Conference rusure::nintendo

From: ries@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM (Marc Ries)
Subject: Nintendo Anti-Trust Investigation Announced
Organization: TRW
Lines: 20
 
[Orange County, REGISTER 12/7/89]
 
"Nintendo possibly facing antitrust investigation -- A House committe is
expected to ask the Justice Department today to investigate videogame giant
Nintendo for possible antitrust violations.
 
[Nintendo] has been accused of taking actions that stifle competition from
other software makers.   
 
.... In announcing the action, U.S. Rep. Dennis Eckart, D-Ohio, chairman
of the small-business antitrust committe, said he uncovered a number of
concerns while investigating Nintendo..."
 
 
 
-- 
Marc Ries
           ries@venice.sedd.trw.com     (ARPA)
           somewhere!trwind!venice!ries (UUCP)
           #include <std.disclaimer>

        re: -.1
    
        Well, it's good to see that big money and corruption go hand-
        in-hand over in Japan just like it does here in the U.S.  :-)
    
                                                                 Mike
    

From: rains@dms.UUCP (Lyle Rains)
Subject: Re: Nintendo Anti-Trust Investigation Announced
Organization: Atari Games Inc., Milpitas, CA
Lines: 74
 
I've been holding off from "spilling" all this, and I doubt that I will
convince any Nintendo fans, but enough is enough.
 
The following are my personal opinions, and not necessarily those of my
employer (Atari Games, parent of Tengen).  I base these opinions on the
facts of the events as related by those directly envolved in the Nintendo
licensing and litigation.  I believe these reports to be true.
 
From <1989Dec12.003251.14900@athena.mit.edu>, leo@athena.mit.edu (John G Leo):
>   [stuff on TETRIS, Tengen vs. Nintendo deleted]
> As was pointed out before, this is a separate issue from the lockout
> chip controversy.  I hope someone from Atari will correct me if I'm
> wrong, but as far as I know Tengen thought they had the rights to Tetris
> which they got from a British company.  Nintendo on the other hand went
> directly to the game's designer, who knew nothing of this, and got the
> rights from him.
 
The version I know is different.  We licensed Tetris from MirrorSoft, who
represented to us that they had the rights to license the software to us.
We developed a prototype and as a licensee of Nintendo showed them that
prototype before Tengen started making its own cartridges.  Only after
this later event, in a puposeful attact on Tengen, did Nintendo approach
the Russian licensing agency to see if they could undo Tengen's deal.
The MirrorSoft agreement gave them the rights for "computers," specifically
excluding only HAND-HELD LCD games.  Nintendo in essence said to the
Russians (the following is my interpretation of the events), "If you will
reinterpret your agreement with MirrorSoft so as to also exclude home
video games, then we will pay you a lot of money for the license."  Never
mind that Nintendo already provides all the accessories in Japan to turn
a Family Computer (note the name) into a full computer, and has announced
plans to do so for the NES as well.  So they rewrote the agreement after the
fact, and thus screwed Tengen.  The judge in the case looked at the paper-
work and not at the backroom antics, and issued an opinion in favor of
Nintendo, so it appears we may have been raped legally.
 
 
> [more deleted...]  I don't see how Nintendo's use of the lockout
> chip has anything to do with a monopoly...  Did Tengen
> request the right to make games for the NES legitimately and get
> refused?
> 
> One rumor I remember hearing (perhaps from the net) is that Nintendo was
> perhaps putting pressure on companies not to make games for other
> systems.  If this is true then certainly this is wrong.
 
Nintendo allows no licensee to build their own cartridges.  It's part of
the license.  Nintendo allows a MAXIMUM of 5 new titles per year per
licensee.  Nintendo will not allow a title on the NES to be released
for other home game formats for a period of time.  It's all in the
license.  All these things are calculated to make sure all the business
goes through Nintendo, and no licensee can get enough of the business
to ever become a threat to Nintendo, and that no competing game systems
can have the same titles.
 
After Tengen started building their own cartridges, Nintendo pressured
all the major retailers to not carry Tengen product.  The result is that
Tengen's current distribution channel is a fraction of what it had been.
Tengen still manufactures and ships NES carts, but you won't find 'em
at the major Nintendo retailers, 'cuz they're all scared shipmentless of
what Nintendo might do to 'em if they fell out of line.  When you
realize that Nintendo business was the single largest profit contributor
at Toys-R-Us last year, and that Nintendo "allocates" its tight product
supply, you can understand why.
 
There's more, but you get the picture.
 
Hmmmm... do the words "EVIL MONOPOLY" start coming to mind?  I hope
that Nintendo gets sliced and diced by the Justice department.  It
couldn't happen to a nastier bunch of guys.
-- 
/*  Lyle Rains     <-- Any stupid or offensive opinions above are all his.
 *  Atari Games    <-- We make arcade video games, not product announcements.
 *  Milpitas, CA   <-- OK, so maybe it's not Alviso.  But it's home.
 */

    Re: .4
    
    Saw some the other day...I believe it was at the Fair.  Haven't
    used one though.
    
    
    
    Bob

    Seems to me you could make your own using a BI bus Zif-connector
    cleaning wand (some modifications) and Gold Wipes

From: rotberg@dms.UUCP (Ed Rotberg)
Subject: Re: Nintendo Anti-Trust Investigation Announced
Organization: Atari Games Inc., Milpitas, CA
Lines: 71
 
From article <1989Dec12.092531.16423@bpdsun1.uucp>, by rmf@bpdsun1.uucp (Rob Finley):
> Despite a previous response that the cartridges don't contain a graphics 
> sprite controller, I still hold the opinion that it isn't a lockout chip.
> And, unless you want all the games to look the same, I don't see
> an easy solution to this until you can design a chip on a '386, print
> it off on your laser printer and plug it in.
> 
> Sorry guys...
 
"Flame on..."
 
