4 ms·

I think it's because Namco had a patent on games in loading screens from 1995 to 2015: http://kotaku.com/the-patent-on-loading-screen-mini-games-is-about-to-exp

• reitanqild 10y ago
  Ghostbusters game on c64 had it when I bought it used in 1991 or 92 I think.
  • yoklov 10y ago
    It's a common example for a patent that had a lot of prior art but was granted anyway. I don't know enough about patents to say if there was a reason the prior art didn't apply, but I know that Namco was fairly protective of it and it was somewhat limiting for people working in the game industry. Although, loading screens are less common now than they were back then, and I think that would still be case even if such a thing were never patented.