Nintendo Patents Online Console/TV Hybrid

1UP.com is reporting that the ill-fated Nintendo 64DD had grander plans back in its day including cable TV and picture-in-picture capabilities.

“Though very little came of the new hardware in the end, Nintendo had grand plans for the 64DD expansion to its Nintendo 64 console, according to a patent application recently found in the United States Patent and Trademark Office database. Patent 6,769,989, granted August 3, 2004 (but first applied for all the way back in 1998) contains the blueprint for a remarkably multitalented game machine.
 
The system described in the patent seems curiously similar to Sony’s PSX multipurpose console, combining a game player with a digital TV tuner. It would be capable of receiving cable or broadcast TV signals and displaying those at the same time as a game, “providing a unique picture-in-picture video capability.” “

Wow, its crazy that the patent process took so long for them. Would the cable TV and PIP capabilities have made a difference? Who knows, the question now is whether Nintendo can apply those same patents to future video game consoles. Would they still want to though? Sony’s PSX which has similar capabilities buts includes a hard drive based recorder, seems to be staying above water in Japan.

Read more about this story at 1UP.com.