I'm glad you relegated your observation to that of an opinion, as it is
apparently just that, and not a very informed one either.  The FACT is that
the "lock-out" chip in question performs NO function in the NES other than
security of the cartridge.  It has NOTHING to do with the sprite generation,
or with any other graphics, audio, or I/O.  I can tell you that we know this
from our own careful investigation, but it is in FACT confirmed for your own
further edification in the letter from U.S. Rep. Dennis E. Eckart (D) (chrmn
of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Impact of Deregulation and Privitization
of the House Small Business Committee) to the Antitrust Division of the
Assistant Attorney Generals' office.  This letter is a matter of public
record a alludes to the fact that the chip in question serves no funcional
purpose in the NES systems other than to lock-out non-secured software.
 
I quote:
 
   "Nintendo has often justified its use of the lock out chip as necessary
to assure a high standard of quality and to guard against attempts at
pirating.  Nintendo would argue that the precipitous decline in the home
video game market in the early 1980's was due to a flood of millions of low
quality game cartridges.  Without a consistently high game quality, Nintendo
has asserted, the home video game market is doomed to repeat the wild swings
typical of the early 80's.....
 
   "The Subcommittee staff has found a significant body of opinion otherwise.
Competitors and others contend that the lock out chip has no apparent
performance enhancing function of its own and serves only to block competitors
from producing their own NES-comaptible cartridges, thus eliminating any
potential competition for Nintendo and its third party licensees in the
lucrative software market.  It is, simply put, a physical and unnecessary
barrier to competition.
 
   "Staff investigation has revealed further that Nintendo has never used any
such chip in the millions of machines and tens of millions of cartridges
produced for the Japanese market.  Possibly as a result, consumer choice and
prices in the japanese market seem markedly superior to our domestic market.
Why the different strategies for the same games sold in different markets?"
 
 
The letter goes on to talk about four other areas (besides the "lock-out"
computer chip system) that the Subcommittee is investigating.
 
  * The licensing agreements with software producers:
  * The computer chip shortages.
  * The "bundling" of software and hardware
  * Potential anti-competitive conduct in the retail market.
 
The letter discusses each of these points and why they are of concern.  It is
very informative, in contrast to those "opinions" that Mr. Finley sees fit to
jam the nets with.
 
Sorry guy!  If you "still hold the opinion", would you please hold it
outside -- it's starting to reek really badly in here!
 
"Flame off..."
 
	Ed Rotberg
	Atari Games
 
Any "opinions" expressed above are my own (and Rep. Eckart's) and not
(necessarily) those of my employer, Atari Games.

    Re: .1 .3 .7

    This discussion is very interesting!  It would be great to have
    unlimited 3rd party software for Nintendo.

    Are these reprints from a usenet news group? If so which one?

                                      - Dave

    Re .8:
    
    The Usenet news group is rec.games.video.
    
    
    				-- edp

    	re: .4
    
    	Double picture when he loaded a *tape*?  Head Cleaning Tape?
    	Nintendo's don't use tapes and they don't have heads.  Are you
    	talking about your VCR, or am I just in the "Semantics Zone"?
    
    								  Mike
    

From: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab)
Subject: Re: Nintendo Anti-Trust Investigation Announced
Organization: Me?  Organized?  Get real!
Lines: 17
 
[ Which way did he go, George, which way did he go? ]
 
	Just to throw another spanner in the works:  Atari has sued
Nint-end-o again, along with Pepsico, this time for false advertising.
 
	It seems that in some ad for the Gameboy, the screenshots for the
Gameboy were colorized.  As we all know, Gameboy don't do color.  I have not
seen the ad in question, but if true, it's easily the dumbest thing
Nintendo's pulled so far.
 
	I wonder what Pepsico has to do with it?
 
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape	INET: well!ewhac@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU
 \_ -_		Recumbent Bikes:	UUCP: pacbell > !{well,unicom}!ewhac
O----^o	      The Only Way To Fly.	      hplabs / (pronounced "AE-wack")
	 "Because you never know who might want to sit in your lap."

	I pulled apart my NES and a TENGEN cart to see how much
	work it would be to reverse engineer the NES game system.

	I have done this with the VECTREX and COLECO systems and
	eventually got to to point of making my own "games" for these
	systems.

	With the VECTREX and COLECO systems, it was a fairly easy
	job to do.  The carts were simply eproms or roms that were
	commonly used in the industry and CPUs that were also common
	(6809 and Z80).

	The NES system is a bit more complex.  First the carts have
	these main chips:  Two roms that seem to adhear to the JEDEC
	standard (still trying to confirm that) and two that are made
	by motorola for in this case TENGEN (one is a PAL and one is 
	a ROM).  The two JEDEC roms hold the game and I am assuming
	do some sort of 16 bit or interleaved 8 bit transfer of data
	and the other two I don't know what they do and these may be
	the security chips that everyone else is talking about.  Clearly
	TENGEN got the information from NINTENDO on what to put on
	the chips, but for me it is probably impossible to reverse 
	engineer.

	And even if I were to get past that, the cpu that they are using
	I can't find any information on, so I can't deassamble the
	code that it is running like I could the 6809 and the Z80
	machine.

	So I decided that it is probably too much work to reverse engineer
	the NES, so I decided to call NES Marketing and ask for information
	about a development system and how much that would cost, etc.  They
	put me on a record system that they have set up for all of the
	kids that call up with game ideas.  I clearly identified myself as
	being interested in a development system, but they don't seem to have
	an avenue at all for this.

	I don't mind the protection systems that they have imployed, I really
	think that it is a smart thing to do, BUT they have to have a program
	in place to supply ANYONE that wishes to develop a cart for the system
	the proper information on how to obtain a development system and
	legal documents that would have to be signed (non-disclosures, etc)
	all in a timely manner.  I have been waiting two months for a respose
	from NINTENDO.

thanks
ort1

	Please keep the interesting news stuff coming!!

