Palworld dev details the patents Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are suing for

I see mentions of the "creator of pong" mentioned here or whatever. Ralph Baer having had the patents for the concept of video games and consoles is far different than this sorta thing. I hate copyrights and patent bullshit and still say that.

Quoting: Talon1024We can at least be thankful that they generally don't go after Nintendo-style games, or games inspired by Nintendo games.

Thanks for linking to my thread, here - I hope that people are finding it useful.

Quoting: Talon1024So I believe the real reason Nintendo went after Palworld is because, as many have pointed out, some of the Palworld creature designs are blatant ripoffs of well-known Pokémon creature designs.

That seems odd to me, since countless games decades ago already did that, sometimes even more blatantly, around the time that Pokemon was being released outside of Japan (after being big in Japan for a couple of years beforehand), and Nintendo took zero action then. The likes of Bomberman Max, Keitai Denjuu Telefang, and Robopon are just a tiny few examples.

I suspect that it's more to do with Pocketpair doing something that Nintendo has failed to capitalise on, and Nintendo throwing their toys out of the pram as a result. A recent data-breach at Pokemon developer Game Freak suggests that some titles branching out from the series' norm (such as an MMORPG and a racing-game) may be in the works, for example.

At any rate, it's ridiculous and Nintendo clearly aren't playing fair. This sort of thing is why I'm an ex-fan who's now a PC-gamer.


Last edited by Pengling on 8 November 2024 at 6:07 pm UTC

Nintendo are like M$ microsoft a 2 bit company, that can't stand 1 bit of competition Nintendo are using software patents because Pocketpair made a better pokemon like game but the problem with there strategy shude be as clear as mario and luigi big nose if Nintendo start acting like a bad guy then the consumers are going to boycot Nintendo that will cost them more money than Nintendo you will get form this lawsuit Nintendo may also lose sales to consumers seting sail

the real question is what is Nintendo end goal to get the money IMHO thay don't deserve or to kill the competition

Quoting: MadWolfbut the problem with there strategy shude be as clear as mario and luigi big nose if Nintendo start acting like a bad guy then the consumers are going to boycot Nintendo that will cost them more money than Nintendo you will get form this lawsuit Nintendo may also lose sales to consumers seting sail

I can tell you from personal experience that if you bring up rightful criticisms in Nintendo circles, people will tell you that "you should be grateful" for what they're offering, as if companies are your friends. Nintendo behaving like they are here won't change any opinions over on that side of the fence, unfortunately.

Quoting: MadWolfthe real question is what is Nintendo end goal to get the money IMHO thay don't deserve or to kill the competition

It's quite likely they're after a settlement that will give them a permanent share of the profits from something that they weren't good enough to create. They've done it with similar legal threats against a mobile game company, before.

Another example of prior art: Monster Hunter Stories (2016) in which:

Quoting: WikipediaThe player then has the ability to name their companion monsters, or "Monsties", ride them around in the overworld, and have them join the player in battles.

Just to point out, 5 million yen is…not actually that much. Different places give slightly different conversion, but it's on the order of 32,700 USD/ 30,500 euros. Which given that Palworld sells for $30 and has sold 25 million units, could probably be found under the couch cushions at Pocketpair headquarters, and is basically a rounding error for Nintendo. It's probably already cost Nintendo more in lawyer fees to file this case, so maybe they're aware of what thin ice they're skating on and are hoping Pocketpair will settle rather than fight, while making a big show of things to their faithful fanbase?

Quoting: PenglingNintendo behaving like they are here won't change any opinions over on that side of the fence, unfortunately.

That is unfortunately very obvious, since this is not the first time that they do what they usually do.

And it is the reason that I'm amused by the data-breach. Like the weird Sgt in It Ain't Half Hot Mum says – Oh dear, how sad, never mind. I wonder if they believe in Karma…

Quoting: PhiladelphusJust to point out, 5 million yen is…not actually that much. Different places give slightly different conversion, but it's on the order of 32,700 USD/ 30,500 euros. Which given that Palworld sells for $30 and has sold 25 million units, could probably be found under the couch cushions at Pocketpair headquarters, and is basically a rounding error for Nintendo. It's probably already cost Nintendo more in lawyer fees to file this case, so maybe they're aware of what thin ice they're skating on and are hoping Pocketpair will settle rather than fight, while making a big show of things to their faithful fanbase?

Oh, it's the patent troll playbook! Threaten with generic patents and try for a shake down, not too costly so hopefully you aren't fought in court, but negotiate out of court, put out a press release, and go on to the next target with a long list of licensees (actually just people who showed you the door and may or may not have paid to be rid of you).

In which case, the target is not quite Palword, but indie developers thinking of following the trend, who won't have the resources Pocketpair now has.

Quoting: Talon1024So I believe the real reason Nintendo went after Palworld is because, as many have pointed out, some of the Palworld creature designs are blatant ripoffs of well-known Pokémon creature designs.

Recently, a YouTube channel called Moon has uploaded a video saying that creature designs cannot be patented, since those would fall under copyright.

It's supposedly because Palword teamed up with Sony, who have long been a bitter rival of Nintendo's and have a lot to gain if Palword ends up becoming a successful multimedia franchise.

A franchise that goes toe to toe with Nintendo's.

Quoting: Klaas

Quoting: PenglingNintendo behaving like they are here won't change any opinions over on that side of the fence, unfortunately.

That is unfortunately very obvious, since this is not the first time that they do what they usually do.

And it is the reason that I'm amused by the data-breach. Like the weird Sgt in It Ain't Half Hot Mum says – Oh dear, how sad, never mind. I wonder if they believe in Karma…

Well, since they're Japanese upwards mobilized peasants, I would guess they're practitioners of both Buddhism and Shintoism.
Specifically I think that they're Japanese pure land Buddhists and Shintoists.
Shintoism has no real definition of an afterlife.
Buddhism is quite clear about Karma and reincarnation.
Shintoists believe in ascension through effort.

I think they do believe in Karma, but my knowledge about Japanese religious practice is insufficient to determine whether this results in positive or negative Karma in their eyes if they do.


Last edited by LoudTechie on 9 November 2024 at 9:22 pm UTC