Copyright
This Nintendo character known for copying is named after the lawyer who successfully defended the company against Universal's claim that Donkey Kong copied King Kong.
Who is Kirby?
This system was renamed for North America due to a trademark conflict, though David Rosen claims it was because he wanted to signify "a new beginning" for the company.
What is the Genesis/Mega Drive?
This controller feature patented in 1985 won Nintendo an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
What is the D-pad?
This Governator told kids to say "hasta la vista" to violent video games when he signed a California law in 2005 banning sales to minors; the Supreme Court struck it down in 2011.
Who is Arnold Schwarzenegger?
It was the first game to be age-rated by Sega's rating council—the Genesis version was rated MA-13, while the later Sega CD version, which is uncensored by default, was rated MA-17.
What is Mortal Kombat?
Cheaters prospered when a ruling in favor of this U.S. company over Nintendo established that modifying a game for personal use does not constitute copyright infringement.
What is Galoob?
Microsoft trademarked its Game Pass tagline, "Discover your next favorite game," after a competitor used the same phrase for this on-demand service.
What is PlayStation Now?
Following a settlement between Sony and Immersion over patent infringement, the DualShock 3 added back this feature that was missing from the Sixaxis.
What is rumble, vibration, force feedback, etc.?
China requires publishers to disclose the odds of rewards from these "surprise mechanics"—as EA calls them—while Belgium has outright banned the virtual items.
What are loot boxes?
The UK's Advertising Standards Authority told the makers of this $450 million crowdfunded project to clearly indicate that "concept ships" being sold for real money are not yet playable.
What is Star Citizen?
Silicon Knights was ordered to recall and destroy copies of this 2008 release for having plagiarized code from Epic's Unreal Engine; in 2019, Microsoft rereleased it online for free.
What is Too Human?
Nintendo trademarked the phrase, "It's on like Donkey Kong," after Universal used it as a tagline for this 2010 movie based on a Canadian graphic novel series.
What is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World?
This game's similarities to Crazy Taxi led to Fox Interactive settling with Sega after the latter sued for infringement of its patent on features such as a driving direction arrow. D'oh!
What is The Simpsons: Road Rage?
Early adopters of this system could choose to receive either $25 or a game bundle after the Federal Trade Commission charged Sony with falsely advertising its features.
What is the Vita?
It's the only mainline Mario game to receive an ESRB rating of E10+ instead of E—the plumber's nipples are apparently not for "Everyone."
What is Super Mario Odyssey?
This company was held liable for creating an unauthorized replica of the NES lockout chip after having tricked the U.S. Copyright Office into giving up the source code.
What is Atari/Tengen?
King's attempt to trademark the word "Candy" was unsuccessful, but the company did secure the rights to this other word used in more than a dozen of its games' titles.
What is "Saga"?
Namco's patent on loading screen minigames was first used for the PS1 port of Ridge Racer, which runs this classic arcade title upon startup while the main game loads.
What is Galaxian?
During the 1993 Senate hearing on violence in video games, this light gun was brandished multiple times by Senators Joe Lieberman and Herbert Kohl in admonishment of the industry.
What is the Justifier?
To avoid a higher PEGI rating due to simulated gambling, slot machines were disabled in the European release of this 2009 Pokémon game that features Giratina on the cover.
What is Pokémon Platinum?
A court ruled that fair use allowed this publisher—known for "stunning... original..." software—to reverse engineer the Genesis and release unlicensed games for the system.
What is Accolade?
A Daikatana ad featuring the tagline, "John Romero's about to make you his b****," also included this three-word phrase trademarked by Ion Storm.
What is "Suck it down"?
Shigeru Miyamoto is the primary inventor of this Namco title's patented asymmetric multiplayer concept in which one player plays on a handheld while others play on the TV.
What is Pac-Man Vs.?
One of two games (one made by Rockstar and the other by Raven Software) that have been legally classified in Canada as R-rated films, prohibiting their sale to anyone under 18.
What is Manhunt or Soldier of Fortune?
(Either is acceptable)
This 32X port and launch title was the first game ever to receive an ESRB rating of M.
What is Doom?