The End Of Emulation?

[G3N0CiD3]

NTFS.org writes:

Nintendo Patents Hand-Held Emulation

Posted by SPeedY_B on the 13th March 2004 at 6:35pm

In a bid to strike back against Emulation, Nintendo have acquired patent number 6,672,963, which gives them the patent to Hand-Held console emulating software, meaning that the emulator developers will have to pay royalties to Nintendo.
Filed in November 2000, the patent is described as "Software implementation of a handheld video game hardware platform".

The filing outlines a "software emulator for emulating a handheld video game platform on a low-capability target platform (eg. a seat-back display for airline or train use, a personal digital assistant, a cell phone)". It goes on to outline "a number of features and optimisations to provide high quality graphics and sound that nearly duplicates the game playing experience on the native platform."

The choice of the phrase "low capability" is odd, since PDAs for one, tend to be more powerful than handheld gaming devices. So are PCs, yet the wording of the patent's claims suggests that it too could be covered by the patent. Interestingly, emulators targeting Nintendo's GameCube - ie. of non-handheld devices - are not covered by the patent

This could mean a rapid depletion in the development of emulation software all over the net, leading to the cease of illegal rom trading, a definite win for Nintendo.

Does this mark the beginning of the end of emulation as we know it?

 

[Seijuro]

.. :rolleyes:

 

[kraahl]

Of course not.

 

[Melville]

I hope not. Luckily, I sincerely doubt it: the pharse "prior art" springs to mind. If there was at least one handheld system capable of emulating another before the patent as filed, then the patent is invalid. I think.

 

[sebastian_insua]

this is only relevant to commercial emulators. and prior right only works if the idea was already patented....

 

[argon0]

Quite - Nintendo are welcome to 100% of the royalties to all the emus I have on my GP32 ... I.e. NOTHING!!

 

[CU_AMiGA]

God Nintendo are a bunch of arseholes! :angry: They don't realise what they are doing. Emulation would help keep all there older consoles (GB and NES, etc) alive, memory and spirit wise. I mean look at C64 and Amiga emulation , it is basically keeping them alive with all the homebrew games and that still being released.

 

[khephren]

this is only relevant to commercial emulators. and prior right only works if the idea was already patented....

There's a big thread on this somehere on here. Basically this would not stand up in court unless the emu's in question where based on the nintendo emulator code. Of course they could drag the defendents through the courts until they ran out of money (which is what sony did to bleem, bleem won every case, but ran out of money to defend themselves). Also this is an American ruling, it holds no water in europe, where most of our coders originate.

 

[Magellan]

You mean the way the RIAA lawsuits would end file sharing? Hang on, another song just downloaded.

 

[Mikey]

Patients are very very specific. Nintendo only have the patient on an emulator written as outlined exactly in their patient. An emulaor for the same hand held written in a dif way isn't covered by their patient.

Look at it this way at one point there was only one company who made vacuum cleaners, now if they owned the patient for their vacuum cleaner how come we have loads of dif companys with patients on theirs also?

Simple other companys change the design just enough to avoid the patient and still have more or less the same product. They backwards engineer and come up with dif ways of doing what the original does (bit like the way emu's are written )

 

[Ernest]

Nintendo can kiss my ass if they think they're gonna stop from enjoying enulators on my GP.

 

[G3N0CiD3]

ya well, let's hope that no one else starts gettin the same idea as Nintendo. seems like everybody's snatching patents on everythin, and suing everyone else the next day.. <_<

 

[Daz_Genetic]

ya well, let's hope that no one else starts gettin the same idea as Nintendo. seems like everybody's snatching patents on everythin, and suing everyone else the next day.. <_<

This patent was recieved in 2000, and was probably filed a few years before that. Nintendo did not do this to stop emulation, they did it to preotect their seat back terminals in aeroplanes.

The only reason this ever came out in teh open was because it was used as a scare tactic to put pressure onto the zodiac GBA emulator. However, this was a necessary move for nintendo as they were attempting to make money off their intellectual property.

Whatever anyone says, people should not try and sell emulators. Especially for systems that are still commercially viable. Nothing they can do will stop emulation in general. It will always exist in some form, if maybe a little underground.

 

[ThndrShk2k]

It was granted patentship in Jan 6, 2004

 

[G3N0CiD3]

Nothing they can do will stop emulation in general. It will always exist in some form, if maybe a little underground.

amen to that.

 

[Enslaved]

Why didn't bleem counter sew Sony for harasment? sorry if thats impossible, im not familiar with the justice system.

 

[Daz_Genetic]

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?...ndo&RS=nintendo

Sorry I got the dates mixed up.. It was still filed for in 2000 though. A long time before the tapwave was even around.

 

[watzza_uppa]

nybody read NGC magazine?. Well apparently Nintendo Patented Vibrating controllers when they created the N64, playstation Xbox and dreamcast r using the arnt they?

I wouldnt wory about them, their a bunch of saps B)

 

[Efompor]

also not all developers are in North America (USA) and are affected by this patent, this is especially the case with the GP32

 

[Alpha2]

Vibrating controllers only violate the patent if the effect is achieved the same way, thus the same holds true for Emulators, as long as the emulator isnt the same as Nintendo's coded version the patent hasnt been broken.