The Nintendo Mobile Phone

When Nintendo announced the existence of the GameBoy Advance, rumors floated on the internet that the new handheld will have mobile phone capabilities that would link gamers all around the globe. That rumor never materialized but apparently, a part of that rumor was true.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently released a patent filed by Nintendo for a device dated November 2001. More pictures after the jump.








Abstract

An electronic apparatus includes a phone CPU and a game CPU. When a * key is operated during execution of a game, the phone CPU sets a specified bit of a game key register to “1”. The phone CPU is set “1” into the specified bit when there is an incoming call of a phone during the execution of the game. The game CPU pauses the game being in execution when the specified bit is renewed to “1” and restores the specified bit from “1” to “0”. When the * key is operated in a state the game is interrupted, the phone CPU sets “1” into the specified bit. The game CPU restarts the game by canceling the pause.


Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A game and a mobile phone type electronic apparatus comprising: a game CPU which executes a game related process; a phone CPU which executes a phone related process; a play key to play a game; an interruption key to initiate an interruption of said game; a key register to which first information is set in response to an operation of said play key and second information is set in response to an operation of said interruption key; wherein said game related process includes a game process to play said game when said first information is set into said key register and an interruption process to interrupt said game process when said second information is set into said key register; and said phone related process includes a setting process to set said second information into said key register when an incoming phone call is detected.

2. A game and a mobile phone type electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said game related process further includes a storing process to store current game data into a memory when said second information is set into said key register.

3. A game and a mobile phone type electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said phone related process further includes a determination process to determine whether said game process is in an activated state or not, and said setting process sets said second information into said key register in response to a detection of said incoming phone call when a determination result of said determination process is affirmative.

4. A game and a mobile phone type electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display which displays a game screen, wherein said phone related process further includes a modifying process to modify a tone of said game screen in response to a detection of said incoming phone call.

5. A game and a mobile phone type electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said game related process is executed according to a game program downloaded from an outside source.

6. A game and a mobile phone type electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said interruption process continues to pause said game process.

7. A game and a mobile phone type electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said interruption process interrupts said game process when said second information is set into said key register in a state of said game process being activated.

8. A game and a mobile phone type electronic apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said interruption key combines with a resume key to initiate a resumption of said game, and said game related process further includes a canceling process to cancel a setting of said second information in association with execution of said interruption process, and a resumption process to resume said game process when said second information is set into said key register in a state of said game process being interrupted.

Inventor(s)
Satoru Okada
Masahiro Ishizuka
Takuma Matsunada
Tsuyoshi Kiyuna

Assignee
Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Application
No. 09994914 filed on 2001-11-27

Current US Class
455/556.1 , Integrated with other device 455/557 , Interface attached device (e.g., interface with modem, facsimile, computer, etc.) 455/566 , Having display 455/575.6 , Attached or connected to user 463/40 , With communication link (e.g., television broadcast, etc.) 463/41 , Telephonic (e.g., modem, etc.) 463/42 Network type (e.g., computer network, etc.)

US Patent References
5029019
Image data processing unit
Issued on: July 2, 1991
Inventor: Yoshihara, et al. 5945972

More info here.