Nintendo patented what?

Saw this on Fark, and thought it was pretty amazing.

So the company that has the worst track record in online console gaming now has the patent for it?

My head is spinning…

It’s for the N64 DD
edit: Sorry, forgot where I saw the confirmation of that… Gamespot’s got it

So, you are saying it can’t be applied in a generic sense?

Even if it was for the 64DD, does this patent have any ramifications at all for Sony or Microsoft? Or is it much ado about nothing?

It means nothing.

So, you are saying it can’t be applied in a generic sense?[/quote]
I’m not a lawyer?

Here’s the text of the patent:
[i] Home video game system with hard disk drive and internet access capability

Abstract

An existing video game system is modified to include additional communication and storage capability via a modem and hard disk drive. The modification may involve the use of an expansion device coupled to a video game system port. A cable TV tuner is also included in the expansion device to assist in providing a unique picture-in-picture video capability. TV signals are coupled to the expansion device via the RF input from either cable TV or off-air signals. These RF signals are blended with the output signals from the video game system. A user may, for example, watch TV while viewing overlay information from the video game console. A user may receive a TV channel guide downloaded via the Internet, spot a program which the user desires to view and immediately access, via an IR input, the desired channel through the expansion device TV tuner. A user may also watch TV while simultaneously logging onto the Internet. A hard drive permits downloading from the Internet of entire games. [/i]

From the above patent description, plus the article text, it would seem that Microsoft may end up forking out some bucks for a) a license or b) lots of lawyers.

I don’t think it applies to anyone at the moment, since the Xbox doesn’t have a modem (plus it ships with the harddrive). The PS2 HD is sold seperately from the modem/broadband adapter, and neither system provides the cable TV capabilites described.

Or c). Not many lawyers and point out prior use.

Prior use would be the N64 DD, if this patent applied to the Xbox (which I don’t think it does)
I can’t think of any pre-1999 console that provided the features listed