Nintendo is under fire from a patent infringement claim regarding the 3D screen tech behind its portable gaming gadget, the 3DS. The company Tomita Technologies (we don’t know either) filed the suit in the last few weeks with Nintendo keeping the story under wraps – Until today..
The handheld 3DS’ glasses-free three-dimensional selling factor is being challenged by Tomita, who in 2008 filed a patent entitled “Stereoscopic Image Picking Up and Display System Based Upon Optical Axes Cross-Point Information.”
The company provides no specific reasoning for the claim placed on June 22nd 2011 and Nintendo’s 3DS resembles nothing like the products they manufacture – Tomita is (if we’ve correctly Googled from the limited available info) some kind of agricultural company. Why they would have any beef with Ninty over a patent violation is beyond us, but they are suggesting they have been damaged “in an amount not yet determined”.
Nintendo’s 3DS has been a slow-burner, only just recently reaching 1-million unit sales in its native Japan and some will jump to the conclusion that the portable has been a massive fail. But with a string of anticipated titles and familiar faces ahead such as Super Mario, Mario Kart and Star Fox 64, we could see Nintendo’s fortunes going skyward.
Whoever they are and whatever the deal is behind this patent suit, Tomita Technologies is certainly making its name known today by riding Nintendo like a green dinosaur with a saddle.
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