Nintendo has recently filed additional patents to safeguard its iconic properties, Super Mario Bros. Wonder and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
According to a recent Hatena Blog post by user naoya2k, these patents were submitted by Nintendo last year and made publicly accessible between November and December 2023. The first patent, submitted in August 2023, focuses on Super Mario Bros.
Wonder’s ‘Ghost’ mechanic in multiplayer mode. This feature allows a downed player to interact with an item, either a character or a standee, to respawn. The patent defines the ‘ghost’ mechanic as controlling a temporary character until reaching a suitable respawn point, a familiar concept for players of Wonder’s multiplayer mode.
As for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, its patent, disclosed on December 12, 2023, concentrates on Link’s Ultrahand ability and specific applications. The patent outlines the game’s mechanic, allowing players to select one item, bring it close to another, and combine them into a single object. The document states, “Provided is an information processing system that can improve usability when connecting virtual objects to generate an object made up of a plurality of virtual objects.”
In related news, Super Mario Bros. Wonder set a significant Nintendo record as the fastest-selling title in the franchise for the Nintendo Switch. The game surpassed sales expectations by achieving global cumulative sales of 4.3 million units within the first two weeks of its release.
The success of Super Mario Bros. Wonder followed the box office triumph of The Super Mario Bros. Movie from Illumination Entertainment, the highest-grossing film based on a video game and the second-highest-grossing animated film of all time.
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