Nintendo "Hints" Patent?

[xtrmntr]

Wondering what people make of this "Game/Digest" design concept that Nintendo patented recently:

The new system, described in a patent filed by Nintendo Creative Director Shigeru Miyamoto on June 30, 2008, but made public today, looks to solve the issue of casual gamers losing interest in a game before they complete it, while still maintaining the interest of hardcore gamers.

The solution would turn a game into a full-length cut scene of sorts, allowing players to jump into and out of the action whenever they wanted. But when played this way, gamers would not be able to save their progress, maintaining the challenge of completing a game without skipping or cheating. It would also allow players to bring up in-game hint videos and skip directly to particular scenes in games.

(Via Kotaku)

Has Nintendo gone too far into the "Blue Ocean" with this, or is it something people might enjoy seeing in TTG games? (If it wasn't patented by Nintendo, that is! =)

[natlinxz]

I heard that the patent was something to do with the in game AI giving tutorials, but I'm not quite sure now.

[MussKatt]

This doesn't interest me one bit because usually when i enjoy a game enough, i almost never use faq's and stuff. And also i am used to just going on gamefaqs when necessary...

However, it's not totally a bad idea. A lot of new users are getting into nintendo games with the DS and WII. I work with a bunch of non-gamer type who bought Zelda on the DS, and they asked me to bypass some parts for them that they just couldn't manage to do. This is surely aimed at these people and it's a nice initiative as i know, not everyone is as dedicated to gaming as i am. Good move for Nintendo, and i know they are facing harsch criticism from the 'hardcore' crowd for trying to appeal to the non hardcore, but well, see what the hardcore gave the gamecube for support. Long live Nintendo.

As far as seeing such an initiative on TTG's, i am personally not interested. The hint system works wonderfully as it is, and the games are never so hard that you couldn't find the answers for yourself if you wanted to.

[MaxFan]

It was my understanding that this was only an application for a patent, not something yet granted? I worry what legal repercussions this could have if the patent was granted. Would players be able to make their own playthroughs without fear of being sued?

Also, this looks to me clearly like an idea and not an invention, so a patent wouldn't apply. Regardless of how many times Nintendo used the word invention in their application.

On topic: A walkthrough and a did you try is plenty for me with Telltale's games.

[Zootch]

Criticizing a Wii game for being gimmicky is like criticizing a midget for being short.

Having said that, some of the most fun games I've bought for the Wii have been eXtremely gimmicky but well designed and conceptually interesting...

[Ray-The-Sun]

Isn't that nearly exactly like the arcade version of Dragon's Lair?

[purple_monkfish]

Does this mean those less dexterous of us could turn it on to get past the stupid jumping puzzles then turn it off again to go back to pointing and clicking? I'd love to be able to bipass the stupid reflex games they tack into a lot of adventure games these days (like that stupid mini game in Still Life)

See, being able to bipass dexterity puzzles i'd be happy with (Damn I wish they just wouldn't include the stupid bloody things. If I wanted to play a platformer i'd buy a sodding platformer damnit)
But for puzzles? What about that sense of achievement when you solve them youself? nah, I like the hint system implimented by telltale. Obscure hints ftw!

[MussKatt]

Originally Posted by purple_monkfish

Does this mean those less dexterous of us could turn it on to get past the stupid jumping puzzles then turn it off again to go back to pointing and clicking? I'd love to be able to bipass the stupid reflex games they tack into a lot of adventure games these days (like that stupid mini game in Still Life)

See, being able to bipass dexterity puzzles i'd be happy with (Damn I wish they just wouldn't include the stupid bloody things. If I wanted to play a platformer i'd buy a sodding platformer damnit)
But for puzzles? What about that sense of achievement when you solve them youself? nah, I like the hint system implimented by telltale. Obscure hints ftw!

Obscure hints? They pretty much give you the solution each time lol. In strong bad anyways.

Still Life was somewhat decent, but alas, never holds a candle to sins of the father, my most revered Puzzle game of all time.

[purple_monkfish]

Ahhh Sins of the Father. I finished playing that a few months ago. The narrator was a refreshing change from the main character going "I can't use these things together". Heh.