An upcoming official Pokemon Scarlet and Violet tournament will utilize new AI technology, according to The Pokemon Company. While the AI shouldn't have any direct impact on the competitors themselves, the move may still come as a surprise.
25.01.2024 - 17:07 / videogameschronicle.com / Andy Robinson / Ken Sugimori / Nintendo
The Pokémon Company has broken its silence regarding Steam mega-hit Palworld, and said it’s investigating if it infringes on its IP rights.
Since launching into early access on PC and Xbox on Friday, Palworld has become a huge breakout success, with over 8 million sales in five days.
However, the survival game’s success ignited discourse around perceived similarities between its character designs and those of the Pokémon games, with many accusing it of plagiarism.
On Thursday, The Pokemon company released a statement confirming it was investigating if the game infringed on its IP rights.
“We have received many inquiries regarding another company’s game released in January 2024,” it said.
“We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game. We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon.
“We will continue to cherish and nurture each and every Pokémon and its world, and work to bring the world together through Pokémon in the future.”
Although the actual gameplay of Palworld is vastly different from Nintendo’s series, debate has raged on social media around the obvious influence its character designs have taken from Pokémon, and whether it could be interpreted as plagiarism.
The accusations took another turn on Sunday, when an anonymous X account posted comparisons of some of the game’s 3D models and those of Pokémon, claiming their proportions were nearly identical.
According to two experienced AAA game artists who spoke to VGC, the model comparisons on X were likely evidence that Palworld’s character models were indeed based on Pokémon assets.
“You cannot, in any way, accidentally get the same proportions on multiple models from another game without ripping the models. Or at the very least, tracing them meticulously first,” one senior character artist told VGC anonymously, adding: “I would stand in court to testify as an expert on this.”
David Hansel, an intellectual property and digital media lawyer at Hansel Henson, told VGC that if it could be proven that assets were taken from Pokémon games, then it would represent “a smoking gun” for any legal case brought forward by The Pokémon Company.
Earlier this week, Palworld’s director (and CEO of developer Pocketpair) Takuro Mizobe responded to the accusations against the game.
Speaking to Japanese site Automation, he claimed that Palworld had cleared legal reviews, and that there has been no action taken against it by other companies.
“We make our games very seriously, and we have absolutely no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies,” he said.
An upcoming official Pokemon Scarlet and Violet tournament will utilize new AI technology, according to The Pokemon Company. While the AI shouldn't have any direct impact on the competitors themselves, the move may still come as a surprise.
One of the things that The Pokemon Company should be praised for with how it’s handled its franchise is that they’re never afraid to try new things to get attention for its property. One of the best examples of this happens to be with its animated series and shorts. They’ve hired multiple companies, including legendary anime studios, to create special visions of their world so fans could feel “even closer” to it. Today, the company decided to do that once again, as they made “Pokemon Ceruledge: Rumble in the Ruins,” a short video that features the fan-favorite Pokemon going up against a Dragapult!
The success of Palworld has naturally led to comparisons between the game and Pokémon, with the internet now debating whether any legal ramifications could happen due to their similarities.
The Pokémon Company has issued a statement about “another company’s game released in January 2024”, a thinly veiled reference to the breakout hit Palworld, AKA “Pokémon with guns”. Is a copyright infringement suit coming at Palworld developer Pocket Pair? Well, maybe?
When it comes to The Pokemon Company, they are the mastermind behind the biggest media property in the world. That might sound like we’re overselling the importance of Pokemon, but if you look at the sales? They’re the ones who clean up the most. Anyway, for over 25 years, they’ve been making all sorts of titles attached to their pocket monsters. From the mainline RPGs that started the craze to the NUMEROUS spinoffs that helped build up the brand even more, they’ve been cranking things out almost every year or so. But when it came to the ninth generation of their beloved series, they hit their first true speed bump.
The Pokémon Company finally put out a statement addressing the similarities between the designs of some creatures from its namesake franchise and Pocketpair’s viral monster-collecting survival crafting game Palworld. The company says it is investigating the matter.
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A week after the release of Palworld in early access, The Pokemon Company issued an official statement. There has been a lot of controversy regarding the similarities between Pokemon and Pocketpair’s survival game, as Palworld features various creatures that look just like The Pokemon Company's pocket monsters.
The Snorlax has awoken. The Pokémon Company broke its silence on Palworld, the smash hit Pokémon-inspired survival game, on Thursday, saying it intended to investigate the game and “take appropriate measures” if it judges that its intellectual property rights have been infringed.
After The Pokemon Company revealed it would "investigate" games like Palworld for copyright infringement, the survival game's fans are confident it won't amount to much.
The Pokemon franchise has never really been known for coming anywhere close to pushing the envelope with its technical accomplishments, but recent years in particular have seen a number of the series’ mainline instalments being let down by the poor technical state they have launched in, from Pokmon Sword and Shield to Pokemon Legends: Arceus to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. The latter in particular launched in such poor condition that Nintendo was forced to issue a public apology.
The Pokemon Company has finally made a public statement about Palworld, but without referring to it by name.