Perhaps we should come up with a “crime index” to measure the popularity of new high-tech product launches – something like success as a function of hacks and lawsuits an innovation leads to. Based on these metrics, the early results indicate that Nintendo’s Wii controller is a big hit.

The Wii Remote controller is part of Nintendo’s new game console, and allows the user to employ realistic motions to control the game such as simulating a baseball bat swing. This neat innovation has led to more than a few broken television sets by hyperactive or sweaty handed users, and now Nintendo has issued a recall to replace the straps. But two other issues are also on the table for Nintendo to deal with: users have already hacked the controllers to make them usable with their home PCs, and a company called Interlink is suing them for violating their patent on “trigger operated electronic devices.”

Hopefully Nintendo will follow Lego rather than the music industry and choose not to sue their users for hacking/adapting their product. Better still, they should help their customers by creating an open platform for innovation. As for the lawsuit, it certainly appears a bit frivolous (Interlink’s product is a “mouse replacement” pointer for business presentations). Then again, more frivolous suits than this have been settled for big dollars in the past. Hopefully at some point we’ll get back to a patent system that stimulates innovation rather than inhibiting it.