East Texas Controller Patent Case Finds for Plaintiff (big surprise), Nintendo Owes $21 Million

Keeping with the sordid history of patent cases in the Eastern District of Texas, Nintendo has lost its patent infringement legal battle with Anascape to the tune of 21 million bucks over patents relating to controller technology. Microsoft was also named, but settled for an undisclosed amount. It is unknown why Sony was not named as well.

Boohoo, Nintendo!

It is amazing to me how the EDT court system just pumps out these infringement cases. How is it possible that plaintiffs can win 70% of the time? I guess everyone is guilty in Texas...

Microsoft Files Application for Body Monitoring Software

While not directly related to video games (yet), Microsoft has submitted an application to the PTO regarding new software developed to monitor employee performance through such bio-indicators as heart rate, facial expressions, body temperature, movement, and blood pressure. Predictably, privacy groups are concerned that this level of unprecedented intrusion is too much.

MicroMonitorsoft

The application of this technology to video games could lead to all sorts of new gaming experiences. Imagine Eternal Darkness but instead of the fear meter being linked to your character, it is linked directly to you - your racing heart triggers the sound to cut out, or screen to shut off. This type of software can also be used by developers to gauge how effectively the emotions of their game are coming across - is the game exciting, relaxing, or just plain boring. Regardless, the software promises to usher in a new era of interactivity.

$5 Million Damages sought for Xbox Live Outages

Despite Microsoft's apology and promise of a free downloadable game, three Texas residents are suing Microsoft for the outage of Xbox Live service during the holidays and are seeking a ridiculous $5,000,000, without any claim of specific damages. Plaintiffs allege that Microsoft knew there would be increased use, but "failed to provide adequate access and service to Xbox Live and its subscribers."

Are these gamers serious?

Good luck getting around the Terms of Service...they're going to need it.

Summertime, and the Litigation is Easy...

To all my faithful readers out there, I apologize for slacking on my blogging duties. I have been preparing for the CA bar, and it has left me little motivation to do anything else. Luckily, there has been a recent spat of video game litigation to draw me back in. Here are four updates on widely publicized suits.

Microsoft sued in two states for the scratching of game discs:

1. Florida

2. California, too

Sony settles on the overtime lawsuit with its employees:

$8.5 million paid out

Midway hit with a class action suit involving misrepresentations of and failure to disclose that it was "grossly underperforming because it was experiencing operational difficulties."

67% Decline in Stock Value, No Basis for Financial Statements, He's Heating Up...Insider Trading! He's on Fire!

Lets not forget all of the litigation that Microsoft is trying to avoid by extending the warranties of all Xbox 360's three years to handle the dreaded red rings of death malfunction:

Microsoft's $1 billion Reddening Ring

Looks like I'm taking the bar a bit too late to get in all of the fun.

Immersion Sued By Microsoft for Breach of Contract

Reaching into its limitless coffers, Microsoft has instituted legal action against Immersion for breach of contract regarding their settlement of a suit from 2002. Apparently, Immersion has not been paying for certain IP and Licensing arrangements provided for in the settlement in which Immersion received $26 million.

Immersion in hot water again

How come the only thing I ever hear about Immersion is that they are in some lawsuit? Nevertheless, they have no fear taking on the big guys...

Microsoft's Patent Application for Portable Gaming System Hints at Zune Gaming

MIcrosoft, invader of all realms technological, just had a patent application, Number 20070087830 for a "multi-component gaming system" including "handheld devices and console devices," approved by the PTO. The patent appears to pertain to technology that would allow processes from one gaming console, i.e. the XBox 360, to be beamed to another portable device, i.e. the Zune, calling it "variable functionality and processing performance as determined by the number of components in the system. The processing capabilities and functionality of each gaming component in a combination are augmented by the processing capabilities and functionality of other gaming components in the combination. To take advantage of another gaming components processing capabilities and memory capacity, each gaming component is capable of utilizing another gaming component to process gaming applications."

Zune Gaming Soon

Of course, Microsoft had no comment. Sounds cool...but will it be?

Microsoft's 360 Ad Banned in the UK

Microsoft was forced to pull an ad from British TV after there were fears that the ad could encourage illegal street racing behavior. The ad featured two drivers weaving between traffic in pursuit of each other and culminates in one driver crashing. Despite the disclaimer at the bottom of the screen warning viewers not to try this at home and that the ad is a dramatisation, the UK Advertising Standards Agency banned the ad for glorifying street racing. Curiously, the ad is not for a specific game, but just for the Xbox 360.

MS's Street Racing Ad Banned

The ASA ruled that the advertisement breached health and safety and driving standards rules. So if a movie showed a car chase in its preview, would that be unacceptable? It is hard to see how an advertisement for a video game system could encourage driving violations - you'd think if a particular game encouraged this bad behavior then an advertisement could have the same effect, but that is not the case here. I wonder how important it was that the ad related to video games as opposed to some other area of entertainment. I doubt the ads for Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift got pulled.

Games for Guns

In some unsafe neighborhoods of Mexico City, the Mexican government has created a program where its citizens can exchange firearms for computers (for big firearms) or an Xbox or cash (smaller firearms). Microsoft was kind enough to donate software for the computers exchanged. Guns that are handed over are destroyed by the Mexican Army.

