Mini-games during loading screens are now allowed again following expiration of Patent

Loading screens are probably one of the pet peeves gamers have with games. There is nothing worse than having to wait for a loading screen, whether that be when entering a building, a dungeon or loading a new level. However up until now, developers weren’t allowed to add mini-games for us to play during loading screen due to Namco who filed a patent way back in 1995 to protect its use of auxillary mini-games while loading.

This meant that no one other than Namco could create and use mini-games for players to play while they waited for a game to load. The patent, as noted by PCGamer, was filed on November 27, 1995 and lasted for 20 years, meaning that it has now expired. As a result, developers will now be able to create mini-games for us to play during loading screens, if they wish.

Of-course, having mini-games to play during loading won’t solve the annoyance of regular and lengthy loading times but at least they would make the time pass a little quicker.

GameSpot have created a very informative video on the issue below which I fully suggest you watch.

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