The legal battle between Nintendo and the developers of Palworld has taken an interesting turn as Pocketpair, the studio behind the hit survival game, prepares to counter Nintendo's allegations. According to a report from Games Fray, Pocketpair is taking a bold stance in response to Nintendo's claims that Palworld violates three of its gameplay patents.

Nintendo's argument centers on the assertion that Palworld infringes on patents related to specific gameplay mechanics. However, Pocketpair is pushing back with a two-pronged defense. First, they argue that the patents in question are invalid due to the existence of "prior art"—examples of similar mechanics in other games that predate Nintendo's patents. Second, they claim that even if the patents were valid, Palworld does not infringe upon them.

Object Throwing Mechanic. Nintendo's patent covers mechanics involving throwing objects or creatures. Pocketpair counters this by pointing to examples from games like Pikmin 3 Deluxe, Far Cry 5, and Tomb Raider, which feature various types of throwable items or mechanics.

Character Capture Mechanic. This patent relates to capturing characters or creatures for use in gameplay. Pocketpair highlights several examples of similar mechanics in other titles, including:

  • A Dark Souls 3 mod called Pocket Souls, which allows players to capture and use creatures.
  • Other games like Octopath Traveler, Monster Super League, Nexomon, Craftopia, Pikmin 3 Deluxe, and even a Fallout 4 mod called Nukamon.

Seamless Mount Switching Mechanic. This patent involves the ability to smoothly switch between rideable creatures. Pocketpair argues that such mechanics have already been implemented in games like ARK: Survival Evolved and ArcheAge.

In addition to citing prior art, Pocketpair emphasizes the fundamental differences between Palworld and Pokémon. They argue that Palworld is a survival game with crafting mechanics, whereas Pokémon is a traditional RPG where players act as trainers. This distinction, they claim, further undermines Nintendo's argument that the two games are comparable in terms of gameplay mechanics.

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