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Nintendo Switch US Sales Could Be Halted Pending Gamevice Investigation

Nintendo Switch US Sales Could Be Halted Pending Gamevice Investigation

By Rishi Alwani | Updated: 2 May 2018 20:00 IST

Highlights

The Nintendo Switch is under investigation by the ITC
Gamevice claims the console infringes on its patents
This could see the Nintendo Switch banned from sale in the US

Hot on the heels of record Nintendo Switch sales, it appears that Nintendo may be forced to stop selling the hybrid console in the US. According to a notice issued by the US International Trade Commission (ITC), it has “voted to institute an investigation of certain portable gaming console systems with attachable handheld controllers and components thereof” made by Nintendo. Which is a roundabout way of saying it’s referring to the Nintendo Switch. A company called Gamevice has asked the ITC for a “limited exclusion order” or a cease and desist on Nintendo to keep it from bringing the Nintendo Switch to the US.

Gamevice sued Nintendo last year in August but dropped the lawsuit voluntarily in October. Its own controller, called the Wikipad, would attach to two sides of a smartphone or tablet much like the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con. Gamevice claimed the Switch uses the patents it owns without its permission.

It will be interesting to see how the ITC handles this considering Gamevice willingly dropped its lawsuit. Considering Nintendo’s history of dealing with patent lawsuits it would seem unlikely for the console to be banned from sale in the US.

Earlier in the week, Nintendo announced that the Nintendo Switch sales stand at 17.79 million sold worldwide since launch during its 2017 fiscal year earnings results with 15.05 million sold during the 2017 financial year. In addition to this, Nintendo Switch game sales have been solid. Super Mario Odyssey sold 10.41 million units, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: sold 9.22 million units, and Splatoon 2 sold 6.02 million units. Including titles from other game publishers, a total of 12 games selling at least one million have emerged on the Nintendo Switch. The combined software sales results for this fiscal year reached 63.51 million units.

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