Colopl is a Japanese mobile game company that has been running Shiro Neko Project, a pretty successful Action-RPG, since 2014 in Japan. The game was marketed as a true "one-finger RPG", allowing players, as the name suggests, to play the game with one finger. It uses an emulated analogue stick to accomplish tasks such as moving the character, attacking and using skills.

Nothing unusual, right? Well, it seems Nintendo doesn't think so as it filed a lawsuit against Colopl—three years after Shiro Neko Project's release, and after a year-long negotiations attempt between the companies—for violating five tech patent rights, and is asking for $40,000,000 in damages. One of these patents involve operating a joystick over a touch screen. Details are lacking since the lawsuit is fresh and everything official is in Japanese, but it is speculated Nintendo may be referring to the emulated analogue stick used in Super Mario 64 DS as an optional control method.



It's rather strange Nintendo specifically targets Colopl's game since there are A LOT of games that make use of an emulated joystick. It may be Shiro Neko Project uses a technique that too closely resembles the one used in Super Mario 64 DS. As said, details are scarce and there may be more to it. The other four patents Nintendo claims to have been violated are unknown at this time. The document provided by Colopl may contain more information, but it is Japanese. Maybe users who understand Japanese can help? Edit: No new information.

In any event, Colopl provided a statement claiming those assertions are unfair. Time will tell how this story will develop.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

 

[RedBlueGreen]

For me it is same as apple lawsuits.

Just companies being greedy and trying to sue companies for money even though other companies aren't suing them for using similar ideas.

Just Nintendo being a dick.

As always with these copyright things.

Well if you're suing people for illegally uploading your copyrighted content it makes sense, but a lot of these patent infringement cases are jokes.

 

[xBleedingSoulx]

There's gotta be more to it? Sounds too low, even for Nintendo.

 

[RedBlueGreen]

There's gotta be more to it? Sounds too low, even for Nintendo.

I doubt it. Nintendo's mad that they've been sued over the Wii remote, the glasses free 3D technology in tbe 3DS, and the Wii U gamepad. The former two the plaintiffs won (I'm not well informed on the Wii remote,but the glasses free 3D one was suspect, even the judge drastically lowered the amount Nintendo had to pay in damages).

I don't know how it works in Japan but I hope it doesn't have a jury for lawsuits like this, because a judge is probably less likely to tolerate the bullshit in these claims.

Because there's a lot more to this than "Yeah it's a joystick on a screen".

 

[wiewiec]

Just companies being greedy and trying to sue companies for money even though other companies aren't suing them for using similar ideas.

Well if you're suing people for illegally uploading your copyrighted content it makes sense, but a lot of these patent infringement cases are jokes.

And we have absurds like that, as i remember one of Apple lamsuits was scrolling thing and how the look of reaction is.

But stupid kind of lawsuit - often used by Apple was to sue another company in Germany and they block releasing product not only in Germany but also in rest of Europe.

Strange law they have got. Germany where carmageddon have dinosaurs rather than people or even Zombies

 

[proflayton123]

Typical ninty just wanting money out of people

 

[wicksand420]

Typical ninty just wanting money out of people

Yeah, I would imagine that Nintendo is fighting to stay alive right now because everybody is stealing all there software, I love nintendo, and have since I was a kid, and I think it is fucked up to steal there shit with one hand and talk shit about them with the other hand. I think when a corporation is pushed into a corner, and has to fight to stay alive, you will see them lash out, this is a taste of things to come.

 

[MeowMeowMeow]

Fuck Nintendo.

nin here, forget about your golden sun 4.

 

[KingVamp]

Want to point out again, that Nintendo has been sued with seemly the same kind of nonsense. Recently by Gamevice suing over the Switch because of the Wikipad.

 

[the_randomizer]

Want to point out again, that Nintendo has been sued with the seemly the same kind of nonsense. Recently by Gamevice suing over the Switch because of the Wikipad.

Gamevice can fuck a cactus.

 

[WhiteMaze]

They're the Apple of gaming..

Still love my Switch though..

You know what the sad thing is?

The sad thing is that you're 100% correct. Nintendo IS the Apple of the video game world.

It's incredible how much their actions as companies mirror each other, everything from a very notorious conservative nature, a lot of times unwilling to adhere to progress like the rest of the world, to the incredibly strict company standards and the way it operates based on a politic of fear and secretism.

Now, Nintendo reminds me even more of the Apple way, by flexing it's muscles and making lawsuits after lawsuits against smaller companies.

