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Nintendo Wins Handheld Patent Case

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Nintendo has won a lawsuit that was filed against it by a company that claimed the Japanese gaming giant’s handheld devices infringed on its patents. The suit was filed over eight of Nintendo’s consoles, including the DSi, 3DS, and Game Boy Advance. Quintal Research Group, the company that filed the case, is a patent assertion firm that is run by the plaintiff, who is himself a patent lawyer.

The case against Nintendo revolved around a patent for a “computerized information retrieval system.” The case hinged on one specific section of the patent, which describes a device “having a generally rectangular shape with a display screen on one side that has a frame with an ergonomic placement of finger controls including a pair of thumb controls on the top of the display with at least one of the finger controls being a cursor or pointer control.”

Nintendo patent lawsuit

That’s rather vague, and Nintendo wasn’t going to give in to the patent trolls. Fortunately for them, Quintal Research’s case was quite dodgy from the start. For one thing, their patent was awarded in 2008, but they were suing over consoles that were released well before that year, such as the Game Boy Advance, which was released in 2004. For another thing, handheld consoles have been prolific for several decades, so it’s unclear how a patent was even awarded for something that was clearly already a well-established invention.

Quintal was apparently quick to inform Nintendo of its patent back in 2009 and even offered them a license to use the patent. Nintendo, which has been manufacturing handheld consoles since the 1980’s, rightly scoffed and dismissed the patent as ridiculous.

“We are very pleased to have this case dismissed,” said Devon Pritchard, General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Business Affairs of Nintendo of America. “The result in this case continues to prove that Nintendo will vigorously defend its innovations against patent lawsuits and will not pay to settle cases simply to avoid litigation. Nintendo continues to support patent reform efforts that reduce the unnecessary and inefficient burden cases like this one place on technology companies in the United States.”

Nintendo is frequently the target of patent trolls. Earlier this year a Slovakian patent troll firm tried to claim they owned the rights to the Wii Balance Board based on a patent for a “method and device for detecting specific states of movement of a user.” That case was quickly thrown out. Sadly, Nintendo doesn’t always win. They lost a suit against Tomita Technologies back in 2014 for infringing a patent for stereoscopic 3D display technology, and had to forfeit 1.8% of all 3DS profits from then on.

Rhiannon likes video games and she likes writing, so she decided to combine them. As well as writing about video games, she also belts out the occasional science fiction or fantasy story, edits videos, and eats strawberry oreos. In that order.

Gaming

Joker’s Free Suicide Squad DLC on PS5

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There hasn’t been much buzz surrounding Suicide Squad since its release in February. Warner Bros. was let down by the game’s underwhelming sales, but they remained committed to turning their live service vision into a reality. An exciting new DLC update has been released, introducing The Crown Prince of Crime to the game.

As the game’s first live season begins, players will have the chance to take on Green Lantern and, in the end, unlock The Joker as a playable character. Which Joker are you referring to? This is quite intricate. Furthermore, players can look forward to the inclusion of a Battle Pass, a variety of new shop items available for purchase, exciting Incursions and Strongholds to partake in, as well as an expanded selection of Infamy Sets and Notorious Gear to amass.

What are your thoughts on this? Does the allure of The Joker entice you to return to Suicide Squad, or have you remained a loyal fan all along? We value your feedback and would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

 

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Documentary Explores the Making of the Highly Praised Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for PS5

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Square Enix has launched a captivating documentary series that explores the intricate process behind the creation of the highly praised Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. In the first episode, titled “Shaping the World,” the developer delves into the process of reimagining the expansive PS1 map of the original game into a vast sandbox for the PS5. The film includes personal stories shared by directors Naoki Hamaguchi and Tetsuya Nomura, as well as other important members of the team.

This reimagining of the all-time PlayStation classic was truly enjoyable. In our review, we praised Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for its ability to enhance the already impressive combat system of Remake. The game truly shines in its portrayal of an iconic RPG setting. If you have a deep appreciation for the original PS1 game and found enjoyment in Remake, then Rebirth’s character-focused adventure will surely captivate you from start to finish.

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Gran Turismo 7 for the PS5 and PS4 shows continuous improvement

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While Sony may not classify Gran Turismo 7 as a live-service game, the team at Polyphony Digital certainly approaches it with a similar mindset. The game continues to impress with every new update, and although v1.44 may be smaller compared to previous versions, it still manages to enhance the already extensive content of this simulation racer.

The update, now available worldwide, introduces three new cars: the Audi R8 Coupé V10 Plus ’16, the Lamborghini Urus ’18, and the Toyota GT-One (TS020) ’99. Furthermore, it introduces three fresh events to World Circuits, an extra menu to conquer in the GT Café single-player campaign, and a collection of livery stickers inspired by the upcoming Highspeed Étoile anime, set to debut next week in Japan.

If you’re not already acquainted with Highspeed Étoile, you can watch a trailer right here. “Sony has announced that a collection of 26 stickers, consisting of 8 title logos and 18 main character stickers, will be made available for a limited time,” stated Sony on the PS Blog. In addition, Fukushima will be included as a backdrop in the title’s beloved photography mode.

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