Pocketpair has challenged a lawsuit made by Nintendo by citing previous video games that used similar mechanics to Palworld, but which were not challenged by the Pokémon co-owner.
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company filed a lawsuit against Pocketpair in Japan last year, alleging that Palworld infringes on three patents that are related to monster catching gameplay, all of which were initially filed by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company between February and July last year. Palworld was released on January 19, 2024.
In an extensive post on Gamesfray, Pocketpair’s defence against the lawsuit has been revealed.
In a series of “preparatory briefs” filed in February, Pocketpair argues that Nintendo’s patents-in-suit shouldn’t have been granted because prior work using them was released before the date Nintendo claimed to have invented them.
Addressing one patent about capturing characters by releasing fighting characters (monsters) or capture balls, Pocketpair argues that its own Craftopia game did exactly the same thing.
The studio then lists multiple games that it argues proves that a certain feature was already known before Nintendo filed the original patent applications.
It claims that Rune Factory 5, Titanfall 2 and Pikmin 3 Deluxe allow players to release a monster or a capture item (like a ball) and fire in a direction by releasing a button.
It also notes that Pikmin 3 Deluxe, Far Cry 5 and Tomb Raider already showed that there can be different types of throwable objects, and Pocket Souls, Octopath Traveler, Monster Super League and Final Fantasy XIV allow players to pick tragets on a field and show how likely the capture operation is to succeed.
Defending another patent related to capturing characters, Pocketpair points to Octopath Traveler, Monster Super League, Nexomon, Craftopia, Pikmin 3 Deluxe, the Nukamon mod for Fallout, and Monster Hunter 4G.
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are each seeking 5 million yen, plus late payment fees.
Released last year via Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview, Palworld was an immediate hit,attracting 25 million players in just its first month, according to Pocketpair.
