Amid the Palworld dispute, one analyst says Nintendo only strikes when it wants to because it "could have sued half the gaming industry back in 2017"

GamesSurvivalPalworldAmid the Palworld dispute, one analyst says Nintendo only strikes when it wants to because it “could have sued half the gaming industry back in 2017"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. GamesSurvivalPalworldAmid the Palworld dispute, one analyst says Nintendo only strikes when it wants to because it “could have sued half the gaming industry back in 2017"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Pocketpair) One analyst reckons that Nintendo’s laundry list of patents means it could have sued countless games over the years, but the company is only targeting Palworld over its similarities to Pokemon now because it’s inclined to do so. Speaking to Gamesradar+, analyst Serkan Toto explained how Nintendo sued Japanese mobile gaming powerhouse Colopl in 2017 over similar patent infringements, and eventually won ¥3 billion (around $21 million), plus licensing fees that are still being paid to this day. “It took them four years and in the end it was basically a settlement, but Nintendo won, and they sued them on the ground of six patents,” Toto says. Nintendo this week announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Palworldover the creature-collectathon’s patent infringement, not copyright infringement, meaning it might have"given up” on arguing that Pals looked too much like Pokemons. While the details of the suit aren’t yet public, the focus on patents probably indicates that certain Palworld game mechanics are - as the Big N’s legal team will argue - under Nintendo’s ownership, for better or for worse. We don’t know which patents the Palworld suit is going to revolve around, but it might not necessarily be something as obvious as the much-discussedmonster-catching Pokeball patent- it could be something as small as shadowy outlines on characters that are out of view. “They have thousands and thousands of patents on other things,” Toto continues. “And they can decide when they want to initiate a lawsuit, and when they don’t want to initiate a lawsuit.” Palworld has become a monster success and shifted tens of millions of sales in the months since its launch, so why did Nintendo choose this particular moment to declare legal action? Toto reckons that"Nintendo felt threatened"as Palworld has began expanding into multiplatform releases,anime, and merchandising of the Pals - areas whereThe Pokemon Companytraditionally makes its billions. Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more Another IP expert argued that Nintendo probably doesn’t own patents strong enough to “prevent Pocketpair from making Palworld,” and this “may boil down to nothing but bullying.” CATEGORIESNintendoXbox Series XPC GamingPS5PlatformsXboxPlayStation CATEGORIES More about survivalPalworld drops a massive update that further distances the survival game from Pokemon following the Nintendo lawsuit, and fans couldn’t be more proud: “Justice for Palworld"Core Keeper creators channel Terraria with a gorgeous multiplayer survival game “where every pixel is yours to shape, mine, build, or explode"LatestI didn’t know how badly I wanted to grill and gobble up monsters until this upcoming survival roguelike made it look so tastySee more latest► More about survivalPalworld drops a massive update that further distances the survival game from Pokemon following the Nintendo lawsuit, and fans couldn’t be 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review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” 5 Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”