Lame. Thanks, Nintendo. Got forbid you actually try to outcompete.
These primarily cover throwing an object in a specific direction to either summon a battle character or to capture a creature in the field - mechanics Palworld shared with Pokémon at launch.
sounds like a mechanic found in a number of video games.
Like what? I can't think of one off the top of my head.
in minecraft you throw eggs to hatch chickens
ghostbusters, throwing trap to catch ghosts
Bulma keeps machinery in tiny capsules
They should go after Rockstar for the mechanic of throwing a rope at an animal to catch it, if this is the criteria. Ridiculous.
The VG made by pocketpair before the patent was issued for one.
Summoning a dedra in skyrim?
You don't throw an object for that, you cast a spell, and I don't remember being able to target it, but then I never really used those spells.
Does Ghostbusters count?
Helldivers has this, I believe. if a teammate dies then you have to throw an object to summon down a drop pod at a specific location
That's because it is, Pokemon didn't come up with it, they just made it popular.
That's the weird thing. It doesn't seem to matter. The patent was filed after PalWorld was released. I'm guessing this is some quirk of Japan's patent system I'm unfamiliar with.
What a sad sad outcome. Patenting game mechanics should not be legal.
It isn't in the US but is in Japan where the companies are based.
Erm, acktchually! I think Nintendo is pretty cringe here, not based!
(Sorry, I couldn't resist)
It's still somewhat protected in the US. The big one in table top gaming was tap mechanics from Magic. That expired in 2014 though. In video games the Nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor/war is also patented.
Loading screen mini games are also patented. That’s why loading screens never have mini games. Less of an issue now that game devs have begun avoiding loading screens, but they were extremely common in older generations and they never had mini games to pass the time.
That patent exired almost a decade ago: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/12/loading-screen-game-patent-finally-expires
It’s a shame the Wii U didn’t bankrupt Nintendo.
I do wonder if the steam deck exists in this alternate timeline you propose
No, but we do have a proper Nvidia Shield Portable 2.
Make it so you launch the ball thing from a sling shot, that's not throwing the object and it fits the universe
make it so you shoot them out with a gun
You already do that eventually anyway.
I am not usually in favour of big companies bullying smaller companies with the law, but it's pretty egregious how much they were ripping off Pokémon.
Edited to add, apparently this was a really hot take. I am not saying that the gameplay between the games was similar, but I saw a comparison of several of the designs of the creatures for the first time when this whole kinda started kicking off a bit ago and it was the first time I realized how blatant the designs were lifted right from popular Pokémon. Combined specifically with the pokeball-alikes and like... I don't know how people can defend it. There's homage and then there's IP theft.
The game itself isn't ripping off anything. Pokémon is such a direct "rip off" of digimon, too, then. Except it doesn't matter, cause that's what stuff is. Stuff is made up of other stuff and oftentimes there will be similarities!
I mean, for one I was talking about the designs of the creatures and the specific ball mechanic/theme, but also Pokémon came out before Digimon anyway.
Pokemon is a rip off of Dragon Quest and Shin Megami Tensei.
You mean like Pokémon “ripping off” Dragon Quest?
You can’t patent an art style.
For one, I didn't say you could patent an art style. But distinguishable character can be IP. You're like the fifth person to mention Dragon Quest and I've never heard of that comparison before, do you have any examples?
There are a bunch of images out there making the comparison, but here’s a good video of just a direct side to side of each design. https://youtu.be/CZXKKbSCA34
I'd be more willing to agree if Nintendo was going after them for similar art styles. They went after them for fucking throwing balls of all things. This is going to set a horrible precedent for the game industry.
So either Nintendo didn't believe the monster designs were rip offs, or they didn't feel it was a proper violation because they've shown themselves as willing to litigate.
I disagree with your premise but even if I agreed that any IP theft has occurred, why do you care? surely you're aware that nintendo aggressively invests in IP lawyers and lawsuits?
This game is still in early access so I hope this is only temporary and they will retool this to not be similar to Pokemon. There's no way this will be final right...?? No summon animation at all??!
If Palworld devs were as petty as I am they'd probably make a Pal that looks like an obese and hostile Pikachu with a Mario hat.
Bonus points if the logo in the hat resembles a pokeball from a distance.
This sounds awesome; requesting permission to use it if Palworld doesn't? It's for a book.
requesting permission to use it if Palworld doesn’t? It’s for a book.
You're welcome to use this idea for whatever reason you want, mate.
Yay! Thanks.
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