Gamers worldwide rejoiced whenPalworldfinally made it to the PlayStation 5… with one major exception.
The official English account’s jubilant announcement of the release was followed by an apologetic note from its Japanese counterpart announcingthe game was not coming out for PlayStation 5 in the regionyet.
We apologize to everyone in Japan who was looking forward to it, but all of our staff will do our best to deliver it to PS5 users as soon as possible
-Pocketpair, translated
This setback comes less than a week afterNintendo filed a patent infringement lawsuit against PocketpairoverPokémonsimilarities, leading to rampantspeculation that the two incidents are related.
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Palworldcaused a media storm when it came out in January this year. Along with the flood of new users camecomparisons with major titles, particularlyPokémonandFortnite.
If theFortnitecomparisons were more stylistic,Palworlddid little to dispel its “PokémonWith Guns” moniker. While most pals were originals,many looked more than just inspired by Pokémon.
Legal experts believethe lawsuit may go well beyond character appearances,though.
Patent Warfare
Nintendo and Pocketpair have traded barbs since release, but the dispute only went legal on September 18, whenNintendo and The Pokémon Company filed a patent infringement lawsuitin the Tokyo District Court.
Thecorporate press releasementions “multiple patent rights” infringements, but does not offer specifics.
Japanese IP attorney Kiyoshi Kuriharahas narrowed down the likely items Nintendo says were infringed, and the list may shed light onwhy it took the Pokémon owners so long to act.
The timeline is simple enough: Palworld comes out in January, Nintendo files patent 7545191 in June and requests expedited review, it goes live in August, and Nintendo sues Pocketpair in September.
According to Kurihara,patent 7545191 describes game mechanisms where you capture a creatureby aiming at it with an analog stick and button press, followed by a check that determines whether the target ownership changes to the player.
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Two other patents filed together with 7545191 go deeper into the specifics of the capture mechanism, anda third one relates to riding creatures(which, as you may have guessed, is also a central part ofPalworld).
The fact that Nintendo filed the patents half a year after the release ofPalworldis inconsequential asJapanese patent lawworks on a first-to-file basis. In other words,even if you invent something first, ownership belongs to whoever filed the patent.
The Future is Patented
The relatively broad language used by Nintendo in the filings has raised alarms in the gaming industry, with some developers worrying thatthese will be used maliciously to attack competitors.
These patents are only valid in Japanso the scope of trouble they can cause, be it toPalworldor other games, is geographically limited.
Pocketpair is determined to wrap up the legal dispute and release the PS5 version ofPalworldin Japan soon, butlegal proceedings may be lengthy.
Until that comes,JapanesePalworldfans are stuck with the PC version.
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WHERE TO PLAY
Palworld is a survival crafting game with colorful monster collecting elements. Build bases, catch dangerous creatures called Pals, explore dungeons, and group up with friends!
