Nintendo rumbled for $21m

Gaming firm found guilty of patent infringement

Nintendo's Wii Remote is among the infringing controllers

A US court has ordered Nintendo to cough up $21m after it was found that the firm had infringed various patents in its console controllers.

The verdict was on behalf of Texas-based Anascape against Nintendo of America, which is a subsidiary of the Japanese firm.

The ruling concludes nearly two years of litigation over a series of Anascape patents related to video game controllers.

The jury found that various controllers sold by Nintendo, including the GameCube controller, Wavebird, Wii Classic and Wii Remote, infringed Anascape's patents, and awarded Anascape $21m.

Nintendo is one of the largest suppliers of game controllers and related equipment in the multi-billion dollar video game industry.

"We are extremely pleased with the jury's verdict," said lead counsel Doug Cawley of McKool Smith and Tyler which represented Anascape.

"Anascape may be a tiny company compared to Nintendo, but today's verdict confirms that the company's technology is second to none."