Nintendo to replace Wii classic controllers that triggered patent suit

Last May, Texas company Anascape won $21 million from Nintendo in a patent infringement suit regarding the video game giant's "classic controller" for the Wii. The analog stick architecture of a number of Nintendo's controllers infringed on a patent held by Anascape, and the future of the Wii classic controller became uncertain.

Predictably, sales of the controller saw a brief 207% explosion after the ruling.

Now, Nintendo has launched the controller's replacement in Japan, the Classic Controller Pro, which adds handles and changes the orientation of the shoulder buttons into a more traditional (read: PlayStation-style) layout. There is currently no word on the controller's release in the rest of the world, but pending the outcome of a Federal Circuit Court of Appeals hearing for Nintendo tentatively slated for April, this could be the only classic controller the US market has.