Nintendo is famous for fiercely protecting its intellectual properties and putting an end to fan and third-party projects. Therefore, many people wonder if it will take legal action against Palworld, the game that dominated popularity charts in recent days.
For those who missed it, on January 19, Palworld debuted, a title fans are calling "Pokémon with weapons" due to its concept reminiscent of Nintendo's franchise and The Pokémon Company. However, it shares more similarities with survival games like Minecraft and Ark.
Immediately, this game became a success and sold 5 million units in just 3 days. Moreover, it is one of the most successful launches in Steam's history. However, it was unable to avoid controversy.
Accusations of Palworld Plagiarism
Players rushed to claim that Pocketpair's project is plagiarism and uses 3D models of Pokémon creatures. According to 2 experienced artists who contacted VGC, comparisons seem to indicate that the developers used or based their assets on Game Freak's games.
In recent days, videos comparing the 3D models of both games have circulated, and indeed, the results are attention-grabbing. According to specialized artists, making proportions and silhouettes match is very difficult, almost impossible.
"When does 'very inspired' become a blatant copy? It's much easier to take a successful style and modify it slightly than to create a new and coherent style, right? I wouldn't feel comfortable passing this off as my work; it's just too close in many places," said one artist.
TFW you and your cousin have exactly the same proportions. #Palworld #Pokemon (Luxray model from SV) pic.twitter.com/1nyq7t1k0a
— byo (@byofrog) January 21, 2024
This "pal" from #Palword seems like it was probably a rip of serperior and primarina from #Pokemon pic.twitter.com/g8L8vBjbDG
— byo (@byofrog) January 21, 2024
Maybe they're brothers? #Palworld #Pokemon #Lycanroc model from SV. pic.twitter.com/KnGSozfJGQ
— byo (@byofrog) January 21, 2024
Now, could Nintendo or The Pokémon Company take legal action against Pocketpair? According to David Hansel, intellectual property and digital media lawyer at Hansel Henson, the companies would have to prove that the 3D elements are identical to have "irrefutable evidence."
"It depends on Nintendo to prove that it is a copy and not just an influence. It has to be an obvious copy: you look at one image and look at the other side by side. The industry would have come to an end years ago if it hadn't been allowed to exercise influence. You can't have a monopoly on a particular style of artwork. Literally, it has to be a copy," said the lawyer.
Thus, David Hansel ensures that the circulating videos comparing the characters of both games could be "gold dust" for The Pokémon Company's lawyers. Lawyer Richard Hoeg also claims that there should be evidence of asset theft for a successful case.
"Just 'inspiring' from existing designs, even if it goes to the extent of using certain design rules (proportions, colors, curves, eye size, etc.), generally [is not a successful case]," said Richard Hoeg.
Could Palworld be sued?
Despite the similarities with Pokémon, the development studio is not worried about the possibility of a lawsuit from Nintendo.
In statements to Automation, Takuro Mizobe, CEO of Pocketpair and lead developer of Palworld, stated that the open-world video game passed all legal reviews and no company took action against it, at least for now.
"We take our games very seriously and have no intention of infringing on the intellectual property of other companies," said Takuro Mizobe.
Amid plagiarism accusations, the executive confirmed that the project's team is receiving threats.
But tell us, do you think Nintendo and The Pokémon Company could win a lawsuit? Let us hear from you in the comments.
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