Gaming · Expired
Computerized game board and figures that unlock content on contact
Put a physical figure on a reader, unlock the character in the game — the toys-to-life mechanic behind Skylanders and Amiibo, patented years before either existed.
US5853327 · — · Expired
US5853327 covers a physical figure or token that, placed on a reader connected to a game system, unlocks that character's content in the game — the toys-to-life mechanic that Skylanders turned into a billion-dollar category in 2011, and that Nintendo's Amiibo line still runs today.
The patent had already expired by the time either product line existed. The underlying idea — physical collectible unlocks digital content via a reader — was free real estate for whoever got there first with the right execution and marketing.