Japanese Nintendo news in English | 日本からの任天堂関連ニュースを英語でお届け | quality coverage of Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, mobile, amiibo, and retro since 2013
Nintendo Co., Ltd. and Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd. have applied for a new Information Processing patent (特開2020-010816) in Japan. The patent aims to improve interest in obtaining items associated with game characters and is likely related to the Forging Bonds events in the Fire Emblem Heroes game. Please note this is just a brief summary of a 36 page PDF. Thanks to Siliconera and J-PlatPat. Select images used in the application added below…
Nintendo Co., Ltd. have applied for a new Settlement System patent (特開2020-009479) in Japan. The patent aims to prevent abuse when using an IC (Integrated Circuit) card charged with electronic funds from being used by a malicious person to buy goods, by setting the standby time of the portable information processing device to a shorter waiting time. Please note this is just a brief summary of a 39 page PDF. Thanks to J-PlatPat. Select images used in the application added below…
Nintendo Co., Ltd. have applied for a new Touch Pen Attachment patent (特開2020-006020) in Japan and the United States. The touch pen attaches to the game controller (Joy-Con) via an attachment slide. Other uses shown in the images (added below) include with HD Rumble and being able to use the touch pen while still attached to the Joy-Con. Please note this is just a brief summary of a 52 page PDF. Thanks to J-PlatPat.
Nintendo Co., Ltd. have applied for a new information processing patent (特開2019-208896) in Japan. The patent aims to enhance interest for a user in a game which requires “team formation”. From the images: the patent is for a Nintendo Switch game, although makes reference to the webpage https://www.nintendo.com/sites/mp8/ for Mario Party 8 (please note the webpage is no longer active).
Nintendo Co., Ltd. have applied for a new Tabletop mode game patent (特開2019-208873) in Japan. The patent aims to improve versatility when playing a game with a plurality of users on a single display device, such as in Tabletop mode, where two information images are arranged in different directions, making it easier for the user to grasp the game.
Nintendo Co., Ltd. have applied for five new “Game Controller” patents (特開2019-202117, 202091, 202092, 202093, and 202094) in Japan all related to the Poké Ball Plus. The patents aim to properly arrange components in a spherical controller, to enable various operations using a game controller, to properly arrange components in a spherical controller, to improve the degree of freedom for a structure for light emission in a game controller, and to provide a game controller in which components are properly arranged in a substantially spherical game controller. Please note this is just a brief summary of 92, 79, 83, 76, and 77 page PDFs. Select images from the applications added below thanks to J-PlatPat.
Nintendo Apply For Nintendo Switch And Joy-Con Plurality Patent
Nintendo Co., Ltd. have applied for a new “Information processing” patent (特開2019-197585) in Japan. The patent aims to allow an information processing device (a Nintendo Switch is depicted throughout the application) to be used in a plurality of modes by using a main body device including a display, and attachable / detachable operation devices (Joy-Con) with the Switch operational with Joy-Con either attached or detached.
Whilst similar to another recent patent, this application makes reference to a 2011 patent (特開2011-108256) which aimed to reduce discomfort to users and depicted a Nintendo 3DS in switching between viewing the LCD screen in regular planar and in stereoscopic 3D displays. Please note this is just a brief summary of a 92 page PDF. Select images from both the new Nintendo Switch and prior Nintendo 3DS applications added below. Thanks to J-PlatPat.
Nintendo Co., Ltd. have applied for two new “Information processing” patents (特開2019-193741 and 特開2019-193742) in Japan, both related to Mario Kart Tour. 193741 aims to improve interest in handling a game item owned by a user (this patent is also an appendage to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe which is referenced at this external link) with the former game adopting up to three items at once, the ‘Fever’ mode, and so-forth.
193742 aims to enhance motivation for acquiring a price and a charging item available in a game (this patent aims to improve the Mario Kart 7 system which is referenced at this external link – please note that this link now redirects to the Mario Kart 7 website and not the ‘Karts’ page as intended), by the correlation between obtaining machine parts (karts and gliders) and from the in-game items (such as in the ‘Special Skills’ of the machine parts etc).
Please note these are just brief summaries of 54 page and 51 page PDFs, intended as a brief insight into the applications and thereby not necessarily indicative of the patents as a whole. Select images that are used in both applications added below. Thanks to J-PlatPat.
Nintendo Apply For Reducing Power Consumption Patent
Nintendo Co., Ltd. have applied for a new “Information processing” patent (特開2019-186642) in Japan. The patent aims to provide a method for reducing power consumption when repeatedly receiving packets (collection of data) from other devices (Nintendo Switch is used as an example in the images) by wireless communication. The information processing unit includes a receiving unit, a storage unit, and a predetermined processing unit, which utilises the mode transition in the information processing unit, thus power consumption can be reduced. Please note this is just a brief summary of a 30 page PDF. Select images added below including a translation of the representative drawing. Thanks to J-PlatPat.
