There are a few publishers as defensive as Nintendo when it comes to their intellectual properties. The Japanese gaming giant is always ready to fight a case in court, as seen in the lawsuit against a streamer back in November. Today, Nintendo won a 15-year legal battle related to the Wii. According to Florian Mueller of Games Fray, the battle was with third-party controller maker BigBen (now known as Nacon).
BigBen was accused of copying Nintendo’s patented Wii Remote motion-sensing features, while also infringing on the design. Nintendo won a ruling as early as 2011, but Nacon managed to delay decisions on paying damages till today. They’re still appealing the verdict, trying not to pay damages for longer.
Was This A Justified Lawsuit?
This is a question we often have to ask ourselves when we hear about a new Nintendo court case. At this point, they’re getting almost as frequent as their game releases. According to Games Fray, the specific conflict started at the height of the Wii’s popularity. Nintendo wasn’t just arguing that Nacon had a similar design; it accused Nacon of infringing on the patented motion-sensing architecture.
The Wiimote was a major part of the Wii’s success. It enabled innovative motion controls in games like Wii Sports Resort, Mario Galaxy, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. However, third-party peripherals are also important to the gaming market as they offer cheaper alternatives to first-party hardware. But then again, there’s a thin line between compatibility and cloning.
While some see Nintendo’s stance as a necessary defense of creative property, others argue it stifles innovation and accessibility. However, the court case is based on real damages, meaning Nintendo had to prove the affected financials clearly in court. And because Nacon actively fought the ruling, the owed damages increased from €4 million to just under €7 million.
It’s important to note here that Nacon has appealed the original 2011 ruling multiple times over the last 14 years. They’ve never quite won an appeal, but they’re trying again to delay paying Nintendo. Quite the cat-and-mouse game we have here. If we know anything about Nintendo, they’ll ultimately force Nacon to cough up the damages.