    I read somewhere that the cpu used in the NES is a 6502-type chip
    with 2k memory on board.

	Ok, I'll look into it, but I got the rumor that the cpu being
	used is a "special" one that you can't get info unless under
	non-disclosure...
thanks
ort1

	The following was taken from GamePro magazine without permission.
	

			Consumer Electronic Show  (1989-90)


	CD's for Nintendo?

	Thats right!  A company from the United Kingdom, Codemaster,
	has developed an audio CD player for use with the Nintendo system.
	Samsung is manufacturing the hardware for this unusual unit and
	Camerica plans to distribute the product in the United States
	begining this summer.

	If you buy the CD player and the interface together, the cost would
	be $159.95   One CD containing two games is included with the unit.
	Gamers will also be able to purchase the Nintendo interface separately
	for $44.95
	This should enable anyone with an audio CD player to hook it up to
	their Nintendo. Advantages to this system include game cost-one CD
	containing 2-3 games will be the same price as one traditional cartridge
	and one 3-5 meg game will cost less than a comparable cartridge game.

	Camerica currently plans to have SIX CD's available in July when the
	unit is released,  three CD's with two games each on them and three
	CD's each with a 3-5 meg game on them.

	No word yet as to what the games will be and remember, they're not 
	likely to be compatable with other CD ROM game players.

	Since Nintendo has yet to announce any plans for an audio CD player
	or a CD ROM for their system, we'll all be watching the development
	of this product with great interest.

	GamePro  March 1990 issue



	Wayne

	   Taken from GamePro magazine without permision.

		Consumer Electronics Show (1989-90)
			
			The Power Pak
			--------------

	Look for Camerica to distribute another unuaual device from
	the Codemaster group.  Called the Power Pak, this innocent looking
	Nintendo interface hooks onto your favorite Nintendo cartridge
	and then plugs into your unit.

	When you buy the interface you'll receive a booklet of codes.
	A password entry screen appears and you enter codes that actually
	change the parameters of the games.
	For example, if you wanted to play Super Mario, use the interface
	and provided codes, and you'll be able to make such changes in the
	game as giving yourself 20 lives,increase your jump strength and select
	your starting level.

	Even more interesting, you can customize a two player game to
	compensate for different abilities. Use the Power Pak to handicap 
	the better player. Camerica and Codemaster have reportedly developed
	codes for over 100 popular Nintendo titles already.

	They plan to develope codes for new games as they come out.
	Codemaster and Camerica claim the device will enhance rather than
	diminish game play by putting new life into old titles.


	GamePro  March 1990 issue


	Wayne

    Re: -.1, -.2
    
    Has Nintendo approved these items? If not, are they planning to block
    their introduction? All I can envision is a battle similar to Nintendo
    vs. Tengen regarding TETRIS. As you know, Tengen lost that one, and so
    did the consumer...
    
    Also, any estimate on the cost of the 'decoder'?
    
    Freddie

    Re .17:
    
    Tengen lost the Tetris battle because Nintendo claimed the Russians had
    not licensed Tetris to Tengen for home video games, so Tengen had no
    right to market it.  That is, Tengen lost because Tetris didn't belong
    to them, not because there's anything wrong with somebody besides
    Nintendo making accessories for Nintendo.  So there isn't any known
    reason the products described in the previous notes should be blocked.
    
    
    				-- edp

    
    
    Re. 17
    
    	There was no price given on the Power Pak interface
    	I would think it would be between the $29.95 - $39.95 range
    	but hope its less.
    
    	We'll have to wait until this summer to see if these companies
    	can market the CD and interface devices. 
    
    	I hope they can do it, I really think these items would help
    	us die-hard Nintendo fans wait out the long awaited "16 bit"
    	Super Famicom that the big "N" is keeping away from us.
    
    	With all the pressure thats building up from the other 
    	"16 bit"  companies we need something like this to put the heat
    	on big brother to give us the 16 bit machine or to offer us
    	CD and password interfaces and better games.
    
    
    	Wayne

       Btw I think that while you are waiting, you had better give Nintendo
    of America a call and see if they have plans of releasing a 16 bitter
    here. It might surprise you to learn that they have no plans to do
    so at all.

    
    
    
    
    re: -1
    
    	I know what your saying, I have read quite a few gaming
    	mags and they all said that Nintendo has announced that they
    	would not introduce the "16" bit to our shores this year.
    
    	I hate them for doing this, but I have a lot of money wrapped
    	up in Nintendo and don't want to see it all gather dust if I
    	were to buy a 16 bit from another company soooooooo
    
    	I guess I'll be one of the few who waits it out.
    
    	
    
    	Wayne
    

Mr. Mod..  Please move to appropriate topic..

Nintendo - To ease restrictions on U.S. game designers
	{The Wall Street Journal, 22-Oct-90, p. B1}
   Nintendo plans to  allow the 53 U.S. companies that design its games to
 make the games, too, for the first time relaxing one of the Japanese company's
 most controversial business practices.Nintendo confirmed that it has loosened
 its restrictive policy on game manufacturing, but said it did so because it
 now believes outsiders can produce defect-free games. It denied it took the
 action, which hasn't been publicly announced, to ease criticism from both
 government officials and competitors, who charge that Nintendo locks others
 out of its business to keep prices - and profits - artificially high. This
 year, Nintendo is expected to sell nearly nine million game sets - at about
 $100 a pop - and U.S. consumers are expected to snap up nearly 60 million
 games for these machines.

    
    	(In regards to -.1)
    
    	Do you think this means we'll see hordes of really bogus (in
    	terms of game play, graphics, etc.) games out on the shelves?
    	A defect-free game isn't necessarly a good/high quality game.
    
    								 Mike
    

    And does this mean we may see a Tengen version of Tetris again??

