Why can't Nintendo just sue Sony for imitation?

[WereKitten]

roccerfeller said:

Yeah, by definition the 5200 had it as well.  But as far as gaming goes, it was really brought into mainstream gaming in a way that could be harnessed by 3D games by Nintendo.

Nintendo did not invent the analog stick, but they did have the original idea of correctly using it for the first time in a 3D space.  This is where Nintendo fans blur their reality, and confuse "introducing it" with "Nintendo invented it"

No 3D game before Super Mario 64 knew what 3D controls worked as well as SM64.  Sony did "copy" the idea by bringing analog to their controller, but they also had their own innovation (2 sticks, no annoying 8-way pronged tilt)

On the other side, I say Sony (and MS for that matter) have brought their own innovations to gaming that Nintendo hasn't done.  Can't we all just enjoy gaming for what it is and not hate on other people's blind love for certain corporations?

I kind of like the 8-way profile and I'm glad it's still there in the nunchaku, but yeah, I can almost subscribe everything you said :) Nintendo integrated the use of analog controls so well in 3d platformers and adventures that they made a huge diffence in game design history and everybody else followed them.

As I said myself before, in the end popularizing and designing around an idea is what mostly counts, and I don't want to diminish N's accomplishments in game design by a single inch.

On the other hand, some fans should take a more realistic and widely informed approach to such issues, and that's where I went pedantic.

Going back to the original thread for a bit: N could also have a great interest in Sony's new controllers. Third parties have been quite lacking at supporting the odd men, but they seem to be interested in more Wii M+/PS3 projects, or at least that's the impression I got from early announcement.

Nintendo could pay with a small shred of its extended market and dwell in a slightly less blue ocean, but get in exchange more motion-focused third party development, and they seem to need some momentum in that sense.

Thus, going the way of patent litigation against the most similar other motion control system might not be a good business maneuver, even admitting they had any legal basis.