Unless you’re living under an incredibly remote rock, you’ve probably heard of Nintendo suing Palworld for infringement on patent rights. And while most would simply roll their eyes and might even drop a comment about corporate greed or whatever, I have a different and potentially controversial opinion.
The Palworld lawsuit might actually be a good thing for the entire gaming industry. If you’ve pulled a face or perhaps even think I don’t have all my screws intact, I fully understand, but give me five minutes and I may just change your mind.
A lack of innovation in gaming
To start off my argument, I’d like to take you back in time to when a 12-year-old me got his first PlayStation as a birthday present. The shop I chose to make this purchase from had a poster of Final Fantasy VII on the wall, and the image of Cloud standing against the backdrop of Midgar made my little jaw drop.
I was allowed to pick just one game, and FFVII it was. I got home, immediately plugged it all in, and got playing. The next morning at 6 am, my dad poked his head into the room and asked me if I’d even slept. Naturally, I lied and said that I had just gotten up early.
That’s right, my very first game session on a PlayStation lasted for about fourteen hours. I was amazed at the life the characters had, I was enthralled by the story, and the music — don’t even get me started on the music.
The story that unfolded was like nothing I’d ever seen before. It was like someone had taken one of my full-length fantasy novels I loved reading as a child, and transformed it into the grand, sweeping tale that is Final Fantasy VII. To this day, my favorite game of all time (and I’m very well aware that this is in part due to nostalgia and circumstance).
Finishing the game left a hole in my life, and I’m not even exaggerating. This started a constant cycle of RPG games, trying to find that same magic I felt with Final Fantasy VII, and that’s when I began to realize something.
So many of these game developers were blatantly copying each other’s game mechanics.
Not that it’s a bad thing, but it started to feel like I was simply playing the same game with a different skin. Over, and over, and over again. I began to tire of it, and before long, I had a library filled with half-finished games because I just couldn’t stand the same old gameplay in every new title.
No one was innovating, and it does make sense. Game developers have salaries, rent, and coffee bills (I guess) to pay. Nothing comes for free.
So why mess with a formula that works, right?
But without the innovation that came before, we would have no FFVII in the first place. So, at some point, someone did take a risk and tried to reimagine gaming, and it paid off.
Fast forward to modern times, and it seems like every second game is a copy of Dark Souls in some way or form. But it’s not limited to one genre. I love Stardew Valley, it’s an amazing game. Is it innovative? Yeah, but without Harvest Moon we’d never have seen its birth.
Fields of Mistria is a game I was hyped for. Another chance to do some cozy farming, casual exploring, and just wind down with a relaxing game. I think I have a total of around 90 minutes in FoM, and I haven’t touched it since.
It’s been done before, and I’m all played out on Stardew Valley clones. I could go on, but I guess it’s time to make a point here. And the point is this: if there’s no innovation in gaming, there’s no moving forward, and we end up playing different skins of the same experience and trust me when I say this, no one wants that.
The only thing that leads to is the inevitable collapse of the gaming industry.
So how does all of this relate back to Palworld? Wasn’t it an innovative title?
Is Palworld actually an innovative title?
Now we’re moving closer to the meat of this thought piece, and let me start by saying that Palworld isn’t all that innovative. The animations and art style come straight out of Fortnite, the concept of capturing creatures and making them battle has been done to death, and there are more survival games out there (with far better mechanics I might add) than you can shake a Pal Sphere or Pokeball at (either or, it’s the same thing, isn’t it?).
It is the first time that a combination of all these genres is pulled off successfully, however, and that makes Palworld slightly innovative, at the very least.
We’ve never seen this exact type of game before, so Palworld ticks a lot of boxes for me, despite my negative demeanor before. I actually really enjoy the game. But this brings us to the real meat of the article — whether you think the lawsuit is petty, a cash grab, or whatever else, why is it actually a good thing for gaming?
Why the Palworld lawsuit is a good thing
The savvy amongst you will already have figured it out, right? Stopping others from copying your mechanics forces them to innovate. Palworld’s Sphere-throwing mechanic has already been swapped out by that weird little device on the character’s hip, and I actually prefer it.
Throwing balls and having monsters pop out is boring. It’s just one of those things we accept because we’ve all been exposed to Pokemon at some point. It’s just there…
The little hip device, however, is enough of a chance to make me pause and think… “hmm, interesting.”
Is it more practical? Hell no, I miss throwing spheres out next to dangerous enemies as much as the next guy, but it is a minor innovation and a breath of fresh air. And with that out of the way, here’s the real big reason the lawsuit is good…
It’ll dissuade others from creating countless Palworld clones.
Are they on the way? You bet. Right now, I’d bet there are at least a hundred different Palworld clones already being developed. It’s the same every time a game reaches a certain modicum of success, isn’t it? But having witnessed Pocket Pair get slapped with a lawsuit will make developers either think twice or — my hope — actually innovate.
I can’t speak for all gamers, but I’ve had enough of all the mindless clones that get shoved out every time a new title achieves success. And maybe, just maybe, if more game studios are willing to go the legal route, we’ll see more innovation and an overall higher-quality of game come to the market.
I mean, take one look at mobile games. Is that what you want (PC, Xbox, PS, etc.) gaming to become? I’m willing to bet that’s a big no. You can still find about a thousand Flappy Bird clones on mobile game stores, and if you’ve never heard of that game, boy, did you miss out.
To end off, don’t get me wrong — I do think the lawsuit is a little petty. But at the end of the day, if something drives innovation instead of copying in the gaming industry, I’m for it. Maybe there’s a better way to do this than an endless stream of lawsuits, but until we find a suitable replacement, let’s hope that game developers continue to innovate.
Even if it only stems from a fear of getting sued.
Published: Jan 1, 2025 08:26 am