It appears that they covered quite a bit in their patent protection. This judging from the extensive details provided.
http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220070049374%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20070049374&RS=DN/20070049374
How could a company replicating the idea not infringe on the patent. Despite Nintendo not owning the company it bought the licence from, it doesn't seem as though the idea could be re used in any capacity.
The second question would be how did sony use a product that infringes on that list of patented specifications without causing trouble. They can't be bothered chasing it up, or its coming eventually.
Have Microsoft seriously got any hope in replicating 'the concept' of the wiimote? Doesn't appear so.
“When we make some new announcement and if there is no positive initial reaction from the market, I try to think of it as a good sign because that can be interpreted as people reacting to something groundbreaking. ...if the employees were always minding themselves to do whatever the market is requiring at any moment, and if they were always focusing on something we can sell right now for the short term, it would be very limiting. We are trying to think outside the box.” - Satoru Iwata - This is why corporate multinationals will never truly understand, or risk doing, what Nintendo does.
