As 2018 winds down, Nintendo is still busy registering trademarks like there's no tomorrow.
A week after the Japanese company secured smartphone-related trademarks for Kirby's Dream Land, Art Academy and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, it's now claimed three more - this time for Fossil Fighters, The Last Story and the Wii console. Once again, all of these reference ‘program for home video game machine’, ‘downloadable video game program’ and ‘program for smartphone’.
As we've noted on many other occasions, the mention of smartphones could potentially mean something big is on the way, or it's simply business as usual for Nintendo as it continually renews trademarks to cover older franchises.
Fossil Fighters first started out on the DS in 2008, the Wii was launched in 2006 and The Last Story was released on the same system in 2011.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
[source japanesenintendo.com, via twitter.com]
Comments 47
Fossil fighters will probably gain some traction.
I can't wait to play the entirety of the Wii console on my phone.
Endless Ocean: The Search for Jean-Eric's Dead Son Matthias Mobile.
Meh! Give me a re-release/remake of Pandora's Tower and Xenoblade Chronicles 1 on Switch and then I'll get excited.
The Last Story was imo very overrated. Very short for a "big" JRPG, failed to make you care about most of its cast and most of the new and fun mechanics were criminally underused.
And don't get me started on the multiple deus ex machinas that happened in the final battle and that atrocious framerate during the final phase >.>
Pandora's Tower on the other hand I greatly enjoyed and would love to see a remake of it that polishes up the visuals and adds more meat to the rather basic hack & slash gameplay ^_^
I wonder how much it costs Nintendo to register or renew trademarks like these? I had a quick Google, but the prices seem to vary wildly. Prices seem to start from £200 in the UK? Hmmmm. Kind regards, Ooyah™.
Screw Skyward Sword: give us The Last Story on Switch instead.
@Deku-Scrub I'm trying to envision this. Example: For Super Mario Galaxy, you'd hold your phone up to your face, move it around, and that's your Blue Star Cursor. Shake your phone, you Star Spin. Can't imagine it being where you hold your phone flat unless they make some kinda Smartglasses (or interface with other companies' Smartglasses).
I liked The Last Story and would echo the views of others on the Project Rainfall games all getting re-released on the Switch. All three were great IMO although the only one I've finished is The Last Story. Still play the other two on and off to chip away at progress though.
Oh come on. Surely the fact they’re adding the Wii to this list just reinforces the idea that this is just protection against third party IP theft? They’re not actually going to release an official Wii emulator for phones are they?
No no no,
Stop this we dont want Nintendo exclusives on out phones
Don't suspect much.
This is likely to protect their IP on mobile platforms. This isnt the first time they did this.
Why can't we have a The Last Story sequel on Switch...?
The Last Story for mobiles but not for Switch? Nintendo geez....
so another Nintendo console is going to be a mobile phone?
@DenDen Who is we? I do not play smartphone games but what is wrong with Nintendo on releasing some of kinda altered games of their IP portfolio on mobile? They said they would also focus more on mobile so this is not that weird.
Lastly the games they released maybe are not doing as good as other top grossing games however I think they still made a profit off of it.
What is wrong with a company trying to gain more (broader) userbase/ profit?
This is routine IP protection. Happens all the time. Nothing to see here.
@MrBlacky "program for smartphone"
Canˋt you read? It says ‘program for home video game machine’, ‘downloadable video game program’ AND ‘program for smartphone’, not JUST for smartphone.
BTW thanks for deleting my post NL. Freaking (see, now I even wrote it and didnˋt self censored it) hilarious! 😆😆😆😆 Or was it because I said "click bait"?
Hmm I dont get why they would want a wii program for smartphone right now as it cuts their own lunch against the switch. Weird.
But, if this means sequels inbound to Switch, ima ll for it. Or even remasters of the original last story, I never played the original game.
I do however, have fossil fighters for DS and 3DS sitting on my shelf. They're a bit too niche and pokemon/monster hunter cloney to do well outside of japan though I tend to think. I dont think the yokai watch games sold too well over here (AUS) for reference.
The Last Story? Wow, hopefully not a new game and just a remake if anything because I want the next game on Switch if possible.
@DenDen don't you all have phones...