It comes to mind when Apple filed a patent for rounded corners on smartphones and tablets. Meaning Apple wanted to be the only one to be able to make smartphones and tablets with rounded corners. Yeh. What a joke.

What a shame. I love Nintendo and their games but I can't be a double standards person. I hate Apple for what it stands for, so I just lost a lot of respect for my favorite gaming company..

What a shame Nintendo...what a shame.

 

[chrisrlink]

now I'm hoping the switch gets hacked wide open GO TX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Spectral Blizzard]

Nintendo for you.
FUCK YEAH!

 

[wicksand420]

You know what the sad thing is?

The sad thing is that you're 100% correct. Nintendo IS the Apple of the video game world.

It's incredible how much their actions as companies mirror each other, everything from a very notorious conservative nature, a lot of times unwilling to adhere to progress like the rest of the world, to the incredibly strict company standards and the way it operates based on a politic of fear and secretism.

Now, Nintendo reminds me even more of the Apple way, by flexing it's muscles and making lawsuits after lawsuits against smaller companies.

It comes to mind when Apple filed a patent for rounded corners on smartphones and tablets. Meaning Apple wanted to be the only one to be able to make smartphones and tablets with rounded corners. Yeh. What a joke.

What a shame. I love Nintendo and their games but I can't be a double standards person. I hate Apple for what it stands for, so I just lost a lot of respect for my favorite gaming company..

What a shame Nintendo...what a shame.

If nintendo was in fact the apple version of the gaming industry, then they would be selling there consoles at ridiculous prices. when the xbox 1 and ps4 came out, they where well over 500 bucks, but the switch, as well as all the other consoles nintendo come out with are reasonably priced on launch.

 

[WhiteMaze]

If nintendo was in fact the apple version of the gaming industry, then they would be selling there consoles at ridiculous prices. when the xbox 1 and ps4 came out, they where well over 500 bucks, but the switch, as well as all the other consoles nintendo come out with are reasonably priced on launch.

And heavily outclassed in power and performance by its rivals from Sony and Microsoft.

The Switch's price was never reasonably priced. That in my eyes is a complete fallacy.

It was overpriced for technology that is years old, precisely like Apple does.

 

[DSAndi]

The usual Nintendo vs small ppl lawsuit.
I hope they will loose and have to pay 60Mil to Colopl.

 

[Deleted User]

To paraphrase something I heard somewhere (can't quite remember where):

As a game-maker, the people at Nintendo are geniuses.
As a company, the people at Nintendo are pieces of shit.

 

[RedBlueGreen]

Yeah, I would imagine that Nintendo is fighting to stay alive right now because everybody is stealing all there software, I love nintendo, and have since I was a kid, and I think it is fucked up to steal there shit with one hand and talk shit about them with the other hand. I think when a corporation is pushed into a corner, and has to fight to stay alive, you will see them lash out, this is a taste of things to come.

Nintendo's not fighting to stay in business. Nintendo has been in business for over 100 years and they're not going anywhere anytime soon. I don't think you get just how much money Nintendo has. They didn't sink even though DS flash cards were around for a long time at cheaper prices than games, they didn't sink even though the Wii was easily hackable, and there aren't nearly as many people pirating 3DS games as people seem to think.

 

[wicksand420]

Nintendo's not fighting to stay in business. Nintendo has been in business for over 100 years and they're not going anywhere anytime soon. I don't think you get just how much money Nintendo has. They didn't sink even though DS flash cards were around for a long time at cheaper prices than games, they didn't sink even though the Wii was easily hackable, and there aren't nearly as many people pirating 3DS games as people seem to think.

you might want to check your math on that "over 100 years" statement, I'd say they have been in business since the early 80's

 

[bi388]

Square Enix probably owns the IP. Nintendo probably only holds the copyright for the SNES version.

That's not my point. My point is it uses a touch screen analogue stick to move with.

 

[Deleted User]

you might want to check your math on that "over 100 years" statement, I'd say they have been in business since the early 80's

They've been around since the 1800s. To quote Wikipedia:

Nintendo was founded as a card company by Fusajiro Yamauchi on 23 September 1889. Based in Kyoto, the business produced and marketed a playing card game called "Hanafuda". The handmade cards soon became popular, and Yamauchi hired assistants to mass-produce cards to satisfy demand. In 1949, the company adopted the name Nintendo Karuta Co., Ltd., doing business as The Nintendo Playing Card Co. outside Japan. Nintendo continues to manufacture playing cards in Japan and organizes its own contract bridge tournament called the "Nintendo Cup". The word Nintendo can be translated as "leave luck to heaven", or alternatively as "the temple of free hanafuda".