The Nintendo president finally responded to the Palworld situation
While Palworld may have been a great success during its early access period, the game doesn’t find itself in the right place when it comes to the controversy surrounding it. Highly criticized for being a pirated version of Nintendo’s Pokemon, the game still faces several issues.
Released on January 19, 2024, Palworld recorded itself as the first hit of the year. It broke several records and even crushed the charts. However, its joy was short-lived. Soon the long-coming terror for the developer’s pocketbook began to arrive.
Nintendo president breaks silence on Palworld
Although the game’s similarity to Nintendo’s Pokemon has been a topic of discussion since day one, Nintendo chose to remain silent on the matter. However, after the game was released and enjoyed its first days of success, Nintendo finally intervened by issuing a public statement.
Notably, they didn’t mention ‘Palworld’ directly, saying they were investigating “Another company game released in January 2024” After receiving the inquiry. They said that they are looking into the matter without taking any immediate action. However, no word from the devs on that post.
“We will take appropriate action against those who violate our intellectual property rights” – Nintendo’s president, Shuntaro Furukawa, when asked about Palworld. pic.twitter.com/DyLdDUubQ7
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) February 8, 2024
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has finally shared his thoughts on the ongoing Palworld controversy. This is the first time the top management has spoken about the issue which has escalated to such an extent that Palworld developers have received death threats from fanatical fans.
During a recent question-and-answer session following the company’s latest earnings call, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa was asked about the Palworld controversy. Just like the previous statement, Shuntaro addressed the issue without naming the game.
The President said, “We will take appropriate action against those who infringe our intellectual property rights.” Although Nintendo has not taken any immediate action against Palworld, it has slowly laid low and tackled things around it. For example, they took down a Pokemon mod that was made for Palworld by sending a DMCA notice.
The Palworld issue could be complicated for Nintendo
Palworld, also known as ‘Pokemon with Guns’, has been criticized for the heavy inspiration the game takes from Pokemon. It has Pokemon-like creatures and a similar creature-catching process. Besides, the environment is similar to Nintendo’s IP.
However, it differs in that it is a first-person shooter survival game. In Palworld Palads fight with guns and weapons, something that Pokemon didn’t have. Thus it is safe to say that Palworld is similar but different from Pokemon.
As a result, the issue is somewhat complicated for Nintendo as well. Especially considering that the premise or genre of Palworld is actually quite different from that of Pokemon, it seems that the ball is not entirely in Nintendo’s court.
Interestingly, former Pokémon Company Chief Legal Officer Don McGowan called Palworld “ripoff nonsense”. Don noted that they have witnessed several such violations in the past. However, experts believe that this time may not be as easy for Nintendo, as the difference in grounds may give them a tougher time proving copyright infringement.
