Nintendo patent suggests far-reaching plans

TOKYO--According to the Japanese Trademark and Patent Office, Nintendo registered a trademark for what it is calling the "Nintendo V-Pocket." The patent was filed on December 7, 2004.

Records show that the trademark applies to a wide range of products, from board games to ski wax. It also covers portable LCD game machines and adapters that allow for the display of images and audio recorded on memory cards.

V-Pocket's simple black-and-white logo uses fonts resembling the Nintendo DS's logo, with the letter V emphasized. It's possible that the trademark is meant for an as-yet-unannounced DS adapter, but given its registration date and usage details, it's also possible that the V-Pocket was an early working title for the Play-Yan, Nintendo's upcoming MPEG-4 and MP3 adapter for the DS and Game Boy Advance SP.

The same day, Nintendo and Game Freak registered a trademark for "PCGP," with each letter in a circle. We'll have to wait to see whether this logo will be used in an upcoming game or product. If it is used, it could be for an upcoming Pokémon product, since Game Freak created the series.