Palworld Developer Shares More Details About Nintendo's Lawsuit Against The Game

As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I must say that the ongoing saga between Nintendo and Palworld developer Pocketpair has been quite intriguing. The similarities between Palworld and Pokemon were undeniable from the get-go, but I didn’t foresee a legal battle brewing over it.


In early this year, the introduction of Palworld sparked comparisons to Pokemon, leading people to anticipate a legal action from Nintendo. True to form, this occurred in September, when Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Palworld’s developer, Pocketpair, in a Japanese court, claiming patent infringement by the company. Now, Pocketpair has disclosed the specific patents upon which Nintendo’s accusations are founded and the amount of money they seek as compensation in this case.

Pocketpair provided a summary about three Japanese patents (Numbers 7545191, 7493117, and 7528390), which were all registered this year. Instead of focusing on Palworld’s Pokemon-like characters, these patents seem to be concerned with the game mechanics such as tossing a ball at characters, riding characters within the game, and aiming at targets.

The lawsuit is asking for an injunction against Palworld, plus 5 million yen (which is roughly just under $33,000 in American dollars) payments–with late fees–to both Nintendo and The Pokemon Company. The details of the lawsuit largely lineup with the predictions made earlier this year by Kantan Games CEO and video game analyst Serkan Toto. At the time, Toto believed that Nintendo’s allegedly infringed-upon patents would be “very technical” in nature, and that Pocketpair will ultimately be forced to make a deal with Nintendo.

To date, PocketPair hasn’t shown any signs of slowing its drive for success in Palworld. The game has just been moved to PlayStation 5, and surprisingly, it’s now available in Japan amidst an ongoing lawsuit. Moreover, PocketPair has partnered with Sony to establish Palworld Entertainment. This new venture is expected to expand the franchise, as well as open up possibilities for new merchandise and licensing deals.

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2024-11-08 21:08