Nintendo Sues Nyko Over Controller

Posted by Stephen Johnson - Friday, June 13, 2008 12:25 PM

Nintendo is suing third-party peripheral maker Nyko over their version of a Wii controller, the Kama Nunchuk.

According to Nintendo the Nyko product "wholly appropriates the novel shape, design, overall appearance and even the color and materials used in the Nintendo Nunchuk controller,''

"We have not knowingly violated anyone's intellectual property and we're still examining this,'' Nyko spokesman C.C. Swiney said yesterday in a telephone interview with Bloomberg.com.

So, judging from the above pic, what do you think?

Bloomberg: Timex, GE, Hutchinson, Next: Intellectual Property

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Tags: Videogames, Wii

Comment(s)

Posted by swifty_snail - Friday, June 13, 2008 12:36 PM

Damnit I didn't know Nintendo had the patent on white plastic and circuit boards?!?!?!

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Posted by schroetlin - Friday, June 13, 2008 12:37 PM

they're probably torqued that nyko brought out a wireless Nunchuck controller before they did

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Posted by DamienHell - Friday, June 13, 2008 12:42 PM

LOL I was wondering why they only had a pic of a wii mote and nunchuck, it wasn't till I looked hard enough that I noticed the nunchuck wasn't nintendos, nintendos gonna loose

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Posted by torino_elite - Friday, June 13, 2008 12:43 PM

poor nyko, they cant catch a break.... unlike thier products which always seem to break (in my experience)

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Posted by DamienHell - Friday, June 13, 2008 12:44 PM

nintendos gonna win*
(how'd I screw that up?)

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Posted by tommyturtle - Friday, June 13, 2008 12:45 PM

hasn't nyko always made alternative controllers? with the same shape and design for all systems since like sega geneses?

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Posted by VergilSnake - Friday, June 13, 2008 1:12 PM

Wow you would think they had an "ok" from Nintendo before releasing this. Wow...

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Posted by TKEmysterio - Friday, June 13, 2008 1:23 PM

They'll probably pull a Vanilla Ice (when he was sued for Ice Ice Baby and said that there was one less beat in his version of the riff stolen from the song "Under Pressure") and say that it measures a fraction of an inch less at the base than the actual Nunchuk controller.

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Posted by sinister6972 - Friday, June 13, 2008 1:26 PM

Uh-Oh, Nintendo is becoming crazy! LOL!!

Just as long they come through in E3, is all good...

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Posted by maque - Friday, June 13, 2008 1:26 PM

The only reason they are mad is because this will force them to drop prices on their PoS product. They are artificially creating a shortage to keep prices high. They feel offended that anyone would infringe on their lucrative market of selling bad games and hardware.

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Posted by VergilSnake - Friday, June 13, 2008 1:30 PM

If they don't it'll mark their fail and submission to the power of the PS3.

*I'm in love with my PS3 at the moment, MGS4 ftw!!!!

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Posted by youenjoymyself - Friday, June 13, 2008 1:30 PM

if nintendo is suing over this, wait until PS and 360 come out with their versions of the wii mote

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Posted by Eddamame - Friday, June 13, 2008 1:45 PM

This posting reminds me of the article from yesterday http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/bl og/post/686196/Gaming_Plagiari sm_Controversy_Stirs.html#comm entsabout that company Tri Synergy allegedly taking screen shot of Oblivion and using it in their game. Nintendo should give them a break freaking A they are making like 10 billion off the wii if they don't like people making wireless egg joy stick(nun chuck)then they should come out with one themselves. By the only pack rats wants a harddrive for their wii not geek/otaku.

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Posted by cryfordawn - Friday, June 13, 2008 1:59 PM

can you really tell me why you would spend 40.00 to give yourself 6 inches of freedom in wireless? Who the hell would buy this garbage. HEY LOOK MY LEFT HAND IS FREE FROM A CORD! We are talking about 6 inches of freedom here.

EPIC FAIL!

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Posted by Platformermaniac - Friday, June 13, 2008 2:36 PM

So how do other controller makers get away with making their own accessories withought getting sued? I've seen third party controllers for just about every system known to man. And yes, many of them look almost exactly like first party controllers. I don't think anyone will mistake this Nyko controller for the Nintendo brand unless they are to dumb or to lazy to read the largely printed company name on the packaging. I might consider getting this as the wire connecting the Wiimote to the Nunchuck sometimes bothers me while playing.

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Posted by Tyranadin - Friday, June 13, 2008 3:51 PM

Hey, that guy has blond hair to.....Sue Him!

Give me a break. Is Nintendo so unsure of themselves that they have to now go after everyone who has an idea. They must have a blind person telling them the controllers are the same when they are clearly not.

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Posted by collinE - Friday, June 13, 2008 4:11 PM

how is that possible to win a suit like this.

these 3rd parties have made controllers that copycat the originals for years. they'll even put the circle and X or a and b buttons just like the original controllers. this nunchuck is more unique than those ever were.

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Posted by changbang - Friday, June 13, 2008 4:18 PM

umm.... isnt it supposed to look like the original??

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Posted by bulletwitch114 - Friday, June 13, 2008 8:35 PM

Sounds like the big 'n' is ticked that they didn't come out with the idea of a wireless nunchuk sooner.. So what's the best way to get back at them? Sue 'em.

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Posted by ajdbomb - Friday, June 13, 2008 11:42 PM

They are probably just mad that there is an alternative to Nintendo's first party nunchuck controller.

I am sure Nintendo would prefer a monopoly over their system's market. It just mean more profits for them.

How many alternative controllers are there for the wii? Seriously, name some.

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Posted by hallibeezy - Saturday, June 14, 2008 5:50 AM

Nintendo? Never heard of them. We were making this nunchuck for martial arts classes.

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Posted by TruthSeiyer - Saturday, June 14, 2008 10:04 AM

Same color? If they can do that then why do my Nyko rechargable battery packs stick out like sore thumbs against the Wiimote?

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Posted by Aura_Guardian - Sunday, June 15, 2008 7:49 PM

to tommyturtle
If it had the Official Nintendo Seal, then it wouldn't have been a problem. But since it doesn't, the lawsuit can be filed.

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Posted by TheRedStar - Monday, June 16, 2008 6:36 AM

youenjoymyself is on to something. It looks like this si just a set up for Nintendo to go after M$oft and Sony for their motion controlers that are supposed to look very similar to the Wii. If they win in this small case they can use the judgment in this case to other cases. Namley the ones they will try to bring against M$oft and Sony.

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