    I'll bet the Tengen Tetris issue is a seperate one. (after all,
    they have the same name, and same object to the game, despite
    all the things that make one so much better than the other.)
    (speaking of inferior versions :-)
    
    jack

   <<< Note 367.24 by MPGS::GIFFORD "When nature calls you have to answer" >>>

   > And does this mean we may see a Tengen version of Tetris again??

    No way.  Tetris was a licensing issue (Tengen did no have the rights
    for video games).  In fact, Tengen has been manufacturing their own
    games for a long time now, in direct violation of the Nintendo
    restriction.  That's why their games are oddly shaped and in a
    different type of sleeve.
    
    Since Tengen is a unit of Atari, who have their own portable system, I
    wonder if this will mean an opening for new Gameboy carts too.
    
    -Brian

VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH:                           [Mike Taylor, VNS Correspondent]
=====================                           [Nashua, NH, USA               ]

            $3M Nintendo Grant for Video Game Research

    Approximately 40 million families own Nintendo game machines
    worldwide and about half of them in the United States. An estimated
    90% of children of video game age in America currently play Nintendo
    games. All told, video games rang up $3.5 billion in sales last
    year. This compares to educational software that sold $350 million.
    By virtue of these statistics, Nintendo and other video game makers
    have come to be viewed by many teachers and parents as enemies of
    education.

    But it does not have to be that way, argue officials at the MIT
    Media Lab, which sought the $3 million Nintendo grant. Nicholas
    Negroponte, directory of the Media Lab, along with Professor Seymour
    Papert and a growing number of educators claim that learning and
    play should not be seen as mutually exclusive. In fact, studying and
    playing has been the cornerstone for much of Papert's past research.
    Papert believes that even without being designed to do so, video
    games already teach children something about learning, about complex
    systems and strategies, and about communicating with others. His
    group's initial research under the Nintendo grant will focus
    primarily on trying to understand better why children are so
    attracted to video games. "Nobody fully understands how something
    like this can have ne," says Papert.

    The Nintendo fund comes with almost no strings attached, and has
    been set up simply to support Papert's group of researchers. It does
    not require MIT to develop any new Nintendo games, but Papert does
    not rule out that possibility. In a statement released by MIT,
    Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi says, "We have long felt that we
    owe a responsibility to develop our hardware and software to enhance
    educational opportunities." Who know, maybe it will not be long
    before the infamou Brothers become valuable classroom aides.
    {Technology & Learning Sept 1990}

    RE: .12 (I think)
    
    I have been pursuing the licensing with Nintendo for about a year. i
    have the disclosures and have had Digital legal (old location) review
    them.
    
    Some is okay some is very flakey and looks very amateurish.
    
    I hope to push things soon, but not sure.
    
    Ranmdy
    
    

Article 10567 of rec.games.video:
Path: shlump.nac.dec.com!ryn.esg.dec.com!hollie.rdg.dec.com!bacchus.pa.dec.com!decwrl!wuarchive!mit-eddie!mintaka!mintaka!leo
From: leo@theory.lcs.mit.edu (John Leo)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video
Subject: News from Nintendo Power, Volume 18
Message-ID: <LEO.90Oct31102842@phoenix.lcs.mit.edu>
Date: 31 Oct 90 15:28:42 GMT
Sender: daemon@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu (Lucifer Maleficius)
Distribution: na
Organization: MIT Lab for Computer Science
Lines: 76

BIG NEWS!

Thanks to David Hawk for telling me yesterday the biggest news from
this issue: They've announced that MOTHER, the incredible role-playing
game by Nintendo and Shigesato Itoi, will be released in the US in
Fall 1991 under the name "Earth Bound".  Now I knew they would change
the name but "Earth Bound" doesn't really seem to have anything to do
with the story (unlike the original title which is perfect)--I hope
they didn't change the story as well.  But what they say of it sounds
familiar, and nicely they do mention that the original title was
MOTHER.  They show three small screen shots as well that only give a
hint of the game's beauty.  I'm a bit disappointed that they are
waiting so long to release it (if they really do release the SFX in
the summer it may drown out the excitement) but at least it will be
coming out sometime.

OTHER NEWS

Perhaps the next biggest news is that the magazine itself will be
going monthly.  They've canned the idea of strategy guides every other
issue, although unfortunately they'll be doing one last especially
dull one about 4-player games.  The subscription price is still $15 a
year, and for 12 issues that's an incredible deal.  It may well go up
soon though.

One effect of going monthly is that they will go into more detail
about individual games, and that starts in this issue with long
articles about Dr. Mario (Nintendo), Little Nemo the Dream Master
(Capcom), Castlevania III (Konami) and Solar Jetman (Rare).  The Dr. 
Mario article is excellent and anyone interested in this game should
take a look.  The other three articles give maps and hints for seemingly
almost the entire game.  I have mixed feelings about this; in a way it
can give you an idea of what the game is like and if you'd like to buy
it, but in a way it gives away too much so I tried not to look at
them.  But I did get an impression that Little Nemo is something I
would probably really like, and Castlevania III is something I'd want
to pass on.

Hints include two for SMB3; one is the warp information which everyone
always wants to know about, and the other one relates to some
interesting tricks you can do in the last castle which weren't
mentioned in the tip book.  Incidentally SMB3 is again the top game in
their "top 30" chart by a huge margin.

A nice new feature is a list of recent games along with their maker,
information about number of players and passwords or battery backup,
ratings (pretty worthless) and what kind of game it is.  Too bad they
don't give release dates, though, and they've even made the "NES
Planner" more vague than before.

Gameboy games covered include Duck Tales (Capcom), Dr. Mario
(Nintendo), Robocop (Ocean) and Play Action Football (Nintendo).  No
coverage of Final Fantasy Legend except one hint for it; I'm surprised
they're not pushing this great game more.

