Nintendo just patented Summoning systems in games (Retainers, Summoner jobs etc)

[Sililos]

Considering how litigious Nintendo are about suing their fans and anyone else they feel like suing, Is SE legal ready to deal with challenges to FF games with systems based around summoning systems and sending minions out to fight and on missions? Re: Retainers and Venture's, Summoners and their pets any Necromancy style monster or future job's, Minion battles such as Lords of Verminion? (Nintendo now 'owns' those systems and doesn't want other games using them)

I know this isn't entirely based on Final Fantasy considering its about an action Nintendo has taken and the knock on effects of that action, But id really like to know that SE has a plan in place so we don't lose these systems after a Nintendo patent lawsuit against SE.

Posting this after watching this gaming news entry by YongYea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxG1GueybuI

Feels like one of those patents that never should of been aloud to be accepted due too how broad it is and how many long existing games will be hit by it and open the devs up to Nintendo Lawsuits not too mention the future creativity it will stifle in the gaming industry as a whole.

[MsQi]

Considering how litigious Nintendo are about suing their fans and anyone else they feel like suing, Is SE legal ready to deal with challenges to FF games with systems based around summoning systems and sending minions out to fight and on missions? Re: Retainers and Venture's, Summoners and their pets any Necromancy style monster or future job's, Minion battles such as Lords of Verminion? (Nintendo now 'owns' those systems and doesn't want other games using them)

I know this isn't entirely based on Final Fantasy considering its about an action Nintendo has taken and the knock on effects of that action, But id really like to know that SE has a plan in place so we don't lose these systems after a Nintendo patent lawsuit against SE.

Posting this after watching this gaming news entry by YongYea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxG1GueybuI

Feels like one of those patents that never should of been aloud to be accepted due too how broad it is and how many long existing games will be hit by it and open the devs up to Nintendo Lawsuits not too mention the future creativity it will stifle in the gaming industry as a whole.

You can't just patent something that has been around for decades out of the blue that you obviously didn't invent. It's pretty hard to patent a game mechanic in general, unless it's particularly novel, which this is not.

[Kohashi]

Ahh yes.. : https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...mmons-in-FFXIV

anyway... I don't understand how people still support that mediocre company, which has been incapable of putting out anything decent for a long time now.

[ViinaS]

Everything is possible with enough lawyers and money.
... Idiots in positions of deciding stuff about things they
have no clue about helps tho.

[Aonns]

Ahh yes.. : https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...mmons-in-FFXIV

anyway... I don't understand how people still support that mediocre company, which has been incapable of putting out anything decent for a long time now.

Final Fantasy games have been pretty meh for a few years as well. I wouldn't cast stones.

[Jeeqbit]

It's US-only.

It would struggle to hold up when there is evidence it existed in FF games years before.

I believe it could only potentially apply to multi-decades old FF games, and it's unlikely they'll bother, especially when that would be applying it retroactively which is both unfair and calls into question the validity of the patent.

A lot of big companies have useless patents. A really obvious example I can give is internet polls. Did you know that if you host a forum that allows polls it's breaching a patent? Big companies and useless patents for basic internet or game features that wouldn't hold up in court have been prevalent for over a decade. Nobody noticed because they can't defend them in court and haven't even tried.

[Catwho]

You can't just patent something that has been around for decades out of the blue that you obviously didn't invent. It's pretty hard to patent a game mechanic in general, unless it's particularly novel, which this is not.

Exactly, SE has 30+ years of prior works to show that what they patented is neither novel or unique.

(Although the first FF games were on the NES, the company was not a first party developer, therefore Nintendo cannot use the claim that the FF game summons belong to them.)

[HyperiusUltima]

This wouldn’t even hold up in court. The reason why that got that patent in the first place is because the US Patent Office faced a purge a while ago and don’t have enough hands to deal with everything coming their way. If anything, Nintendo’s ninja lawyers made a serious blunder that won’t just hurt their reputation(as if Doug Bowser isn’t already ruining it) but also sales considering the fact that they’re still dealing with PalWorld.

It is still a vile practice in general though since patents only make making games harder because then if you use a ‘mechanic’ that is patented, they can sue you for damages unless remediated. However, you can’t patent game mechanics that existed prior. So in the case of Summoning, Final Fantasy.

That instantly invalidates the patent as it existed already, even if it wasn’t patented. It’s like how you can’t patent the invention of the Wheel now when it is so broadly used. If Square were to challenge Nintendo to this fight, Nintendo would lose straight up for their anti-competitive practices against PalWorld, all over Pokemon losing value to it.

[RyoXander]

Ahh yes.. : https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...mmons-in-FFXIV

anyway... I don't understand how people still support that mediocre company, which has been incapable of putting out anything decent for a long time now.

Critiquing Nintendo for being mediocre while still playing FF14 is hypocritical af lol. Nintendo puts out some of the most solid games in the industry. Maybe none that you care about, which is fine, but there are plenty of amazing recent games from them.

[tsuchii]

It doesn't work that way.
You have to meet everything in the patent conditions in order for it to count.