Source on the bolded?

And source on 3DV coming with any wide and tested patent, instead of useful tech implementations?

@Squill: Or just to prevent getting sued for patent infridgements? They have been quite common in the recent years.

I've seen it somewhere but I didn't have the foresight to bookmark it. I've been following the Beyond3d thread on this topic and it came out there but as im currently suffering from a sinus infection I don't have the inclination to look it up.

Im not sure what you mean about wide and tested patents. I know the 3DV system was prototyped and they had several working demonstrations if thats what you mean?

Its not mutally exclusive that Iwata and Microsoft would come away with differing impressions of the relevant technologies and therefore opinions of their relative worth respective and cost/benefit ratios.

Its a possible reason, however based on what they have said about this topic directly its as important in a pro-active sense as well. The 3DV patents don't directly infringe upon the Primesense patents in the same sense that the Move patents and Wiimote patents do not infringe. Its merely a different way of implementing the same interface and they are wise to control both.

The PS2 Eye Cam, from what I've read, sold over 10 million and that was with only a very few games released for it and lack of marketing push from Sony.

I think a game like Just Dance alone will help Natal sell a few millions. Microsoft is putting a lot of money, time and resources into Natal. Nintendo can put a hurting to Microsoft if they disrupt their disruption.

There is one thing console game companies should know by now is not to underestimate your opposition. Nintendo did it with Sony 2 generations ago. Microsoft and Sony did it this generation with Nintendo. Things can turn around just like that in the video game industry.

Nintendo should have released their own Wii Cam just in case. It's not like it would have been huge monetary investment. Heck, they could have made a hefty profit if they did.

Nintendo already preemptively attacked Microsoft. E3 2008, everyone was expecting Sony and MS to come out with motion controls, so hours before their press conferences, and a few days before Nintendo's, Nintendo announced the Wii Motion Plus. It was a preemptive attack against the Natal and Move, which weren't even announced until a year later!

As far as I am aware, the discussion has run

OP - Nintendo should bring out a camera

Everyone - they considered it and decided against it

Squilliam - whatever you said, which from your most recent response I'm assuming I missinterpreted, I thought you were saying "no they didn't"

So of course I responded with

Scottie - Yes they did

Then you responded with the bit quoted above and I responded with this.

So yeah, thoroughly confused - I wasn't trying to say that because Ninty decided against it, everyone should have. Just to say that because Ninty has already considered it, the chance of it them changing their minds and making one is low

Regarding Sony and Nintendo, the point is that both of them stated that they tried out several types of 3d cameras, while 3dv's one was tof only. Here's one link about a Sony developer, but the same is true for Iwata's statements:

When asked about investing research into 3D cameras like Natal’s, Marks explained: We tried a lot of different 3D cameras. I love the 3D camera technology; personally, I like the technology part of it...

I can't see anything in there to substantiate your claim that Sony and/or Nintendo only tested 3dv tech specifically. The primesense hardware is nice because it offers good enough specs and an unexpensive all in one solution, but other depth cameras have been available for research laboratories for years, and it only makes sense that both Sony and Nintendo tested both equivalently or higher specced but more expensive solutions, and entry level commercial ones such as 3dv's as well.

As for the patents: if as you say MS didn't buy 3dv for its software or hardware tech specific implementation and are not using their intellectual property because they developed everything in their own R&D, then it must be because of their patent portfolio. And it must be a hell of a patent portfolio of very wide patents if it covers motion interfaces spanning multiple sensor technologies. I'm asking support for this claim, because I see it as much more likely that MS acquired some useful tech from 3dv, even if they are using primesense's sensors and chips.

In other words, while I believe that MS had R&D in face tracking, gesture interfaces and voice recognition -just as Sony, Google, Apple and many others- I don't believe that Natal's implementation will not contain substantial pieces of acquired software technology.

@Squill: It's not just about M$. The patent infridgement suits can prevent the sales of everything that utilises the said technology, so there are third party publishers involved aswell. If they would get sued, all the third parties would either can or put their Natal projects on hold until the case was settled. If they would go into court, it would take years.

@OoSnap: With the PS2 installbase it's pretty meh. However, the camera controller is a red ocean product, whereas Nintendo wants to stay in the blue ocean. They have their own way of doing things, such as Balance Board and Vitality Sensor.
And to add to that, putting out a new controller would require them to focus their resources into making games that can sell the peripheral.

Notice that Nintendo haven't made its own microphone controller, even that the said market is bigger than the camera controller market (though, Wii Remote was originally planned to have mic).

Wii Speak

DS has a microphone

It all comes down to ability to create software that matter rather than certain technology obviously. This gen nor Sony, nor Microsoft showed an ability to create such software. In fact, with latest PSmove showing Sony proved opposite, Microsoft though is still remains to be seen, but I'm not a big believer that they can. Unless, of course, Microsoft come up with radically different business model for Natal that makes Nintendo's one obsolete. Then I'll be proven wrong.