The Japan-based video game giant Nintendo is in trouble. A small US technology company, Hillcrest Labs is now starting a lawsuit against Nintendo, accusing them in patent infringement. Hillcrest Labs insists that they own the patents to the technology that Wii uses. For this reason the company asked the U.S. Trade panel to stop Nintendo from importing its Wii systems to the United States. The company has also filed a suit in federal court to make Nintendo pay for caused damages.

Let’s delve a bit deeper into the patents in question.  As Washington Post reports, Hillcrest’s patented technological specificity is that, unlike other systems, it allows users browse the Web, control their cable box or in general interact with content not by pressing a button on a controller, but by moving a device left-right, up and down in front of a television or computer screen.

Meanwhile, Wii video game system allows players move a remote or a controller left and right to play its different games. That is to say, the technological principles of functioning those two systems are similar.

As Washington Post reports, a Hillcrest Labs’ representative made the statement, “While Hillcrest Labs has a great deal of respect for Nintendo and the Wii, Hillcrest Labs believes that Nintendo is in clear violation of its patents and has taken this action to protect its intellectual property rights,” They also added that there would not be further comments.

Nintendo officials, so far, have no comments regarding the suit. They still seem to be in the dark about it. wii.Qj.net quoted Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa saying, ”[We] haven’t received any notice of the lawsuit and therefore are not in a position to comment at this time.”

This is not the first lawsuit that has been brought up against Nintendo, another company tried to reap some of the lucrative harvest that the Wii has been raking it.  They tried, and succeeded- a few months ago, Nintendo lost a case to Anascape Ltd and was forced to pay $21 million (US).

In the previous situation, Nintendo did not lose much, $21 million is a drop in the bucket for this money-making giant.  The current lawsuit however, carries with it a big threat. If Hillcrest Labs wins, sales of the Nintendo Wii will be totally banned in the US. This, if it comes to fruition, will be devastating to Nintendo. However, according to expert estimates, possibilities of such situation are very small, even if Hillcrest’s claims are valid. So, will David beat Goliath? Only time, and a team of expensive lawyers, can tell.

Photo: © danguyen

Nintendo codemasters revealed they are working on a new and exclusive adventure for the Wii, stemming from the popular game Overlord. The three new titles are: ‘Overlord Dark Legend’, ‘Overlord Minions’ and ‘Overlord Raising Hell’. In these games, you have two choices for your character, evil…or extra evil. Let the debauchery begin!

At wii.qj.net codemasters describe the concept in the following way: the “trainee tyrant” will “be able to take his growing pains out on the local fairy tale inhabitants as he protects his castle and lands.”

Although the new Overlord will be a derivative of the original version of the game, it will be entirely reworked: story, characters, game-play - all are newly developed and redesigned. Of course, the principle remains the same: you’re the tyrant and you let your protégés do the dirty work for you. It’s all for the preservation of your kingdom, after all.

This new game, according to codemaster Dean Scott is  a: “…part fairy tale, part classic fantasy, and all hilarious. Obviously, we’ve twisted the fairy tale stuff around, because it wouldn’t be an Overlord game without a load of black humor. So instead of helping Little Red Riding Hood find her grandma, you’d be helping the wolf shop for granny-friendly sauces. That’s not actually in the game, but you get the idea.”

Each game will be unique. Not lost, however, is the dark humor from the original Overlord.  As a bonus you get bigger and badder minions at your beck and call. What more can a dark lord ask for?

The authors also hint at a new notion - that there “have been a series of Overlords throughout time.” Does that mean that we should expect more ports from them in the future? That will be revealed in due time. For now, however, we can look forward to leading our new army of minions before the year’s end…muahahahaha <– evil laugh.

Divergence of opinions between parents and their children concerning video games has been present from the very first day of their creation. And this problem is increasing not just day by day, but hour by hour. During a recent survey (August 1-6, 2008) at a parental advisory website “What They Play” it was found that a larger group of parents are more worried by their children spending a great deal of time playing Wii games than using alcohol, drugs and watching porno.

An overwhelming majority of the parents are concerned by the amount of violence in these games, which are sure to leave negative consequences on their childrens’ psyche. Moreover, these parents are not simply worried by the ferocity of these video games but other major annoyances are the amount of sexuality and distortion of reality that these “childish games” contain.

In 2005, in California, a law was passed forbidding children under 18 to buy or rent violent video games, which was unfortunately a failure, as game producers managed to put a stop to that, and such video games are still available to everyone. On the other hand, parents and educators do not want to retreat and are doing their best to overthrow these game producers.

Prof. Melanie Killen, of the College of Education at the University of Maryland advises all the anxious parents to be vigilant about limiting the time their kids spend with these games and to screen all their games for the content.

“Parents need to open their eyes and watch the games that their children are playing,” Killen says. “They should examine the content of the games, and what’s involved. Many of the games involve horrific violence; repeated exposure to this content has short-term and long-term negative consequences.”

Many specialists strongly recommend everyone to limit their time spent on video games. For children it is recommended that they don’t exceed 30 minutes per day and for adolescents not more than 1 hour. This alone cab greatly help avoid permanent negative consequences.

However, whatever measures parents undertake, whatever advice specialists give, and whatever steps governmental bodies take, it is important to make our children realize the negative side effects themselves. Once they truly understand how much damage video games can do, they will be more likely to limit their time spent on them.

Photo: © www.sciencenewsforkids.org

When it comes to games on the Nintendo Wii, the number of truly good survival-horrors is not satisfying. Even then, some such as Alone in the Dark were not greeted well by game reviewers.

So, the award for the best horror game for Nintendo Wii is still unclaimed, but the situation might change with the upcoming survival-horror called Sadness. This adventure horror game with survival elements has many things going for it to impress us.

Unlike many other horror games, Sadness is not going to shock you with monsters jumping out on you from every corner. Instead, everything is much deeper. Developers focused on creating an atmosphere which is frightening even without any monsters. To add even more fear into the mix, they are making it in black and white.

As far as I know this element will be used in games for the first time which might set Sadness apart from others. Here’s what The Elderly Gamer reports.

Billed as a game for adults only, with strong nerves, you’ll be using the power of your wii-mote in pretty innovative ways, driving away swarms of rats, using a rope to lassoo and climb a wall, slashing a persecutor with a jagged piece of glass.

QJ.NET reports some interesting details as well.

More importantly, they’re planning to pull out all the stops for dramatic effect. In addition to getting voice acting onboard as part of the game’s initiative, they’ll also be working with an orchestra to get the most effect out of the game’s story.

One of the most disappointing things about the game is its release date — Autumn 2009.