It looks like there wil be some interesting new games.  Deja Vu, a
text/graphics adventure game, is due out soon.  This uses the same
system as Shadowgate, and I seem to remember hearing it came out for
PCs before Shadowgate; it has also been available for the Famicom in
Japan since 1988.  The opening (you awake and remember nothing) sounds
similar to Nintendo's "Famicom Detective Club" but that's probably it.

Aside from "Earthbound" Nintendo will be doing a conversion of Sim
City for the NES, and also StarTropics is finally due out in early
1991.  They also show a couple shots from Super Mario 4 for the Super
Famicom.

Lots more info too.  The magazine seems to be increasingly available
in stores that video games, so if you don't have a subscription take a
look.

It's a quiet little life with no problems between     |  John Leo
the stove that smokes and the ever-open window that   |  leo@theory.lcs.mit.edu
looks out on a landscape becomming daily less         |  
coherent...But what am I saying?  And to whom?...
All questions not worth asking from now on.              (Alain Robbe-Grillet)

 Nintendo Nation - 
	{The Wall Street Journal, 9-Nov-90, p. R42,
	From a WSJ Report, Technology - Cutting the Cord}
   Nintendo has a well-kept secret: a two-inch slot tucked away on the bottom
 of its machine. Right now the slot is useless. But sometime next year, a new
 Nintendo division will unveil a box that plugs into the slot on one end and
 into a phone jack on the other end. Suddenly, all Nintendos will be potential
 nodes in a vast network linking a huge portion of the nation's living rooms.
 Nintendo's videogame players today are in one-quarter of all American homes.

	
    From Corporate VTX (CIS) -
    --------------------------
    
             Source : Business Wire              Date : 20-FEB-91
     + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + 
     |  Please be advised that the information contained within this | 
     +  report is copyrighted material.  The following policies must + 
     |  be adhered to:                                               | 
     +                                                               + 
     |     -  No reformatting of the data segments                   | 
     +     -  No external distribution                               + 
     |     -  Internal use only in accordance with vendor agreements | 
     + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + 

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Video Entertainment, a 
video games maker, announced Tuesday that Nintendo has been shipping 
base units into the United States, Canada and Australia for more than 
three months that have been secretly modified to render hundreds of 
thousands of cartridge games unplayable.

In a program to alert consumers to the problem, American Video 
Entertainment has launched a nationwide awareness campaign that 
includes letter writting, advertising and media relations.  In 
addition, the company has established a telephone hot-line to handle 
inquiries from Nintendo game system purchasers.

Consumers who believe they may have purchased these deficient units 
are advised by American Video Entertainment to return the units to the 
retailers where they bought them and request units that play all games 
or full refunds.

Consumers also can call the American Video Nintendo Hotline at 
1-800-HOT-4AVE.

``Retailers and consumers alike were unaware these altered units 
existed because Nintendo never informed them, nor does the packaging 
indicate any changes to the units,'' said Richard Frick, president of 
American Video Entertainment.  ``We have tried unsuccessfully to find 
out from Nintendo what their intentions are regarding these units, and 
to get them to reconsider their action.''

According to American Video Entertainment, Nintendo began shipping 
in November 1990 base units with additional passive components that 
lock out many popular games.

The deficient base units can be identified by consumers and 
retailers by examining the base plates on the bottom of the units. Most 
of these units have serial numbers of 29,000,000 and above, although 
American Video Entertainment officials said they had found a small 
number of the deficient units with serial numbers between 28,000,000 
and 29,000,000.

American Video Entertainment said it has not been able to determine 
the number of altered units on retailers' shelves or in the hands of 
consumers, but the units were first detected in November 1990 and 
Nintendo had said it would ship 5 million units in 1991.

``We are quite alarmed that Nintendo's action will spoil the 
Nintendo experience for the children and adults who enjoy these 
games,'' said William Welling, chairman and chief executive officer, 
American Video Entertainment.  ``By blocking these high-quality, 
inexpensive games, consumers will be forced to pay almost twice as much 
to play.

``Unsuspecting retailers will ultimately face the brunt of 
consumer backlash at a time when they can little afford any more 
downward pressure on business.''

American Video Entertainment recently filed a $105 million 
antitrust suit in federal court in Northern California against Nintendo 
of America Inc. and its parent, Nintendo of Japan.  According to 
published reports, Nintendo controls more than 80 percent of the home 
entertainment business.

``Nintendo has previously defended modifications to its base unit 
as a way to thwart counterfeit game makers,'' Welling added, ``yet with 
the high-profile efforts under way by the U.S. Customs Service to keep 
illegal software out of the U.S., and the recourse available under U.S. 
copyright law, we can only conclude that this is not their real 
intention.''

Joseph L. Alioto Sr. of San Francisco, attorney for American Video 
Entertainment, said: ``Nintendo is secretly trying to eliminate any 
competition from the market.  Through its predatory practices Nintendo 
has effectively closed the American home entertainment market to 
American manufacturers.''

American Video Entertainment Inc. manufactures a full range of 
high-quality game cartridges for Nintendo systems, including F-15 City 
War, Puzzle, Pyramid, Tiles of Fate, Double Strike and Krazy Kreatures.

    There was a short section at the end of a recent Nintendo Power
    magazine asking people to help Mario stamp out unauthorized Nintendo
    games.  It specifically mentioned those multigame cartridges that have
    been mentioned in here.  The article lists a phone number to call if
    you know of anyone selling any of these unauthorized games.

    
    re:367.32
    
    Personally, I have never heard of any of the games mentioned at the end 
    of the article, have you????
    
    

    re. -1 

    my name? Mike... or were you referring to the games?

    nope, I've never seen or heard of any of those list. but
    f-15 city wars sounds interesting.

    although I agree that software pirating is a definitely illegal, and
    rightfully so, this is a tougher line to define. I wonder what kind of 
    money it takes to have yer game sanctioned by nintendo.