Juegos Por Armas

How ironic would it be if the games that they are distributing actually induced the violence they are attempting to stop. I do not think that games cause violent behavior, but it does seem strange that the real-life danger is swapped for the less dangerous virtual violence. Of course, a few hundred miles north, GRAW2 is being seized by the same Mexican government.

Microsoft Uncovered

You know how the first iteration of new consoles usually break quickly? BBC's Watchdog will run a story about how British Xbox360 owners have gotten screwed by faulty consoles. There were so many problems with the US version of the Xbox360 that MS evetually just opened its doors to any consumer to fix any console, warranty or no. Apparently, the British did not get the same royal treatment; they are expected to pay somewhere between 80 and 90 quid (roughly $175).

Never buy that first iteration...

I guess I shouldn't totally hate on Microsoft, the first versions of PS 1+2 were pretty crappy too. It is still lame that the Brits have to pay such a large amount to fix the damn things.

2/15/07: Micorsoft admits that there are "isolated reports" of faulty Xbox360s

Isolated Reports

Microsoft declares victory over holiday season

Microsoft, murdering all holiday mirth, claimed victory as the number one console seller in the US this holiday season, beating second place Wii (around 600,000), and third place laggard PS3 (491,000). Boosted by "must-have" titles, like Gears of War, and the overall shortages faced by its competitors, Microsoft announced it has sold over ten million total units and over a million this holiday season alone. Not bad for $300-$400 a pop. Then again, at $600 a pop, PS3s grossed about $250 million, as much as only $50 million less. Not like the pure dollars matter though (since most console sales are not very profitable); its all about the recognition.

Microsoft wins again!

Oh, and the earlier post about when is Microsoft going to combine the 360 and PCs...duh, that shit is on the way. I have to say in this three way race, I'm pulling for Nintendo. While the other machines may be stronger, the Wii is just more innovative and fun, i.e. I would rather see games go that way then the Microsoft way: straight to the dark side.

Vista overbears on PC games...I don't believe it!

It looks like the new Windows Vista has been engineered to create a simple interface for organizing games on one's PC and has a new DirectX 10 technology, which should improve graphics. However, developers are skeptical about Microsoft's intentions. It seems that the new mechanisms in Vista have increased security which makes downloading software more of a pain of a butt, having a wet blanket effect --> nothing totally crippling, but de-incentivizing. Here are some choice quotes:

"Among St. John's other gripes are that Vista won't ship with Flash, a piece of software from Microsoft rival Adobe that is used to create many online and casual games; that parental controls can make it tough to find games outside the Games Explorer; and that the Games Explorer emphasizes retail titles over downloaded ones."

"I tell anyone who will listen to me at Microsoft that [gamers] are our most important customers." - Rich Wickham, director of Windows gaming.

"[Gamers are] really grasping at straws for reasons to upgrade the operating system." - John Carmack, technical director of id Software and programmer behind the "Doom" and "Quake" games.

To me, it looks like Microsoft using its superior position to position itself even more securely. I can't really blame them, but I wonder if the independent developer market grows enough and Vista makes those games that much harder to access, will there be more litigation? When will Microsoft link Windows to Xbox, so that all other consoles are left disadvantaged? Just a matter of time before that technology arrives...see, Microsoft makes me worry; they are so underhanded they are anti-trustworthy.

Gamers See Gain and Pain from Windows Vista

American Video Graphics Lawsuit

One of the first cases to catch my interest is a patent litigation involving American Video Graphics and basically every video game and hardware manufacturer. AVG is a company that acquired some patents a few years back originally granted to Tektronix back in the 80s. Now they are deciding to hold the video game industry hostage with their 4,734,690 patent "Method and Apparatus for Spherical panning." As argued by plaintiff’s pleading, the patent is meant to cover the following: imagine an object at the center of a sphere. By placing a camera on the sphere that always faces the object, a user can move the camera along the sphere to get different angles of the object. The radius of the sphere can be changed, effectively zooming in and out. Is it just me, or does this cover every freaking game created since 1996. If we think about the revenue that has been generated by "infringing" games...well...this case could be worth a lot of money; the thing that pisses me off is that, not only is AVG manipulating the video game industry (whom I love dearly), but they are also manipulating the American patent system (which I may love just a little bit more than Pearl Harbor sucked). As one PC manufacturer put it, "The patents are a mixture of an extremely general, vague variety and of an incredibly dense and complex variety. Manufacturers would need to pay a patent lawyer a lot of money to decipher whether they're even in violation of the more complex ones or not. The bringer of this suit is very conscious of that." AVG are types of fools that give the law a bad name. Who's with me? To top it off, AVG established itself (right before this suit) in the Eastern District of Texas, so that the Federal courts there would have jurisdiction over this case. Why? Because in the 5% of patent litigations that actually make it to trial in this jurisdiction, plaintiffs win 78% of the time. Coincidence...I think not

For more info:

Graphics patent holder sues Sony, MS, Nintendo

3D patent suit extended to Dell, HP, IBM, Sony, others

Patent Suits Target Game Industry