Pal World developer pocket pair shed more light on the specific patent infringement claims Nintendo accused him in September.
At the time of the initial lawsuit, the studio claimed it was without knowing what, exactly, Nintendo resented. Nintendo didn’t list specific patents at the time, but not long after Palworld release in January, said it would determine whether the game violated in its own popular Pokémon series.
The three patents – all filed in Japan between May and July 2024 – draw similarities between Pal World and 2022 2022 Pokémon Legends: Arceus specifically. Their descriptions concern the game’s mechanics as “assembling an object” gold throwing a ball capture and possess a character in virtual spaces.
Pocketpair added that Nintendo wants 10 million yen ($65,450 in US dollars) in damages, 5 million each for itself and The Pokémon Company, plus late fees and an injunction to block Palworld release.
What Put Pocketpair on Nintendo’s Cool Radar
Nintendo frequently takes legal action against companies it believes have infringed gold threatened your job in some capacity. The situation with Pal World was prickly enough when it was simply “Pokémon with guns”, but its subsequent success and Pocketpair clear desire to capitalize quickly This makes the problem even worse.
Following suit, analyst Serkan Totó noted that Nintendo may have gone after Pocketpair on both “highly technical things” and the studio’s Pal World to push. He speculated that the latter may have really pushed things over the edge, and that Nintendo “saw these guys were getting too aggressive.”
Pocketpair, however, reiterated that it will not speak to the press about the matter unless the situation specifically requires it, and that it will “continue to assert our position in this case through future legal proceedings.”
About the author
Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com
A native of Kansas City, MO, Justin Carter has written for numerous websites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to being a game developer, his writings can be found at io9 on Gizmodo. Don’t ask how much gum he ate, because the answer will be more than he’s willing to admit.
