PalWorld Update! Nintendo's Lawsuit hits a SNAG!

[DerVVulfman]

Oh, this is SO gonna suck for Nintendo... 

Palworld developers challenge Nintendo's patents

using examples from Zelda, ARK: Survival, Tomb Raider, Titanfall 2 and many more huge titles

More info unfolds directly from the Tokyo District Court, and many games are named in the patent infringement suit

Hot news in the defense of Pocketpair just emerged in regards to the ongoing patent infringement dispute between the developer and Nintendo over popular Xbox Game Pass game, Palworld.

Thanks to the incredible investigative work of GamesFray, a platform specializing in gaming legal matters, we now have a detailed look at Pocketpair’s defenses in the Japan-specific patent infringement case, direct from the Tokyo District Court.

These findings shed light on Pocketpair’s strategy on countering Nintendo’s claims and could have significant ramifications for the gaming industry.

It's often argued that many of the patents Nintendo are going after Pocketpair for infringing are for game mechanics used in a plethora of other games, and this seems to be the exact tact that the Palworld developers are taking. We now have all the games so far named in the lawsuit, and some of them may surprise you.

Pocketpair are challenging Nintendo’s patents by pointing to prior art — existing games and technologies that allegedly contain similar mechanics that Nintendo has not also challenged.

The argument here is that these patents should not have been granted to Nintendo in the first place, because the claimed mechanics were already in use.

Pocketpair references a wide range of games, including Craftopia (their own title), ARK: Survival Evolved, Rune Factory 5, and even Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda.

Mods like Pixelmon for Minecraft and Nukamon for Fallout 4 are also part of their defense, so even user-made mods have been listed in their defence.

Here's the full list of games stated in the case, as painstakingly listed by GamesFray.

• Craftopia, released by Pocketpair in 2021
  
• Pocket Souls (a Dark Souls 3 mod released in 2020)
  
• Ark: Survival Evolved, or ARK released by Studio Wildcard in 2017; partly in combination with a Pokémon mod
  
• The Legend of Zelda, published by Nintendo
  
• Pokémon Legends: Arceus, published by Nintendo
  
• Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, published by Nintendo
  
• Final Fantasy 14 published by Square Enix
  
• Tomb Raider originally created by Core Design
  
• Far Cry 5 published by Ubisoft
  
• Monster Super League, a mobile game by Smart Study Games
  
• Pixelmon mod for Minecraft
  
• Pikmin 3 Deluxe
  
• Rune Factory 5 by Marvelous
  
• Titanfall 2 by Electronic Arts
  
• Path of Exile by Grinding Gear Games
  
• Octopath Traveler by Square Enix
  
• Dragon Quest Builders by Square Enix
  
• Nexomon by VEWO Interactive
  
• NukaMon mod for Fallout 4
  
• Monster Hunter 4G/Ultimate by Capcom
  
• ArcheAge by XL Games
  
• Riders of Icarus by VALOFE
  

In addition to games, Pocketpair have also pointed out the Unity game engine as an example of prior art.

In the above list, Rune Factory 5, Titanfall 2 and Pikmin 3 Deluxe make it easy to see how a player character can perform an action to release a monster or a capture item (like a ball) and fire in a direction by releasing a button. Pikmin 3 Deluxe, Far Cry 5 and Tomb Raider already showed that there can be different types of throwable objects.

Games like Pocket Souls, Octopath Traveler, Monster Super League, and Final Fantasy XIV already show how players can target creatures and get an idea of their chances of capturing them.

Pocketpair argues that combining features from these games makes Nintendo’s patents seem less unique or inventive, which is a requirement under Japanese patent law.

They also point out that Pokémon games have used different success rates for capture items for over 30 years, making this idea far from new. Hey, it's old hat now right?

So they just filed patents for features already used in ALL THESE GAMES?   I am not sure how long their patents will last once this case is resolved.