In a recent interview, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto joked that he wanted to patent "jumping" in video games, as Nintendo were the originatore of jumping games. Imagine how different the gaming industry would be if they had followed through with the idea.

quote

Iwata: Donkey Kong involved jumping, as did Mario Bros., so you felt that Nintendo were the real originators of this kind of game.

Miyamoto: I did. I went as far as thinking that jumping is an original idea and that it should be patented! Anyway, I thought: "Right, I'm not going to let those other games top us!" (laughs)

Imagine if he'd tried it. And gotten away with it. And then been able to charge a fee every time somebody wanted to make a character jump in a platformer. You think they're rich now!

Miss Razz via kotaku.com »