- Palworld has become controversial as a potential Pokemon clone.
- The Nintendo President was recently asked to address this controversy.
- He stated that Nintendo would take legal action against anyone proven to infringe upon their IP rights.
Palworld has conquered Xbox, Game Pass, and Steam in a single month. With over 19 million players, it comfortably stands as the biggest third-party launch on the subscription.
The game is also Steam’s second-biggest release to date. However, the obvious comparisons with Pokemon have put the title in a difficult situation. Nintendo recently addressed these comparisons, with the president recently hinting at legal action.
Why it matters: The game was in public development for many years, giving Nintendo and its team plenty of time to take action.
As reported by Reuters, during Nintendo’s latest financial results briefing, the president of Nintendo, Shuntaro Furukawa, was asked about the current situation with Palworld. Though the president didn’t directly mention Palworld, he stated:
“We will take appropriate action against those that infringe our intellectual property rights.”
Recently, the Pokemon Company released a similar statement stating that they didn’t grant permission to any company to use their designs and assets.
Therefore, Nintendo might be encouraged to investigate the matter. However, with Nintendo’s reputation, it seems Palworld has not done enough to warrant a response from the gaming giant.
Following the Pokemon company’s official statement, the CEO of Pocketpair, Takuro Mizobe, also talked about the ongoing controversy, claiming that the game should be fine.
He highlighted that it had clear legal reviews and no other companies had taken any action against Palworld. The CEO also pointed out that they take their game very seriously and would never infringe upon other properties. Takuro Mizobe said:
“we have no intention of infringing upon intellectual property.”
Therefore, it is still unclear whether Nintendo will proceed with legal actions.
Not too long ago, the company quickly took down a Pokemon mod for the game. This mod added popular characters from the series to the game, but The Pokemon Company and Nintendo were not too happy with the outcome.
The game itself is very different from Pokemon. Many even believe Pokemon should take inspiration from it and possibly go third-party to enjoy similar success. Still, the similarities between the character designs are undeniable, leading to a discourse over the internet.
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[News Reporter]
Abiyan is on track to complete his Computer Science bachelor’s degree. His enthusiasm for writing and gaming motivates him to keep readers and gamers updated with the latest information from the industry. In his free time, Abiyan enjoys playing Dota 2 and Rocket League. Abiyan has also been cited in reputed websites such as Kitguru, Comicbook, GamingBible, Eurogamer and Gamingbolt.
