![galaxian gameplay galaxian gameplay](https://moegamer.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/galaxian.png)
The general requirements for patentability are that the subject matter be patentable, and that the invention is useful, novel and non-obvious. "Patents exist to incentivize innovation and progress. He says that the patent probably ought not have been allowed in the first place. He argues that it was likely better for Namco to ignore these breaches, rather than risk litigation that might have ended up invalidating its patent. Hoppe points out that certain minor games have breached the patent, without Namco (or its successor Bandai Namco) appearing to take action. But then the company applied for (and was granted) a patent for loading screen minigames that are not associated with the main game being played. It was a neat way for Namco to remind players of its heritage. "Because I was on the team that made the Galaxian arcade, I determined to include this excellent creation in honor of my old boss." "We were thinking ‘Somehow we've got to make this waiting time more enjoyable,'" he said. In a 2012 NowGamer interview, Ridge Racer team member Yozo Sakagami recalls that the company decided to include a minigame of arcade classic Galaxian. When Namco developed arcade racing game Ridge Racer for the PlayStation system back in 1994, the company became frustrated by the long load times on the new CD-ROM technology. Patent 5,718,632, was filed in 1995 and is thus set to expire in 2015." "Namco holds a dubious patent on 'auxiliary games' that play while the main game loads," writes Hoppe.
![galaxian gameplay galaxian gameplay](http://www.classicplastic.net/dvgi/special-galaxian-06.jpg)
Over on Gamasutra, video game legal specialist David Hoppe tells an interesting story about how Namco nabbed a patent on loading screen minigames 20 years ago, a patent that is due to expire later this year. But I hadn't realized, until today, that a single game company owns the patent on one neat idea, which is the inclusion of a loading screen minigame that is not especially relevant to the main game at hand. Loading screens, after all, do not take long these days. I hadn't really given the whole issue much thought. Others, like the FIFA series, offer up practice sessions on key skills. They show in-world artifacts or offer up gameplay tips or clue the player into minor aspects of lore and narrative. Many games seek to keep your attention on the game.
![galaxian gameplay galaxian gameplay](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/f2/a4/08/f2a4081a8cd5d8b98c0dbafe420c3cd2--gameplay-wall-decal.jpg)
It had a number of sequels and rereleases in the years since its launch, having been ported to systems from the Atari 7800 all the way to the PlayStation 3 and everything in between.What do you do during loading screen-time? Gaze at the screen in a stupefied torpor? Check your other screens in the vain hope of finding something of interest for a few seconds? Make a cup of tea? The most recent world record score was set just a few years ago, in 2011. Galaga was wildly successful, especially during the height of the arcade scene in the 1980s it has become one of the most popular games to compete for high scores on and is still as such even today. However, Galaga featured several gameplay additions, including the ability to fire two shots in succession (in Galaxian only one shot could be on the screen at once), and the fact that “boss Galaga” creatures could capture the player’s ship with a tractor beam. In both titles, the enemy aliens swarm near the top of the screen (sometimes leaving the pack to attack the player’s ship directly) and the stage is cleared only when all of them have been defeated. Both games were clearly based on the base concept and gameplay of Space Invaders, as well. Though it largely stands on its own, Galaga is technically a sequel to 1979’s Galaxian, which featured similar gameplay. The title, which rolled out into arcades in late 1981, was developed by Namco and published in North America by Midway. One of the first titles to achieve wild success with the idea was Galaga, which turns 35 this year. Destroy enemy aliens – it’s a fairly simple concept, one that’s been used countless times in the history of video gaming.