Nintendo sues Nyko over wireless nunchuk
Friday, June 13th, 2008 at 2:14pm by Derek
Bloomberg reports today Nintendo is suing Nyko Technologies over a copyright infringement stemming from Nyko’s wireless Kama Nunchuk.
Nintendo says the Kama Nunchuk copies patented Wii remote designs and infringes the “nunchuk” name and packaging. Nintendo filed a federal court complaint Wednesday claiming the Nyko controller “wholly appropriates the novel shape, design, overall appearance and even the color and materials used in the Nintendo Nunchuk controller.”
During a Bloomberg phone interview Thursday, Nyko spokesman C.C. Swiney said, “We have not knowingly violated anyone’s intellectual property and we’re still examining this.”
For interested law school students and nosy gamers, the case is Nintendo of America Inc. v. Nyko Technologies Inc., 08cv907, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington (Seattle).
June 13th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
novel shape? a remote control
design? remote control with buttons
color? white
materials? plastic
is any of that really novel?
i don’t doubt that there is a patent, but this seems like one of those ‘can you really patent that?!?’ areas to me.
June 13th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
as crazy as it sounds, yes, all of it is patentable.
It is a direct rip-off of the Nunchuk we all own.
But look closer – do you really want a wireless Nunchuk?
What happens if you’re playing Punch-Out and your left hand suddenly opens in the middle of a punch?
Yes, that’s correct – you now have a busted TV.
While the intention is great for making everything wireless – safety doesn’t seem like a thing that Nyko has on its mind.
(And Nyko should hold off of this product. If they don’t lose this lawsuit, they are definitely going to be in for a whirlwind of complaints by consumers that broke their TV sets.)
June 13th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
yeah- actually, i recommend everyone wrap the cord through a shirt or jacket like the mittens we used to wear in kindergarden. just in case you accidently open both hands. phew.
June 13th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
lol@deepthought.com
June 13th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
way to build deep relationships with companies that support your brand.
June 13th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
@FoolThrottle:
Not if the company that supports me literally copies my design and sells it theirself, as well as utilizes my name when marketing it.
That’s called Fraud, Copyright Infringement, and Bankruptcy.
June 13th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
This is clear evidence that Nintendo is developing there own wireless nunchuk. Why else would they care, Sony didn’t care when people started making wireless PS2 controllers because they weren’t in that business.
June 13th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Sony’s a completely different matter (who cares about em?)
I guess some people don’t research patent numbers, anyways…
June 13th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
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June 13th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
From that quote describing why it’s patented I don’t see how Nintendo can get away with this lawsuit. I can see the internal technology of the Nunchuck being patented, but not the shape, color and material.
I’m hoping the wireless nunchuck has a wrist strap because if it doesn’t the patented shape is going to make it slip out of people’s hands.
Also it’s not even that much more of a convience because games will ask you to remove the nunchuck if they don’t support them. Of course if you can leave the wireless reciever plugged in, but switch it off that works.
June 13th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
craig, yes it can be patented. it is in fact, a one handed controller as is the wiimote. yes we play it everyday and it’s not much to marvel at. but think of a time when we’ve had this one handed controller. only when the wii came out, and it was groundbreaking at the time. nintendo has the right to sue for the form, as well as the motion tech inside for however long their patent lasts, which probably isn’t too long.
June 13th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
The nunchuck does have a wrist strap:
http://www.nyko.com/nyko/products/?i=133
And, I agree. This is just proof that Nintendo is working on a first party wireless chuck.
June 13th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
yeah, i see Nintendo’s point, but come on, doesnt some one get ripped off every generation?
Fact is, most people will stick to the wired one that nintendo supply becasue
A) 1st party hardware is ALWAYS better, usability AND ‘feel’
B) wire = no batterys
C) my local GameStation store and many others ONLY stick 1st party controlers.
D) A Huge ammount of games dont even use the nunchuck so WHY is it even worth shelling out the extra for a wirless one?
June 13th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
oh… i kinda really wanted this too if it was good.
June 13th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
I actually kinda wanted one of these things… Admitedly if nintendo were to release a first party wireless nunchuk I’d rather have that but I really don’t like that wire smacking me in the face when i play certain games. Wireless is great. Maybe we can hope for wireless extras alongside the storage solution at E3 this year. Big up for the 1st party hardware! (I hope).
June 13th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
So why aren’t they suing Intec?
http://www.amazon.com/Intec-G5602-Wii-Wireless-Nunchuk/dp/B0015FRA0W/ref=pd_bbs_sr_7?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1213407276&sr=8-7
June 14th, 2008 at 3:04 am
Not only does referring to it as a “nunchuck” cause copyright problems it simply doesn’t make any sense. The whole point was that it was 2 controllers connected with a cable, thus resembling a nunchuck. But if there isn’t a cord, then it no longer resembles a nunchuck and there’s no reason to refer to it as one.
A little bit of good old creativity (and intellegence) could really have saved Nyco a whole lot of trouble here.
And on top of that, Why bother making a wireless wii remote at all? While it’s true the gamecube controllers’ cord DID pose many problems,
1. You had to stay within a certain range of the gamecube at all times.
2. Someone could trip over it.
3. You could yank it out of the socket by accident
The wii remotes cord poses none of those problems, nor any other serious ones I can think of. Heck, our nunchucks aren’t even plugged in half the time. So theres no need for a wireless version. And it would double the chances of having syncing or response issues.
And I highly doubt Nintendo’s planning to release any of these in the future. Clearly they already had wireless technology when they were first making the Wii Remote. So if they thought it would be beneficial to our playing experiences at all to make the nunchuck wireless they would have done it when they first made the wii remote. Why wait until now to do something they were fully capable of doing from the start?
But, perhapse I’m simply a nutjob.
June 14th, 2008 at 4:54 am
Wireless nunchuck just says ‘more batteries to waste’ and ‘more grief from greenpeace’ anyway… I can’t see a nunchuk recharger coming out either.
June 14th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Why do I get the feeling that this is revenge for what happened with Annascape the lawsuit? This lawsuit just seems silly and petty to me. Figures; knowing video game companies. And this is Nintendo I’m talking about. And unlike Annascape where there has been many questions about Annascape’s creditability as a business; there is few if any with Nintendo. Nyko is going to have a lot tougher case to defend itself from.
June 14th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
real stupid of nyko to think they’d get away with THAT
June 14th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
“way to build deep relationships with companies that support your brand.”
I agree. I can’t believe Nintendo is doing this. It’s not like the company is not supporting the Wii. Argue and deny it all you want folks, but I think Nintendo’s ongoing greed is now blatantly obvious.
June 16th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
@Joltman you’re right, it crosses the line when they blatantly rip off the design. But here’s the thing – having this on the market, if it works, is better for us, the consumer. Nintendo, if it wins this suit, takes away a cool option for Nintendo customers in order to protect their interests. Nintendo may have one like it planned, although frankly I doubt it and I hope they don’t. Why do I doubt it? First, because of the name – cutting the cord makes it NOT a nunchuck. Next, the wiimote is a wireless marvel. Would it have been so hard to add wireless to the nunchuck in the first place? And if it’s all about selling us up on another set of controllers so Nintendo can make more money- see how well that worked out for Sony? Fanboys are PISSED to have to buy new dual-shocks and rumors of a new one have them even more enraged.
This looks like greed, pure and simple, and we lose. Spend more times fixing your online solution, getting us game demos, and cleaning out the shovelware.