A few years back, Philips started a
lawsuit again against Nintendo about IP infringement of certain Philips patents. One was about the technique behind the wireless pointing device (
read the Philips patent here) and one was (summarized) more about the technique behind the Wii balance board (in a way that your body can be used as a controller) (
read the Philips patent here). It is interesting to see the history of these patents go back to 1995-2000 and beyond, Philips Research is always looking for patents to develop innovative products. These technologies were in line with the interactive roadmap Philips had in mind and it is logic to think how these effort were meant in what could have been the follow-up to CD-i: The CD-i 2. Patents like these are proof that Philips was thinking of a follow-up and these patents show an interesting view that any CD-i 2 endeavour might look closer to what we know as a Nintendo Wii than anything else.
Philips won the lawsuit because the controller input techniques of the Wii remote and balance board look too similar to what Philips patented years before that. Nintendo is now licensing these techniques, so the Wii family has some true CD-i 2 developments inside.
It's almost like a spiritual successor :)
