Just when the creators of Palworld were even considering turning their title into a game-as-a-service and were boasting that they had not had any legal problems with Nintendo, the proverbial blow fell on them.
Both Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced a lawsuit against Pocket Pair for infringing patent rights.
This immediately made the fans of this new indie jump to its defense and begin attacks against Nintendo for, according to some, wanting to kill creativity. But is it really like that?
Practically since Palworld was announced, comparisons with Pokémon began. In fact, among the fans themselves and various media they began to call the Pokémon with guns.
Will the dispute between Palworld and Pokémon be like an episode of Law and Order?
It is impossible not to compare Palworld with Pokémon
Just a quick look at the game is enough to make it clear where the inspiration comes from. Although its gameplay does not revolve around pure fighting between its monsters, their design is quite familiar.
We’ve got an Egyptian Lucario, the lost son of Snorlax and Electabuzz, an uneaten Decidueye, and some very poorly hidden copies of Latias and Latios, just to name a few.
The similarities were so many that shortly after Palworld came out, The Pokémon Company said they were going to analyze the game to see if there was a way to proceed legally. That was at the beginning of the year and since then there has been nothing.
Even a few months ago Pocket Pair boasted that there were no consequences following The Pokémon Company’s statement. But they didn’t count on their lawyers building a case.
The lawsuit goes the way of game mechanics
Something that draws attention to the lawsuit is due to infringing patents, which suggests that it was not because of the designs of its creatures, but because of some game mechanics.
Some reports suggest that the way in which Nintendo and The Pokémon Company will go about Palworld is due to the mechanics to catch the Pals. Since it is necessary to throw a magic sphere at them where they are locked forever. Does this sound familiar?
Serving a bit as devil’s advocate, we know that the gameplay of Palworld is not exactly the same as that of Pokémon. After all, here you are more focused on your survival.
You have meters of your hunger levels and you must also collect resources to stay alive, build a base of operations and keep it afloat while you explore the rest of the islands and capture more creatures.
However, it also has other similarities such as the different groups you face. These have their own leaders, although they are not gym leaders, who you must fight in Pals battles. Ah, but yes, with the possibility of giving firearms to your companions.
Plagiarism is plagiarism
Although it has different things in its gameplay, it is impossible to completely separate it from Pokémon, which makes it walk a fine line between homage and plagiarism.
Knowing Nintendo and how jealous they are of their intellectual properties, it is not unusual for them to sue them. Furthermore, the fact that it took so long between their investigation and their own lawsuit suggests that they have a very strong case.
It’s one thing to really like a game and another thing to deny reality. Although Palworld won over many fans, they cannot deny that it is very similar to the Nintendo title in several aspects.
In addition, Pocket Pair beats its chest saying that it will fight to show that indies can pursue creativity, but almost plagiarizing one of the biggest franchises in history for months. From the first comparison they could have made changes, but they decided not to and here we are.
Time will tell what happens with this lawsuit between Pokémon, Nintendo and Pocket Pair, but it will surely be followed by thousands of video game fans and the consequences could affect others.
After all, Xbox, even seeing these similarities, pushed it a lot and even stopped their chest to say that the game was exclusive to their consoles and that it reached millions of players on their platform. What will they do if the trial results in Nintendo’s favor?
Sony will also have a candle at the funeral as it recently joined forces with Pocket Pair to expand Palworld beyond video games with figures and probably a television series. Let’s see if these plans still stand after Nintendo’s lawsuit and how the trial develops.
After all, we have already seen Nintendo’s lawyers in action who seem to be on a deadly streak that we doubt Pocket Pair can stop.
It’s not about destroying creativity.
As for those who are upset with Nintendo, they must understand that it is not about eliminating the competition or killing creativity as many say, but about defending what they created and have cultivated for so many years.
How many really creative indie games are there out there that Nintendo doesn’t even bat an eye at? If what they believe were true, they would be handing out demands left and right, but that is not the case.
If Pocket Pair and Palworld were really that creative, Nintendo wouldn’t even have looked at them in the first place. However, it seems that they wanted to hang on to the fame of Pokémon and become big with the scandal, but now the shot backfired. Or do you really think they are as creative and original as they say? Don’t stop following this conversation on our Discord.
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