Wii Classic Controller in danger as Nintendo loses patent troll suit

Bloomberg reports this week that Nintendo could be forced to stop selling Wii Classic and GameCube controllers as a result of losing its case to overturn a patent-infringement suit from a company that has not produced one physical product.

District Judge Ron Clark placed a ban on these controllers after the ruling, but it was stayed after Nintendo filed an appeal in a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. “Nintendo was already planning to appeal this case to the Federal Circuit court,” said Nintendo spokesman Charlie Scibetta. “The recent ruling by the trial court does not impact that decision.”

The Wii controller nunchuck attachment is safe, as it was deemed to be unrelated to Anascape’s analog stick patent. Anascape, which reportedly consists of one person, has also tangled with Microsoft and Sony in the past over similar technology. Sony licensed the patent in 2004, and Microsoft settled a lawsuit out of court on May 1 before the trial began.

As video games become a force, expect more of this sad, shifty behavior to continue.