Namco's patent finally runs out! Auxiliary mini-games now allowed during loading screens

[benoit489]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...d-auxiliary-mini-games-during-loading-screens

How many hours in your life have you sat watching loading screens? Two? Twenty? Two hundred? Enough, right? Wouldn't it have been nicer to be entertained with a mini-game while you wait?

There's a reason you weren't: Namco. In 1995, Namco filed a patent protecting its use ofauxiliary mini-games while a main game was loading. Ridge Racer on PlayStation One entertained players with a Galaxian mini-game, if you remember. It was a good idea; the only problem was no one besides Namco could use it.

Those mini-games in FIFA aren't the same thing, which is how EA sidesteps the patent. Auxiliary mini-games are classified as games that are separate or different to the main game that's loading, whereas in FIFA the mini-games are smaller chunks of the whole.

Thee good news, and the reason I'm writing about all of this, is that the patent has now expired. It lasted 20 years and was filed 27th November 1995 (thanks PC Gamer). A Loading Screen Game Jam has been organised in celebration.

About freaking time. What a terrible patent for Namco to hold. This is great for games with super long loading times. Instead of standing around in empty space in Assassin's Creed while it loads, you could play some sort of mini-game either invented for the game or possibly one of Ubisoft's older titles.

 

[CM30]

Bloody time this ran out! Perhaps now we'll get mini games in Super Smash Bros loading screens, this you just know they're the type to use this feature.

And other games too, but come on, this stuff just needs to be in Smash...

 

[Dark Young Link]

I didn't even know there was a patent for that. I just thought no one made loading screen mini games because there was no reason for them.

Also how did Splatoon bypass that? I know in the demo I tried, it had a mini game while it loaded.

 

[Kaynil]

So long no other single company gets it, I am happy.

I had no idea it was actually a patent hindering this possibility. I know I have discussed before with people how much of a wasted opportunity games that do nothing with loading screens are. Some games give the illusion for a minigame.

Also how did Splatoon bypass that? I know in the demo I tried, it had a mini game while it loaded.

When you're in the plaza you can access the game from a small arcade machine. I guess that circumvent it by not making it a loading-only game.

 

[benoit489]

I didn't even know there was a patent for that. I just thought no one made loading screen mini games because there was no reason for them.

Also how did Splatoon bypass that? I know in the demo I tried, it had a mini game while it loaded.

I've heard that the mini-game is played while waiting for players rather than during loading screens, but I've never touched the game so I could be wrong. It's also possible Nintendo licensed the capability from Namco by paying them some small fee.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

Only problem is that not many games have long enough load times to make proper use of this. So yeah, kind of pointless now.

 

[benoit489]

Yeah, definitely would have been great in the GC/PS2/Xbox era. Although I'm hearing some current gen games are starting to get longer loading times now that devs are starting to ramp up development on XB1 and PS4 rather than just porting and upping the resolution on last gen games.