Loved last story please release on switch
Obligatory reminder that copyright/trademark updates that happen to include the term "mobile phone" in them are usually just a company covering their bases. A lot of these look like ones that were scheduled for an update anyway.
I doubt we'll see much of most of these.
@gaga64
Wii Sports Mobile? You bowl with touch controls, and so on.
Just adding to what Regpuppy said here,
@Regpuppy
Smartphone apps are considered a new trade category, so Nintendo has to register these, to make sure no-one else can. When they're routine updating trademarks anyway, it totally makes sense, even when no plans exist for any of them.
@Pirlo_ze_sniper Reggie’s dying words at E3 when Skyward Sword becomes a mobile exclusive 😂
Can't wait to play these on a Nvidia Shield...
Oh wait that's only in China.
Wii trademarks for smartphones? I'm now hoping for Super Mario Samsung Galaxy.
When I was a kid, I was so pumped for Fossil Fighters! Every time I saw those live action commercials, I got more and more impatient. I really wouldn't mind Nintendo reviving (no pun intended) this series!!
I suspect that this is only another round of routine trademarking, but hey, who knows? Maybe all the Project Rainfall games will eventually be released on the Switch? I haven't played any of them yet and would welcome the chance.
...Though Pandora's Tower is on the Wii U eShop, and there are a few ways to nab XC1 currently.
Fossil Fighters on switch would be great if they return to form of Champions.
Meanwhile Dragalia Lost still hasn't launched in Canada.
They most likely got them for IP usage to prevent Patent TROLLS.
Characters from the Last Story have already surfaced on mobile devices in Mistwalker's Terra Battle. That's a fantastic game (too bad the sequel was such a mess). I wouldn't be surprised if Mistwalker has Nintendo's blessing to release a true Last Story game for mobile.
You sure those are mobile games and not 3DS games, given how port-heavy its lineup now is?
@Warioware Yeah. It would be nice to see Nintendo put out HD versions of all the Rainfall games. I’d also like to see HD versions of some of Nintendo’s other IP from the Wii era as well like Zangeki no Reginleiv which was a lot of fun and Takt of Magic. Though the localization may make that impossible.
That reminds me. I need to get reginleiv on wiiu still.
Please make a sequel of Fossil Fighters for the Nintendo Switch that isn't bad like Frontier
I never got to play The Last Story so I'd be interested in a remaster of that. And as long as we're remastering old RPGs.. Baten Kaitos collection please.
The Last Story was...okay. It was one of the last games for Wii so it got a lot of hype, and it failed to deliver imo. It wasn't a bad game, and it had some interesting ideas in there, but I'm definitely not crying out for remake.
I do wonder if the smartphone thing is going to be in reference to Nintendo Online. I know the original plan was to make a smartphone app to handle voices.
@NinjaSyao I agree here. I got all three Project Rainfall games. But The Last Story... I beat it but never really got into it. I’d never be interested in double dipping or even getting a sequel.
Pandora’s Tower however... I adored it. Best of those three games IMO. I’d buy it again just to have it on my Switch.
Xenoblade was great but it’s gotten no shortage of attention, having an entry in the series on every console since. Pandora’s Tower deserves more love.
The Last Story..... I miss thee! I still can't believe the sequel, The Last World was potentially coming to Wii U....then the developer went mobile.
I get the feeling this is all for that ssbu app, though I would live to see a fossil fighters game with an offline mode. There is not enough mobile games with offline modes....
@roboshort The more the better as far as I'm concerned! The Wii had loads of hidden gems.
@Warioware Yeah. A lot of first party and third party exclusives that need an HD update. All we’ve seen so far is Twilight Princess, right?
@roboshort And Monster Hunter Tri on the Wii U but I can't think of any others. I guess the motion controls could be hard to emulate but it seems like it should be possible on the Switch. I would love to see Madworld get an upgrade (European version was a gimped 50hrtz job with thick borders) along with the No More Heroes games (although that might have been confirmed already?). Xenoblade seems like a no-brainer too and if they could work some magic to make it cross save with the 3DS like MHG then I can hold off on completing it until a Switch version arrives. Finished the second one but I've been playing the first on-and-off for years, still not finished.
Either Nintendo is planning of dumping lots of their back-catalogue on smartphones, or they are really planning their own smartphone...
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...