Article 14563 of rec.games.video:
Path: shlump.nac.dec.com!decuk.uvo.dec.com!hollie.rdg.dec.com!pa.dec.com!decwrl!sun-barr!newstop!male!probe.EBay.Sun.COM!toddb
From: toddb@probe.EBay.Sun.COM (Todd Bernhard)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video
Subject: NES $5 promotion (was Re: NES for sale)
Keywords: NES, promotion
Message-ID: <6184@male.EBay.Sun.COM>
Date: 11 Apr 91 01:54:45 GMT
References: <1991Apr10.165633.8822@odin.corp.sgi.com> <1249@VAX1.CC.UAKRON.EDU>
Sender: news@male.EBay.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
Lines: 37

the details are that Nintendo will give you $5 credit off your
next Nintendo GAME CARTRIDGE purchase, and only if you bought
your unit between XXX, 1988 and now, I believe...(no, I don't
know what month in 1988).

the irony is that the gov't ordered this rebate program to
penalize Nintendo for artificially keeping the actual selling
price of the NES at $99.95 by threatening to cut off shipments
to stores who discounted....this is ironic because via the
cartridge sales, Nintendo stands to make millions off this
rebate program....

fyi, the gov't is still investigating Nintendo's closed-system,
making software development difficult, requiring a special
chip supplied by Nintendo....

maybe the game manufacturers will discover Open Systems, just as
the computer vendors have followed Sun's lead......:^)

---todd



In article <1249@VAX1.CC.UAKRON.EDU> v30129@VAX1.CC.UAKRON.EDU (MICHAEL J STONITSCH  3460-475-080.) writes:
>
>  Hey dont sell it just yet, NINTENDO the mafioso of vid games has been
>forced to shell out 5$ to some 9 million NES owners, I dont have the
>number, but all you have to do is call them up and give them the serial
># and they are supposed to shell you 5$? 
>  Mcinformation(no this isnt an april fools joke) man...


--
Todd Bernhard, Sun Micro, US Field Mktg - Milpitas, CA
408-276-1542     toddb@Sun.COM      ....!sun!toddb

(Having the Right to be Wrong does NOT imply the Obligation.)

Article 14581 of rec.games.video:
Path: shlump.nac.dec.com!news.crl.dec.com!deccrl!decwrl!sdd.hp.com!cs.utexas.edu!helios!archone!steve
From: steve@archone.tamu.edu (Steve Rikli)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video
Subject: Re: Nintendo Price Fixing (Was: Re: NES for sale)
Keywords: NES, sale
Message-ID: <14545@helios.TAMU.EDU>
Date: 11 Apr 91 18:29:49 GMT
Sender: usenet@helios.TAMU.EDU
Organization: College of Architecture, Texas A&M University.
Lines: 26

In article <1991Apr11.164419.3193@Solbourne.COM> kucharsk@Solbourne.COM (William Kucharski) writes:
>In article <1249@VAX1.CC.UAKRON.EDU> v30129@VAX1.CC.UAKRON.EDU (MICHAEL J STONITSCH  3460-475-080.) writes:
> >
> >  Hey dont sell it just yet, NINTENDO the mafioso of vid games has been
> >forced to shell out 5$ to some 9 million NES owners, I dont have the
> >number, but all you have to do is call them up and give them the serial
> ># and they are supposed to shell you 5$? 
>
>Close.  Nintendo decided to plead guilty to price fixing rather than go through
>a lawsuit, and part of the settlement is you call a 800 number and Nintendo
>sends you a coupon this fall good for $5 off the purchase of your next NEW
>Nintendo cart.  Oooh...

There's a little more to it -- your NES must have been purchased between
June 1, 1988 and Dec. 31, 1990.  NES owners who bought their systems during
this period will (supposedly) automatically receive the $5 coupon by mail
if they return the warranty registration card.  Nintendo is saying they'll
issue 5 million gift certificates.

The toll-free number is 1-800-255-3700, for those of you who didn't return
the warranty card.
--
|| steve@archone.tamu.edu  |||  Steve Rikli, Assistant System Administrator ||
|| srr2632@zeus.tamu.edu   |||  Visualization Lab, College of Architecture  ||
||                         |||  Texas A&M University                        ||
|| (409) 845-5691          |||  College Station, TX  77843                  ||

    IMO,
    
    Somehow this doesn't seem like much of a punishment. Issuing $5 coupons
    isn't going to hurt them; in reality, it can be treated like any other
    marketing promotion. The coupons will actually generate additional
    sales, because In order for a wronged consumer to take advantage
    of this 'restitution', that consumer must spend additional money on
    Nintendo merchandise. All the coupon does is cut in on Nintendo's
    margin on these *new* sales.
    
    Freddie

The Boston Herald
June 3,1991  Page 25
Copied without permission
by Tom Nutile

		    Nintendo tries to keep the magic
		Superpowered system to debut in September

	Can Nintendo do it again?  With sales of its popular 8-bit Nintendo
	Entertainment System slowing in the U.S., the Japanese company un-
	veiled a new Superpowered system with 16-bits of power at a trade
	show over the weekend.

	The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, available in U.S. stores
	in September, has better graphics and better sound than the old
	system.

	But at twice the price -- $200 vs. $100 -- will it sell as well as
	the old system?  Will the parents of the youngsters who play the
	NES pony up another $200 and then start shelling out $50 per game
	cartridge?  The Super NES comes with all new games that can't be
	played on the regular NES.  And regular NES games are compatible
	with the Super NES.

	Nintendo faces a stiff challenge this time out.  Unlike in 1984 
	and 1985, when it reinvented the U.S. video market virtually all
	by itself, Nintendo is a late comer.  Sega and NEC already have 
	16-bit systems on sale in the U.S.  One company, SNK, even has a
	24-bit machine called NeoGeo, although at $650 it's marketed to 
	the 30- to 35- crowd, older than the teens and preteens that make
	up the bulk of the video game market.

