This new patent really sounds quite interessting..

First of all, it's a genius way for Nintendo to introduce all the new "casual" players that they have gained with the Wii, into titles that perhaps would intimidate them to play - titles like Mario, Metroid and of course Zelda etc., since they're not extactly as pick up and play friendly as Wii play or Wii sports - but with this new system, they will most likely feel alot more intrigued to play the new Zelda and so on too..

But still it seems like it wont harm the more devoted gamers, who still can get the gaming experience they crave for - so this way, nobody looses - it will only gain more new devoted gamers, who will want to have more and deeper gaming experiences..

And thereby creating a bigger demand for more core and complex titles..

Plus it may even be a nice gameplay addition for the more experienced gamer - the ability to make the game control itself perfect when you want to, doesn't seem so far from alot of the innovations "Prince of Percia: Sands of time" added with it's abilities to turn back time, when you failed and so on. I know I personally wouldn't mind using this feature in a lot of the more frustrating parts of some games - like Mario for instance, some of the last stars in both Sunshine and Galaxy just made me feel like throwing my controller at the tv, after my 17th try - I wouldn't mind or feel like lees of a gamer, if I could just "fast forward" in parts like these in certain games.

Plus it even add's the posibilty to incorporate insane hard parts in games - parts that even the most hardcore gamers would look at in disbelief, if they saw someone complete it on youtube without "fasting forward" - they could add parts like these in even the most kiddiest and casual games - parts that almost require you to fast forward, unless you really are devoted - and nobody would feel discouraged about a game being too hard or too esay, as long as it would have parts like these..

Plus the whole aspect of "scene selection" (although not an entirely new concept), would be perfect suited for game series like MGS, RE, Zelda and Metroid - all of those games allways have some fantatic parts, that I allways feel like playing again - like fighting all the bosses in Zelda when I want to for instance - though the aspect of comepleting the entire game from the start again usually keeps me from it.
Which will mean that games in these sort of genres, will get a lot of more replay value..

So yeah - this new patent definetly has me quite intrigued. Maybe I'm overthinking it - but to me, it allready seems like something only Miyamoto could come up with..

I don't get it, they're trying to patent this? So if some other game company wanted to do this, they wouldn't be allowed to? Am i missing something here?

It gives the opportunity for people to play at their own level, whether that be the simplest or the most difficult. It creates an accessibility for literally everyone. If you want to beat the game in 75 hours, killing yourself over puzzles, go for it, and if you want to beat it in 7 hours just for the story, go for it. It serves everyone.

I think this could really help casuals get into core games, I cant see any core gamers ever using this... Again, I see this as a move to help bridge casuals to the core, not to stay all casual.

“As means for solving the problem, disclosed is a game control method for lowering the difficulty level of a game by presenting, while the game is being played, a hint for allowing the game to be continued.”

That says optional, for anybody having problems grasping english.

And whoopty shit. We all know when people get stuck, they just turn to game guides, or places like Gamefaqs anyway. Why not have a hint system in the game that you can turn on if you get stuck?