As a dedicated gamer with over two decades of gaming under my belt, I must admit that the ongoing saga between Nintendo, The Pokemon Company, and Pocketpair is both fascinating and disheartening at the same time.
This week, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company filed a joint legal action against game developer Pocketpair, over their game titled Palworld. The lawsuit claims that the game has breached some of Nintendo’s patents; however, the specific patents involved are not specified in the complaint. Although the timing seems a bit unexpected, fans of the Pokemon franchise were prepared for potential legal action given the similarities between Palworld designs and certain Pokemon characters. Previously, Palworld designs have attracted comparisons to specific Pokemon, with some supporters suggesting they may infringe on Pokemon copyrights. Nonetheless, it is unclear if these similarities will factor into the lawsuit’s outcome.
Ever since the initial announcement of Palworld, it’s been quite the ride, with numerous significant occurrences along the way. Hereunder, you will find a chronology detailing some key milestones that ultimately culminated in the recent filing of this lawsuit:
- June 5th, 2021: Pocketpair announces Palworld. The game’s first trailer earns it the nickname “Pokemon with guns.”
- May 26th, 2023: Pocketpair reveals a new trailer outlining how to catch Pals: weakening them with attacks and then throwing a “sphere,” which resembles a Poke Ball.
- June 8th, 2023: Palworld gets a new trailer at Summer Game Fest. Viewers start to point out similarities between Pal designs and Pokemon. “I love how the creatures are re-designed just barely enough to avoid being sued by Nintendo,” writes one YouTube user.
- January 19th, 2024: Palworld releases on Xbox and PC, quickly selling millions of copies, and seeing huge numbers on Xbox Game Pass.
- January 24th, 2024: Nexus Mods declares that it is “not comfortable” hosting mods that turn Pals into Pokemon. Pocketpair claims that it has received death threats over Pokemon similarities. That same day, The Pokemon Company announces that it intends “to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokemon.”
- June 25th, 2024: Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe tells Game File that technical limitations would prevent Palworld from coming to Switch. Fans anticipate a release on Nintendo’s Switch successor.
- July 10th, 2024: Pocketpair, Aniplex, and Sony Music Entertainment announce joint venture to “look for other opportunities in terms of merchandising and establishing Palworld as a brand.” Palworld Entertainment would be the Pal equivalent to The Pokemon Company.
- September 18th, 2024: Nintendo and The Pokemon Company announce joint lawsuit against Pocketpair.
- September 19th, 2024: Pocketpair responds to the lawsuit, saying it is “unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon, and we have not been notified of such details.”
The outcome of the lawsuit against Pocketpair is uncertain at this point, and it’s unclear if the courts will side with them. Throughout history, numerous games inspired by Pokemon have been released, yet none have led to legal action from Nintendo or The Pokemon Company like this one. It may take some time before we can determine the final verdict of the lawsuit, but we can anticipate learning more details in the upcoming months.
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2024-09-20 00:39