	With three firms selling new-generation systems, with sales of
	NES slumping 20 percent last year, and Nintendo itself predicting
	a 38 percent drop in 1991, the company has little choice but to
	market its 16-bit machine.

	And it plans to do a lot of marketing -- $25 million worth of
	Super NES advertising in the second half of this year.

	The new machine already has "40 percent name recognition in the
	U.S. and the system hasn't been released yet," mused Kent Russell,
	marketing and advertising director for SNK.

	"It's going to smoke whether the games are better or not; it's got
	name recognition," said Russell, who saw Super NES unveiled over
	the weekend at the Consumer Electronics trade show in Chicago.

	Robert Kleiber, an electronics analyst at the show, also believes
	Super NES will be successful, although in a smaller way than NES.
	There are already 29 million NES systems in U.S. homes.  Many of
	the people who are interested in video games already have bought
	them, he said.

	"Super NES might not be the white-hot explosive growth that NES
	had, with parents fighting at Christmas time over cartridges," 
	said Kleiber, who works for Piper Jaffray & Hopwood in Minneapolis.
	"But I don't think it will be anything to snear at, as is evidenced
	by the announcements by Sony and Philips."

	Both Sony and Philips, competing compact disc makers, announced
	that they had agreements with Nintendo to make its games in a 
	powerful new compact disc format.

	Kleiber doesn't think Nintendo, which has 85 percent of the $4
	billion U.S. video game market, will lose out to Sega or NEC.

	"Sega has had almost 2 years to just blow Nintendo away with 
	their 16-bit system, and they clearly haven't done it.  They're
	now resorting to price cuts."

	One question that remains is what will become of all those NES
	owners who want to continue playing their original systems.  Peter
	Main, vice president of Nintendo of America, said at the Chicago
	show that NES uses shouldn't feel deserted.  Nintendo will still
	make cartridges for the system and for its tiny hand-held system,
	called Game Boy.

	"In fact, current NES fever aside, the NES and Game Boy will both
	individually outsell the Super NES more than two-to-one in 1991,"
	he told reporters.  That breaks down to $2.25 billion in retail
	sales for NES and its games, $1.1 billion for Game Boy and $700
	million for Super NES.

	Kleiber thinks an 8-bit title might do well this Christmas, 
	especially if Nintendo can't get enough 16-bit games on the market.

	"But I don't see any reason to put 8-bit stuff out beyond this
	year," he said.  "They'll want to work to build 16-bit sales."


	      NINTENDO IN U.S. 
		 HOUSEHOLDS
	----------------------------         -------------------------
        |                     35%  |         |                        |
        |                     --   |         |                        |
	|                 30%|  |  |         |                        |
	|                 -- |  |  |         |       Another chart    |
	|                |  ||  |  |         |                        |
	|             22%|  ||  |  |         |       here showing     |
	|             __ |  ||  |  |         |                        |
	|            |  ||  ||  |  |         |       Home Video and   |
	|            |  ||  ||  |  |         |                        |
	|         12%|  ||  ||  |  |         |       Nintendo $ Sales |
	|         -- |  ||  ||  |  |         |                        |
	|     4% |  ||  ||  ||  |  |         |                        |
	| 1%  __ |  ||  ||  ||  |  |         |                        |
	|.--.|  ||  ||  ||  ||  |  |         |                        |
         ---------------------------	      ------------------------
         '86 '87 '88 '89 '90 '91*

		*Projected


	Also, a picture of the new system pack, 

	A TV-video game player called Game Gear is also pictured. Sega
	introduced it for $150, with a TV tuner available this fall for $120.

		You're right...  It said 'NOT' compatible..

	Out of curiosity...  Has anyone received their $5.00 coupon
	mention back a few replies.

	I know I sent my warranty card when I received my set a 
	couple of years ago, but I've yet to get the coupon..

	Figure with the new system out, some of the games will be
	lowering in price, and along with the coupon, maybe I'll
	splurge for a new game...

	Csw

    
    	I called them (way back when) and they said that it should be 
    mailed out in Sept.  (hmm.  it's Sept already).
    
    	_ed-

    
    
    	Hi,
    
    
    	I called them last week. They said they are waiting for the final
    	word from the courts, but they should be sending them out starting
    	in October sometime.
    
    	Nintendo has agreed to settle but without admitting any wrongdoing
    	or liability. 
    
    	The courts have "preliminary" approved the settlement, so Nintendo
    	now awaits the courts final approval (should happen next month)
    
    
    	If you have any questions just call the 800 customer service number
    
    
    
    	Wayne

    
    What was the (800) number again?

>< Note 367.37 by JARETH::EDP "Always mount a scratch monkey." >
>
>The toll-free number is 1-800-255-3700, for those of you who didn't return
>the warranty card.
>

Article 20911 of rec.games.video:
Path: nntpd.lkg.dec.com!datum.nyo.dec.com!pa.dec.com!decwrl!uunet!caen!b-tech!ais.org!plucky
From: plucky@ais.org (Chris Adamson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video
Subject: Re: seals of approval (was Re: What I want to see on the Lynx...)
Message-ID: <QXSGRW#@irie.ais.org>
Date: 21 Oct 91 15:01:28 GMT
References: <91293.004446SML108@psuvm.psu.edu> <20809@chaph.usc.edu> <1991Oct21.132943.21296@exu.ericsson.se>
Sender: plucky@ais.org
Organization: UMCC
Lines: 39

In article <1991Oct21.132943.21296@exu.ericsson.se> exuhag@exu.ericsson.se (James Hague) writes:
>
> [Bad 2600 games, in reply to Robert Jung's post]
>
>
>I'll admit that there are some games (okay, hundreds) with the
>Sega/Nintendo seal of approval which are really lousy.  But think of
>the games which applied for the seal and were REJECTED.  There
>must have been some major league losers...
> 
	As I understand these things, the seal only represents the
fact that the manufacturer has acceeded to the will of the Nintendo
Reich in terms of manufacture (only by Nintendo), marketing
(intentionally limited supplies, time limit on shelf life, etc.), and
game content (no original ideas, funny humor, or lechery allowed).

