Pocketpair Challenges Nintendo With Examples Of Other Games That Use The Trademarked Features Being Sued Over

The beef between Nintendo and Palworld developer Pocketpair continues with the latter contesting Nintendo’s lawsuit by pointing out other, well-known games that use the mechanics built around monster catching. As those following this drama will likely remember, Nintendo’s lawsuit claims that Palworld infringed on three patents related to this mechanic. You may also remember that these patents were filed after Palworld launched.

Pocketpair has responded to some of these allegations by simply making changes to certain mechanics following the patents being filed. That said, Nintendo and the Pokémon Company are still both suing for 5 million yen and other fees.

As noted on VGC, the Palworld developer addressed Nintendo’s claims by providing a list of games that already use these features. It notes that capturing characters using balls was used in Craftopia, while using a button to release captured items in a specific direction has been seen in games like Titanfall 2 and Pikmin 3 Deluxe. The brief also lists several games that allow players to target something on a field to capture it. Among the games listed are Final Fantasy XIV – think catching animals on the Island Sanctuary.

The point that Pocketpair seems to be making here is that Nintendo hasn’t taken issue with any of these other games using these mechanics, so why should Palworld be the exception? It’s a valid point, considering the fact that Nintendo filed all the related patents after the game launched, rather than addressing other games using the same features earlier on. That said, it would be interesting to watch Nintendo pick a fight with Square Enix over this.