Of course this omits the fact that the Wii Remote basically copied Sega's prototype NiGHTS controller.

The Mega Drive/Genesis also had an analogue control pad, so surely the N64 was an abomination?

Nintendo seemed to do nothing but copy Sega after the NES wah wah wah. Sega also had a modem in their console before Microsoft. Xbox Live should be pulled immediately because SEGA INVENTED THAT SHIT!!!!

Seriously, this is how retarded this argument against Sony is.

Oh, I'm not saying they're not, it's just some of those were very original ideas from Nintendo. Like saying Sony copied Remote Play, which is a feature that was implemented with PS3 and PSP back in 2006-2007.

Wii Remote improved the concept of the Power Glove and added accelerometers which were also first used by Nintendo in gaming on the Kirby game of the GBC, both which released way before that NiGHTS controller(which was also never released or announced directly by SEGA). No first-party analog pad was released for the Mega Drive. If anyone released an analog pad, it was third party. And that doesn't matter, because before everyone else the Vectrex had an analog stick. And, the most important thing:  Nintendo used a sattelite connection to transfer data(demo downloads, online play) before anyone else on the SNES. I guess that ends every argument in this thread. 

*Sigh*  This is what I mean.  Sony fans dig up some obscure picture from the corner of the internet to say "SEE SONY COPIED NOTHING!!! NINTENDO COPIED IT FROM SOMEONE ELSE!!! HAH!!!"

There is I believe like 4images of a prototype controller that may or may not have been planned to be used for use with nights.  Nobody actually knows if the image shown had motion sensing capabilities,if  the device was meant to be held in two hands, featured an analog stick on the bottom and a dpad on top and didn't really resemble the Wiimote aside from being long and white. People have assumed it was a prototype motion controller, but there is no evidence at all to that effect that I'm aware of.  I would be willing to guess you were not aware of this device until you saw it in a topic just like this one.

Furthermore there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Nintendo was even aware in the slightest bit that this concept controller even existed. The odds that Nintendo was aware of an abandoned prototype lying around in Sega's office and decided to hang the future of their company on the device is absolutely laughable.  You should feel very bad for suggesting it, especially since we know exactly how Nintendo came up with the Wii-mote (a company brought the idea to them after being laughed out of Sony and Microsoft's buildings). This is a sad and despereate stretch.

Supposed motion control prototype...

Wii Remote...

Thriimote

There is a difference between Nintendo and Sega both having the idea of a motion controller and what happened with Sony.  You see Sony, after dismissing the guys who made the Wii, saw that Nintendo had made it a huge success (the Wii wasn't an abandoned prototype shoved in some locked but a prominent and successful device others were aware of).  Nintendo had the vision to market it, saw its potential, took a tremendous risk, and reaped tremendous benefits.  Sony decided to rip the device off wholesale.  This isn't a vague similarity like the Wii mote and the prototype Sega controller that was not public knowledge at all and may or may not have been motion controlled.  They took the whole idea down to the nunchuck attachment and bundling it with a sports game. You can not reasonably make the claim that Sony was not aware of the Wii mote and did not use it as the model for the Move Controller.  Unless you're willfully ignorant.

You know why nobody calls the Kinect a rip off of the Wii-mote?  Because it's not.  Like Sony, Microsoft wanted to get in on the motion control frenzy, but instead of taking exactly what Nintendo did they created a unique device (you could say it ripped off the eye toy but that's neither here nor there).  Sony just put a ball on top of a Wiimote and called it a day.  At least they came up with a ridiculous steering wheel for it).  They took no risk, showed no vision, and they failed spectacularly.  

Similarly, Sega didn't invent modems, nor were they the first to use modems in a gaming console (that I know of.  Atari actually had an add on to it.  No online multiplayer but you could download games.  Genesis had the Sega Channel, SNES had Satelliview, and both had a third party multiplayer add on that didn't really work.  At any rate I'm sure online PC gaming preceeded all of that.).  Internet connectivity is not a very specific idea that a company can really rip off.  However, achievements were a very specific thing that Microsoft created that was not very similar to other things out there.  Nor was it a vague concept like "online gaming" or motion controlled gaming.  It was a very concrete and distinct service.  Sony saw that and said "ooooh people like that.  We'll take it!"  And they took it wholesale while adding basically nothing (platinum! Exciting!).

If you're going to accuse Nintendo of copying a controller design, don't accuse them of copying an obscure controller that was compatible with all of 3 game for the genesis.  I don't know how similar the analog stick design actually was, but considering its lack of success I doubt Nintendo thought of it at all when they were designing the N64 controller if they were aware of its existence.  At least accuse them of taking the Dualshock's two analog stick design and eventually the dual shoulder triggers, because they actually DID steal that.  Yeah, Nintendo takes ideas sometimes too.  Just not quite so often or blatantly.

