The federal appeals court has confirmed Nintendo’s win in a patent infringement case brought at the International Trade Commission by Creative Kingdoms. Creative Kingdoms asked the ITC to block importation of Wii U and Wii consoles, but it was reaffirmed that the company’s patents are invalid and should not have been issued. This is because Creative Kingdoms tried to claim more than it invented.
Richard Medway, Nintendo of America’s vice president and deputy general counsel, said of today’s news:
“We are pleased with the court’s determination. Nintendo’s track record demonstrates that we vigorously defend patent lawsuits, particularly when the patents are being stretched beyond the inventors’ ideas. Nintendo continues to develop unique and innovative products while respecting the intellectual property rights of others.”
Source: Nintendo PR
Those who pre-order Story of Seasons at Amazon
, GameStop, EB Games Canada, or other participating retailers will receive a special gift. XSEED is including the Angora rabbit pocket plushie with reservations. Even if you’ve already pre-ordered, you should be automatically eligible for the bonus.
Head on over to XSEED’s Tumblr page for a new localization blog for Story of Seasons.
Toys “R” Us cancelled a truckload of amiibo pre-orders earlier today. Chances are if you had a figure reserved there, you received an email notice today that your reservation had been canned.
It appears that – at least for the Lucario amiibo – cancelled orders came about due to a “technical issue”. Joystiq reports that pre-orders for the figure will be honored.
Toys “R” Us said:
“We thank you for your patience as we work to remedy this situation and ensure our customers receive the products ordered.”
Earlier this week, Nintendo updated the trademarks for Eternal Darkness and the Wii Vitality Sensor in the United States. Both were updated on December 17. There’s some talk about both products seeing some sort of development, but I’m not quite willing to go that far… yet.
Nintendo is promoting the success of Wii U and 3DS games on Metacritic in a new infographic published today.
The image notes that there are 19 current-gen retail games on both platforms that secured a score of 85 or above on Metacritic as well as a User Score of 8.5 or better. That’s compared to just 8 titles on all other consoles.
View Nintendo’s latest infographic in its entirety above.
iNiS made two Ouendan for the DS back in the day. Supposedly, there were plans to create a third entry for Wii.
Unseen64’s Liam Robertson was in communication with “a very trusted source”, who spoke with iNiS’ president and was informed about the company’s intentions to bring Ouendan to Wii. It’s unclear why those plans never materialized. Robertson hopes to learn more about the situation in the future.
So, take this for what it is, but it sounds like iNiS was trying to make a third Ouendan game for Wii a few years ago.
— MistleTamaki (@Doctor_Cupcakes) December 19, 2014
This comes from a very trusted source who spoke with their president at the time. I hope we can speak to him ourselves and find out more!
— MistleTamaki (@Doctor_Cupcakes) December 19, 2014
The European Wii U eShop appears to have confirmed two new releases for January 8. First up is Chariot, which will be priced at €14.99. Underground is also expected on the same day for €19.99.
