Game jam celebrates end of load screen game patent

Namco have owned the patent for twenty years.
Text: Christian Gaca
Published 2015-11-25

Ever played a mini game in your video games loading screen? Well, this was patented by Namco (Bandai Namco these days) back in 1995 in the US and it expires this Friday, November 27th. To celebrate the fact that the patent ends there will be a "Loading Screen Jam" dedicated to create an interactive loading screens. The task: Create games or interactive material based on infringing the now-defunct patent in any way possible! You can enter the game jam right here.

The original Ridge Racer on PSOne featured a game called Galaxian during load screens. Hence Namco were able to register the patent.

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