Here is the thing that Sony fans either don't get, or pretend not to get as a cop out.  If you create something that is similar in general idea to another existing product, that's not necessarily ripping someone off.  For example, nobody accuses Little Big Planet of being a rip off just because it's a 2D platformer like Mario or has a level creation feature like MM: Powered Up.  However, when you copy something down to very specific details (say the Wiimote's nunchuck) then it's a rip off.  Kung Fu Panda is not a Ninja Turtle rip off just because they btoh feature anthropomorphic critters and martial arts.  Chop Kick Panda however is definitely a Kung Fu Panda rip off (look it up).  

While those are all fair points (except Satellaview was not the first online point), you're falling into a trap.  You're arguing off of a faulty premise and offering it legitimacy.

It doesn't matter if there was an analog stick controller before the N64.  What matters is how close to the controller was the N64's.  The controller in question is 

That one.  At least I think it was.  To claim the N64 controller is a ripoff of that it is batshit crazy.  Aside from a possibly similar analog stick, and the fact that they both utilize buttons, they have no similarity at all.  Yes, companies are going to have some overlap in their products. That's not a rip off.  When a company takes a large number of highly specific features from a rival product, that's a rip off.

EPIC fail. I'm actually generally a Nintendo gamer, I can't help that they've been pretty underwhelming lately, though Pikmin 3 fills me with optimism again as that took me right back to 2002. With the exception of the Virtual Boy (not released in the UK), there hasn't been a Nintendo console I haven't owned.

Just because I don't consider Nintendo the be all and end all of innovation and creativity, doesn't mean I don't think Sony have adopted some of their ideas. In 2006 I was one of the few people who thought the Wii would be a huge success. General consensus was it's f**ked because it's not as powerful as the 360 or PS3.

I actually strongly disliked Sony until recently, but lately they've been the company consistently churning out interesting software, moreso than Nintendo who are currently just relying on similar updates to their previous output. Great for the younger audience and people who are newer to gaming. But if you've been gaming since the early 80s, it's been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

I just hope the fact that the Wii U is struggling so much at the moment will mean they find that spark they had back in the SNES, N64 and GameCube days in a fight for Wii U's survival. Pikmin 3 was really promising, so I have high hopes for Super Mario 3D World etc. But their 3DS output left me incredibly underwhelmed. Though it was ace to replay Lylat Wars.

Then I was wrong about that.  My bad.  Regardless, that doesn't change the validity of anything else I said. 

I understand what you're saying, but if something is successful, it's going to be imitated. Sony is not alone in this. Gaming is not alone in this. It's a fact of life and in no way an argument to diminish the quality of something.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery I have no devotion to any manufacturer, if Sony clone something and improve on it, that as far as I'm concerned becomes the more preferable option. Same if MS then clone Sony's clone and improve on it again.

I'm a whore lol, no brand loyalty at all, I'll just go with the products I prefer. At the moment, Sony are pressing my buttons better than Nintendo or MS, but Wii U is rapidly growing on me at the moment, apart from the pad, seeing Nintendo's stuff in HD is a revelation.

There is a difference between flat out imitaition and innovating based on a similar idea.  A good example of innovation is Rocksmith.  They took the basic idea behind Guitar Hero and Rock Band and used it in a great new way to make it a teaching program instead of just a game.  On the other hand, the move was basically a carbon copy down to the games they made for it.  It may have been a marginal improvement (more accurate with gestures, although the button layout was a bit worse), but it wasn't knew.  I already could play ping pong with a wand.

My problem with Sony copying is not as a Nintendo fan, but as a gamer.  Think about the money, time, effort, and marketing that went into the Move.  What did the Move ultimately contribute to the industry in general or to Sony themselves?  Not much.  Now, imagine if instead of putting that effort into the Move, Sony had invested it into new IPs, new software, or perhaps even put that money into ensuring a solid first two years of support for the Vita?  They could have made something of value to gamers, and they probably would have made themselves some money in the process.  Sony certainly CAN create compelling things now and then, and it bugs me that instead of focusing on that, they're burning cash trying to copy Nintendo ideas 3 years too late.

Wow!  Such a long response for such a short one.  Must have gotten under skin there, huh?  My day is somehow more complete.  Thank you. 

Truth is ALL companies do this, INCLUDING Nintendo.  So to act like Nintendo is the only company that innovates, while others just copy them, is putting quite a spin on gaming history.