price. Will you want to pay it?

(Image Credit: Flickr.com yrocq

G25 Racing Wheel

Steve Klett — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:32:23 -0600

Logitech’s new high-end PC racing wheel is about as flexible as it gets: The gear shift, wheel, and pedals are separate parts, allowing you to easily—and securely—mount them as you wish on and under your desk, or perhaps in a custom-built F1 cockpit. Sadly, you can’t swap the G25 out with the wheel in your real car, which is what we wanted to do after a few weeks with this product!

Constructed from heavy, durable plastic and stainless steel, and trimmed with genuine leather—on both the wheel and shifter—these controls feel like the real deal. The wheel can spin a full 900 degrees, lock to lock (depending on software support), and the six-speed shifter can be used in traditional six-speed “H” mode, or sequential mode (push up/down to change gears). The pedal unit includes brake, gas, and clutch—whoop!—pedals, all made from stainless steel and equipped with different resistance levels (that actually feel different in use). Twin force-feedback motors in the wheel housing deliver instant, realistic, and powerful force-feedback effects that really enhance the driving experience.

The gear-shift unit has eight buttons plus a directional pad—all of which are programmable for things like views, ignition, etc. Traditional paddle shifters are also included on the wheel, and while they are made of stainless steel, they feel a bit chintzy—there’s no tactile feedback at all when you use them.

That’s the only real chink (and a minor one) in the G25’s armor—other than the fact that few games right now support the manual six-speed “H” transmission (any game should be able to work with the sequential shift mode). Just Live for Speed and rFactor provide full manual shifting out of the gate, although Need for Speed: Carbon and GTR 2 will soon, as well. Other than price, there’s simply nothing else to complain about here. Setup and installation of driver software went without a hitch. If you’re a serious driving-game aficionado, you owe it to yourself to own this wheel!

Month Reviewed: December 2006
Verdict: 9
kickass=yes
URL: www.logitech.com

Razer Krait

Will Smith — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 17:26:41 -0600

We’ve traditionally slammed Razer mice because their oversize buttons are too easy to accidentally click and their low-profile ambidextrous design hurts our hands over long sessions. The new Krait ditches the obnoxious, impossible-to-click side buttons that we detested on the Copperhead model and streamlines the overall shape of the mouse, for a mousing experience that had us pleasantly surprised.

The Krait’s 1600dpi optical sensor delivers Razer-style pixel-perfect accuracy. Its super-slick feet glide across our mouse pad with practically no drag at all, and its buttons deliver just the right resistance—neither too difficult nor too easy. The illuminated scroll wheel and side rails make it easy to see the Krait in a dark room. While this is one of the better Razer mice we’ve tested, it’s still far from perfect.

Although you can change the sensitivity on the fly using Razer’s software, you shouldn’t plan on using that feature for this three-button mouse. Because the on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment requires that you map a button on the mouse to use that feature, you’d have to map the right mouse button to actually enable the feature. While we love dialing down the mouse speed when we’re sniping, we wouldn’t sacrifice the ability to zoom in Battlefield 2 to get extra sensitivity. Still, with its kick-ass $30 street price and pin-point accuracy, it’s pretty easy to recommend.

Month Reviewed: November 2006
+ CARL: Super-sensitive gaming design for a great price.
- LENNY: Only three buttons; on-the-fly sensitivity doesn’t work well.
Verdict: 8
URL: www.razerzone.com