Nintendo’slawsuit againstPalworlddeveloper Pocketpair is somehow still ongoing, despite feeling as if it has been in the zeitgeist for a very long time. Litigation often takes several years and an obscene amount of money to see through, especially within this context, so it’s no wonder it continues to trend in the news. However, as seemingly novel as it all may be, it is absolutely only the start of what will become an extremely worrying trend.
That is because theextremely divisivePalworldlawsuithas more or less opened the floodgates for additional litigation from other developers. We’re already beginning to see the ramifications of this questionable crusade against Pocketpair, as another high-profile developer and publisher has sued a similarly high-profile publisher over its upcoming game. While it’s not like there have been no copyright infringement claims prior to this,thePalworldlawsuit is the start of an entire new era of litigation.
Sony’s Tencent Lawsuit Is Another High-Profile Case
It Wants To Destroy Light Of Motiram
ThePalworldlitigation may not be the first example of a copyright infringement case in the world of video games, but it certainly feels like one of the most controversial. Well, that is, unless you consider Sony’s determination todestroy Tencent’s upcoming open-world game,Light of Motiram, controversial as well. While Tencent is a much bigger studio than Pocketpair, this high-profile case, as first reported byReuters,once again brings into question the rights one studio has over visual and mechanical design in a video game.
When it was first announced,Light of Motiramlooked promising, although the similarities, both visually and mechanically, to Sony’sHorizonseries were abundantly clear. Both featured a red-haired protagonist with a penchant for bows and spears, as well as a world overrun by dinosaur-esque robots.It isn’t hard to see why Sony claimed thatLight of Motiramis a “slavish clone” of itsHorizongames, and is seeking $150,000 and all of the game’s materials so it can destroy them.
Of course, there are key differences between Sony’s litigation and Nintendo’s. The case against Tencent is more about IP and how it has, at least in Sony’s eyes, stolen core aspects of theHorizonIP and used them inLight of Motiram. Nintendo’s case, on the other hand, is about specific design language and mechanics. Nevertheless,both open a wealth of possibilities for other large-scale developers and publishers to sue based on similar grounds, regardless of whether they win these cases specifically.
Even If Nintendo Loses, Lawsuits Probably Won’t Stop
More Games Could Be Under Scrutiny
Video game copyright infringement cases have been happening for an extremely long time. Nintendo has made a habit of taking down fan content, including in itslargest DMCA takedown ever, a few years ago. During the early phases of battle royales, the publisher ofPUBG,Bluehole Studio, sued Epic Gamesover the similarities between it andFortnite. However,the lawsuit againstPalworldis one of the first examples of a much larger studio suing a smaller, AA team.
Nintendo losing thePalworldlawsuitwon’t stop it or other publishers from suing smaller developers with fewer resources than Pocketpair for similar reasons. As aforementioned, Nintendo has frequently threatened to sue smaller creators and fan projects that it believes infringe on its copyrights. Therefore,nothing is stopping it from taking down future projects that utilize a similar design language, asPalworlddid. The same goes for Sony, Microsoft, or any large publisher whose IP or patented mechanics are infringed upon.
Of course, these publishers are within their rights to if their case is legitimate. With the rising popularity of indie games, the greater democratization of game development, and, more crucially, the short history of video games,there’s a good chance that there will be even more indies and AA projects that copy ideas from bigger publishers, whether maliciously or not. Those who grew up playing Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft games are now developing their own.
It is all leading to a cycle of repeated ideas, as was the case with the movie industry, the comic industry before that, and, of course, novels before that. Games likePalworldthat pull from a range of popular inspirations were bound to come around eventually. Indeed, even within thePokémonframework, there have been numerous copycats for years.Tem Tem,Nexomon, andCoromonare just a few examples of games that ape thePokémonformula. More will follow, as will more litigation, and that’s a huge problem.
More Originality & Less Litigation Would Both Be Nice
It Would Cause A Lot Less Drama
The problem lies more with smaller creators being forced out of pocket, to change fundamental aspects of their games, or being shut down altogether due to legal costs, or having projects they’ve invested heavily in be shut down by bigger publishers. For example, Pocketpair was forced tochange a keyPalworldmechanicas a result of the case against it, and,should Tencent lose, production ofLight of Motriamwill cease completely.
No one wants to see a small or even large developer or publisher be sued by another, just as much as we don’t really want to see unoriginal ideas being copied ad nauseam. Instead - although, admittedly, it is easier said than done -developers of all sizes should focus on original ideas and thus avoid any potential copyright infringement cases. Of course, that doesn’t mean games shouldn’t be inspired, nor that one publisher should own a monopoly on a sub-genre or style of gameplay.
If that were the case, we’d have never gotten the soulslike genre, nor would we have gotten the numerousPokémon-inspired games that are drastically better than the original. WithoutBreath of the Wild, we wouldn’t haveGenshin Impact, and withoutGenshin Impact, we wouldn’t have the gacha fever dream we all live in today - although that would perhaps be for the best. It is good to be inspired, but perhaps not so much thatNintendosues you, and you potentially lose your game altogether.
