Why Nintendo Needs 'Grand Theft Auto' To Get Onto The Wii

Prior to launching the Wii in 2006, Nintendo survived because of core of devotees to their systems.  After gamers moved to the Playstation, the devotees bought Nintendo 64's and later Gamecubes.  This brand loyalty to Nintendo systems has gone out of the window four years after the launch the Wii.  A lot of kids in this generation of gaming have gotten their start on the Wii but as they have gotten older they are trading their Wii-motes for couch bound button mashing with a Playstation or Xbox controller.

Grand Theft Auto may be one of video gaming's most raunchy and controversial franchises but is also one of the most popular too.  Grand Theft Auto is the polar opposite to the squeaky clean family friendly image that Nintendo has created for itself.  GTA made it's debut on a Nintendo platform last year when GTA Chinatown Wars launched on the DS. 

In order to stay in the leadership position the big N will need to keep the fourteen year olds on their systems.  To do that Nintendo will need to attract the big franchise games to the Wii, including Grand Theft Auto.  Nintendo may shun anything that carries the 'M' rating but was it not Resident Evil the most popular franchise back in the days of the Gamecube?

For Nintendo keeping the teenagers in the Nintendo camp will be a challenge but not one they can't overcome it will require loosing up on content restrictions.  At one time the Mortal Kombat for the Super Nintendo had to be toned down and didn't have the blood and gore that Mortal Kombat for the Sega Genesis had, it wasn't the developer and publishers of Mortal Kombat that were hurt by it, it was Nintendo.  There will be one thing that Nintendo can do to stop young adult gamers from fleeing to Playstations or Xboxes, drop the restrictions and let Grand Theft Auto on the Wii.

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Patent Trolling Still Alive and Well

As I originally reported about a couple of months ago successful technology companies often face getting sued by less successful companies or companies that have very little or no longer relevant this practice is known as Patent Trolling. The latest to get trolled is Nintendo. A company called Hillcrest Labs is suing Nintendo over the remote controller used on the Wii console. Hillcrest claims that the motion sensing controller infringes on three of their patents.

The motion sensing sixaxis controller used on the Playstation 3 would violate the same patents, but Hillcrest isn't suing Sony. If this was about protecting intellectual property rights then Hillcrest would have to sue both Sony and Nintendo, but they are just trying to knock down the most successful.