1989: Power Glove ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Glove )

Although that was really made by Mattel and not Nintendo, it should still provide plenty of evidence for prior art.

I need it for when my 360 and PS3 are broke.

It's not even a "Pointing Device". If it was, you could actually Aim the litte sucker.. It's all shooting from the hip with the remote. All it has is a camera to watch the IR on the "Sensor" bar, which is nothing more than an emitter. I'm wondering if they have sued Gyration. I'm sure they don't have a pattent on the mouse.

http://www.hillcrestlabs.com/company/index.php

What? They must not recall Web TV. If we go with interactive Media... Tivo? I guess the Tivo doesn't have the mouse pointer part. Now if we ignore everyone that's ever used a computer through their TV's (I have, long before HD came out) with a wireless mouse... Prior art is all there if you look hard enough. I guess I should hit up Hillcrest and ask for my royalty fees.

The penguin because he likes his MythTV.

Its obvious it should be scrapped completely now, they aren't worth the paper they're printed on. They'll just patent any damn thing, and sit on it till someone actually does all the work and creates their theoretical idea. Its anti-progress.

I hope Ninty tells them to to fuck off, and pulls the Wii off US shelves to force someone somewhere to see sense.

My Binatone games console from about 1980 had a light gun, that not only shot the target, but you could use to choose options.

Does this count?

If you want to take my Nintendo Wii Remote they can pry it from my cold dead hands.

If only it were so easy.

Suppose you came up with a brilliant and original idea but it would cost £1m to build the prototype. You don't have the money and can't patent your idea without the prototype. So you ask me to help you because I do have the money but I take the prototype to the patent office and register it as my own idea and nothing to do with you. You have some nice drawings and a few pages of text from several years before but no prototype so the patent and any money to be made from the idea is all mine and you get nothing. Your "fix" completely negates what patents are for.

(no I don't have millions, it's just a hypothetical)

Well first of all, I wouldn't share my brilliant idea with anyone without some form of Non-Disclosure Agreement signed beforehand. No need for a patent for that and I have grounds to sue if you steal my idea afterwards. There are other ways to protect an idea without having to resort to a patent, this would keep the patents "clean" and much simpler to enforce I think.

PERIOD. THe only purpose of today's patents is let trolls STEAL money. Today Patent serve no usefull purpose. a patant (and (C) ) should not last more the 2 or 3 years. and no money of any kind should be awarded for a patent NOT IN USE (not manufacturing a product). Compnanies who sole purpose is to steal money (sue) for patend infregment should be made illegal, This is the only way to let company inovate. make a profit out of inventing, but also prevent them to steal money once the patents is no longer used by them.

... are not being followed very well. From http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/what.htm :

===============================================

Interpretations of the statute by the courts have defined the limits of the field of subject matter which can be patented, thus it has been held that the laws of nature, physical phenomena and abstract ideas are not patentable subject matter.

A patent cannot be obtained upon a mere idea or suggestion. The patent is granted upon the new machine, manufacture, etc., as has been said, and not upon the idea or suggestion of the new machine. A complete description of the actual machine or other subject matter for which a patent is sought is required.