One Company Is Suing Nintendo Over the Switch Joy Con Design
Gamevice, a company that makes video game controllers for smartphones and tablets, is now suing Nintendo for infringement. Gamevice believes that Nintendo violated a patent and in turn is demanding that the court orders Nintendo to pay damages, and stop making the Switch immediately.
The accessory maker is suing Nintendo because they believe Nintendo used their patent of the Wikipad to design the joy cons for the Switch. Now if you haven’t heard of the Wikipad, it is a gaming accessory for android devices with add-on controllers. This was originally created in 2008 and co-founded by the current CEO of the Oculus VR. The patent for the design was granted in September 2015, approximately one year before the Switch was unveiled.
Where Gamevice is saying Nintendo violated their patent is in the design of the removable joy cons for the Switch. They claim these joy cons are too similar to the companies detachable device controllers with a “flexible bridge section.” Their device allows players to control their mobile video games with the controllers, instead of using the touchscreen on the device. The complaint filed on Wednesday stated that “Nintendo’s infringement has caused, and is continuing to cause, damage and irreparable injury to Gamevice.” Of course, as you can see with the Wikipad image below, the two devices look similar, so it’s not exactly surprising to see why this lawsuit was filed.
Considering the success of the Switch since its launch earlier this year, over 4.7 million consoles sold, it’s understandable why Gamevice is seeking damages. These damages were not specified in the lawsuit, however it’s likely only a matter of time before this is revealed. With that being said, Nintendo has been working on controller ideas since at least 2012 when they were designing the concept for the Wii U. You can check this out below.
It seems likely that Nintendo will be able to thwart the lawsuit as a result of this concept design, but that’s really for the courts to decide right? What do you think? Do you agree with Gamevice or do you think Nintendo came up with the design themselves? Let us know in the comments below and keep it locked for updates!