The survival game Palworld was a huge surprise hit on Steam and Xbox at the beginning of the year. However, critics accused the makers of blatantly borrowing from Pokémon. Nintendo apparently sees it the same way, as they have now filed a lawsuit – but some fans are not happy about that.
What is the current status of Nintendo and Palworld? On September 18, 2024, Japanese time, what had to happen happened: Nintendo filed what many consider to be a long overdue lawsuit against the “Pokémon with guns” Palworld in the Tokyo District Court.
The creators of Pokémon feel their intellectual property has been violated, but many players don’t like this side of Nintendo.
In Palworld you can explore a new island with the Sakurajima update
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Fans say: Make better games yourself
What does the community say? In the comments on posts on X, formerly Twitter, many people express surprise that Nintendo did not take legal action much earlier. In fact, they have only been waiting for this since Palworld showed the first pictures of its survival game.
But although Nintendo’s decision is hardly surprising, that doesn’t mean that users agree with it. Nintendo has had to endure a lot of criticism under its own post on X. Many players hope that the company won’t get away with its actions. They fear consequences for other small developers.
One user even goes so far as to say: “The world hopes you lose.” (via X)
It also shows that many fans have been disappointed with the Pokémon games for years and are therefore longing for alternatives that fulfill a similar need – like Palworld. Our editor-in-chief Leya also said in January: Palworld is where Pokémon should have been 5 years ago.
Many comments therefore contain the sentiment that Nintendo only has itself to blame for other developers using the tried and tested monster-catching formula, as they haven’t made any good games themselves for years. The time that is now being spent on a legal dispute should be invested in their own games, some say caustically.
It is believed that Nintendo would take action against successful competitors so that people would have no choice but to play their product (via X).
Many Pokémon fans also like Palworld
Some fans are definitely on Nintendo’s side and think that Palworld copied too blatantly and had too few original ideas. However, they are lost in the flood of negative comments.
In addition, other users point out that Nintendo is not suing because of the monster designs, but rather invoking patent law. This could create a dangerous precedent that could have an impact on the gaming industry as a whole.
However, a few creature collectors have managed to achieve success despite Nintendo’s watchful eyes. Here you will find 5 alternatives to Palworld and Pokémon.
But even if Nintendo is right here, that doesn’t mean much to some users. They criticize the patenting of video game mechanics in principle. In addition, it is simply not viewed favorably when large companies use patents to bully smaller ones: Energy drink has been selling itself as a friend of gaming for years – now bullies small indie developers