So Nintendo filed the patent, and paid the maintenance fees over the years. Did they even do anything with it beyond that one game? How much money did they think they gained just by preventing others from implementing a similar mechanic?

I’m still waiting for Kingdom Hearts… How long has it been now?

With the new restrictions that mods can’t retroactively become paid mods, nor can they be dependent on others sounds fine on paper.

But consider what having this kind of system in place will do for future games and mods. I believe this will discourage collaboration and ultimately will cause a decline in quality. If paid mods can’t build off of others, then there would be less incentive or option to build integration of mods. Anyone remember mods like cobl, cm partners, and fcom for Oblivion? Those would be impossible with paid mods. And since most modders would (rightfully so) like to maximize their income, I reckon many would exclusively make their portfolio be paid mods, even with restrictions on what they can build.

However, within these 10 years, he could do damages that will long outlast him.

4*20+12

Four score and twelve