Pocketpair has challenged a lawsuit made by Nintendo citing previous video games that used mechanics similar to Palworld, but were not challenged by Pokémon’s co -owner.
Nintendo and Pokémon Company filed a lawsuit against Pocketpair in Japan last year, claiming that Palworld violates three patents related to the monstrous capturing game, all of which were initially presented by Nintendo and the Pokemon company between February and July last year. Palworld was released on January 19, 2024.
In an extensive publication in Gamesfray, the defense of Pocketpair has been revealed against the lawsuit.
In a series of “preparatory briefs” presented in February, Pocketpair argues that the patents in the Nintendo suit should not have been granted because the previous work that used them was launched before the date on which Nintendo claimed to have invented them.
Going to a patent about capturing characters by throwing fighting characters (monsters) or capturing balls, Pocketpair argues that his own craft game did exactly the same.
The study then lists multiple games that argues demonstrates that a certain characteristic was already known before Nintendo submitted the original patent requests.
He states that Rune Factory 5, Titanfall 2 and Pikmin 3 Deluxe allow players to launch a monster or a capture element (such as a ball) and shoot in a direction by releasing a button.
He also points out that Pikmin 3 Deluxe, Far Cry 5 and Tomb Raider already showed that there may be different types of objects thrown, and Pocket Souls, Octopath Traveler, Monster Super League and Final Fantasy XIV allow players to choose tragets in a field and show how the capture operation is likely to be successful.
Defending another patent related to the capture of characters, Pocketpair points to Octopath Traveler, Monster Super League, Nexomon, Cleanpia, Pikmin 3 Deluxe, the mod Nukamon for Fallout and Monster Hunter 4G.
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are looking for 5 million yen, more late payment rates.
Last year released through Steam Early Access and Xbox game Preview, Palworld was an immediate success, attracting 25 million players in just their first month, according to Pocketpair.
