Analyst Says Nintendo's Palworld Lawsuit Is Based on 'Technical Peculiarities'

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“You can bet your life that Nintendo hates this company. […] If we basically unleash Nintendo's wrath, they will come after you.”—Serkan Toto, CEO of Kantan Games

Last week Nintendo sued Pocketpair and claimed the studio's multiplayer shooter Pal World violated several of its patents. According to Serkan Toto, CEO of consulting firm Kantan Games, Nintendo will likely win and could “damage [Pocketpair] financially as possible.”

In a 404 Average In an interview shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Toto explained that Nintendo would not take legal action against a company “without being as confident as possible that we would win.” […] Even apart from the gaming industry, [it] has a reputation for always winning his lawsuits.”

Toto pointed out to 404 that the lawsuit could be considered somewhat of a corporate sabotage, underlined by Pal World the newly revealed PlayStation 5 version is delayed indefinitely in Japan.

The specific patents that Pocketpair is accused of infringing are unclear, even to the Studio based in Tokyo same. Even so, Toto believes Nintendo will take the studio into the “highly, highly technical stuff,” as it did previously in 2021 with Colpol mobile developer.

Shortly after Pal World launched in January for great successNintendo said it would decide whether legal action was necessary. Discussions about the shooter have mainly revolved around whether the character designs are similar to those seen in Pokémon.

What Toto thinks pushed Nintendo's buttons was the collaboration between Pocketpair, Sony Music and Aniplex to expand Pal World in a multimedia franchise.

“Pocketpair wants to create a great IP from Pal World,” he reasoned. […] I think Nintendo just saw that these guys are getting too aggressive. In that sense, Pocketpair has become a victim of its own success.”

Pal World may have lit a fire under the Japanese gaming industry, but it may have made Pocketpair appear “too aggressive” in Nintendo's eyes. With the lawsuit, Nintendo is looking at the indie team through the lens of “cold-blooded business.”

404's full interview with Toto about the Nintendo/Pocketpair lawsuit can be read here Here.

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