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Nintendo Patent Reveals Mood Lighting Peripheral For Wii

A 2009 patent filed by Nintendo has revealed an unreleased LED mood lighting system for the Wii that displays colored lights corresponding with a game's on-screen events.

Tom Curtis, Blogger

April 6, 2011

1 Min Read
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A recently-discovered Nintendo patent from 2009 has revealed an unreleased mood lighting accessory for the company's Wii console. The patent illustrates an LED light system that plugs into the console and sits near or on top of the television, flashing colored lights in sequence with in-game events, reports Siliconera. The patent reveals the device would sport red, blue, and green LEDs, allowing the system to display 256 different colors depending on the saturation of the three primary lights. A lens within the peripheral would also allow the three LEDs to project light as a single beam. The device would use input from games to change its lighting effects to correspond to on-screen actions like taking damage or firing a gun. Despite Nintendo's patent, no other evidence suggests this peripheral will ever see an official release. Similar patents from the company have revealed other peripherals that never saw the light of day. Companies such as AmBX have already made efforts to bring similar television mood lighting devices to home systems, though Nintendo's patent marks the first time a console manufacturer has showed meaningful interest in the technology.

About the Author

Tom Curtis

Blogger

Tom Curtis is Associate Content Manager for Gamasutra and the UBM TechWeb Game Network. Prior to joining Gamasutra full-time, he served as the site's editorial intern while earning a degree in Media Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

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