	A friend at Lucasfilm told me of the transfer of some of their
games to the Nintendo, saying that Nintendo demanded that a graphic in
a bar scene be removed (a flesh-colored blob which folks in the know
would guess to be the semi-common nude woman picture found in many
drinking establishments), and required that players NOT be permitted
to place the cat in the microwave.  This "fun control" is what the
Distendo Seal of Approval gets you.

	Still, the X-rated games sure didn't HELP the 2600, and lawd
knows Lucasfilm is making a lot more in Nintendo games than
PC/Mac/Amiga stuff...  Sigh.

>--
>James Hague   
>exuhag@exu.ericsson.se

    =================================================================
   / Chris L. Adamson    / This message has cost the net hundreds, /
  / Michigan State U.   /  if not thousands, of dollars to send.  /
 / Telecomm Production / --------------------------------------- / 
/ M.A. student        / plucky@irie.ais.org , plucky2(Amer. O-L)/
================================================================
DISCLAIMER:  MSU wishes it could be so erudite and clever...

    I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up my mail yesterday.  Despite
    having moved 3 times since I received my NES, Nintendo was able to
    track me down and give me my $5 gift certificate as part of their out
    of court settlement on that price fixing/anti-trust suit.  The
    certificate is only good towards the purchase of 8 bit games with the
    Nintendo seal of approval.  According to the accompanying letter from
    the MA Attorney General's office, Nintendo is denying that it did any
    wrong.

I, too, received the $5 certificate in the mail.  Which is totally weird
since I bought mine used from a fellow DECcie.  I have no idea how they found
us.

-sandy

          Last night the PBS series "Frontline" did a show on the
          Japanese trade war with the U.S. (which we are losing by the
          way ;-{ ).  The show was excellent!  They devoted about 10
          minutes to Nintendo and their predatory trade practices.  

          I don't know if this show is ever rebroadcast or broadcast
          on different days in different locales, but if it is I would
          highly recommend it.

                                                       - Dave

    We received two $5 coupons!
    
    It's my son Matthew's NES, and he gets Nintendo Power, so the 
    fact they found him came as no surprise. 
    
    I guess I also got one because when he first bought the NES, 
    I sent off for the "how to beat SMB" book for him.
    
    Trouble is, he's now pressing us to buy two new games for him....
    before the March 15th 1992 expiry of the coupons.....
    
    - Richard.

    yes...that's what I'm planning on doing.....

  I looked at the coupon I got and I saw no restriction that you can only 
  use one per game.  Does anyone know if you can use 2 or more coupons
  on the same purchase?  That would make them more of a real give away
  for Nintendo.

                                            - dave

    
        Nintendo has decided to lower prices on its hardware due to poor
    economic conditions and intense competition from Sega.
    
    	New Prices:
    
    		Super NES system - $180
    		Gameboy	- $80
    		NES - $90 (includes Super Mario 3)
    
        I'd expect, as usual, discounts to be rare and minimal, maybe $10
    off these prices when available.
    
    	Cheers, -Brian

    I know of a place in Ottawa, where Super Nintendo is $189.00 Canadian.
    Pretty good deal!
    
    Dl

    
    
    Excuse my ignorance but am I right in assuming that the
    difference between the NES and Super NES is the number of
    BITS. ?? For example is the NES 8 BIT and Super 16 BIT ??
    
    JN.

    Re .57:
    
    There are several differences between the NES and the Super NES, of
    which the number of bits the processor can handle is one.  Basically,
    the differences in architecture mean the Super NES can play different
    and bigger games, display more colors, handle more inputs (extra
    buttons on the control pads), et cetera.
    
    
    				-- edp

Article 2329 of clari.tw.computers:
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.tw.computers
Subject: Nintendo wins antitrust suit
Lines: 38

	SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) -- A federal court jury ruled in favor of Nintendo
of America in a $160 million antitrust case brought by Atari Corp.,
finding that Nintendo did not monopolize the U.S. video-game market.
	The nine-member jury, following an 11-week trial, found that
Nintendo's video game licensing program had not caused Atari any
damages.
	Atari claimed Nintendo had used its monopoly power to force
independent software companies to agree to keep hit games from
competitors like Atari, and to provide the games exclusively to
Nintendo.
	Atari had filed the suit alleging that Nintendo's licensing
agreements with video-game publishers constituted unreasonable
restraints of trade, but the jury found that Nintendo did not have any
intent to monopolize the U.S. home video-game market. However, the jury
found that Nintendo did have monopoly market power.
	Nintendo said such power is legal if it stems from superior products
and performance. Nintendo and Sega currently dominate the $3 billion-a-
year home video-game industry.
	``We were confident that, in a fair trial, a jury would find that
Nintendo's licensing program, which contributed to its success, had not
illegally harmed anyone,'' said John Kirby, Nintendo's attorney in the
case. ``This verdict should serve to discourage frivolous lawsuits
against Nintendo.''
	The jury was unable to reach verdicts on the question of whether
Nintendo's licensing agreement was an unreasonable restraint of trade,
or whether this program was the means by which Nintendo acquired
monopoly power.
	Judge Fern M. Smith, who presided over the trial, granted a mistrial
on those two counts and said she still was considering Nintendo's
request to dismiss them.
	``We are disappointed the jury did not understand the negative
impacts Nintendo's exclusive contracts had on competition because of
Nintendo's power over its suppliers and customers,'' said William
Jaeger, an attorney representing Atari.
	``The consumer also loses from this result because the antitrust laws
have worked very effectively to maintain a strong competitive
environment with lower prices and better choices for consumers,'' Jaeger
said. ``This decision will seriously weaken those vital laws.''