• @ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca
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    4 months ago

    The “update” is from a month ago. Pocketpair shared the patents they are accused of infringing and the payments Nintendo wants.

    The patents are for “throwing an object in 3D space to capture a target” (throwing a pokeball) and “moving characters to a virtual field when an event is triggered” (entering a battle) the payment requested is 10 million yen or 64,000 USD. A paltry sum for a billion dollar company suing over a game that made tens of millions.

    The patents were awarded to Nintendo after Palword had already released a trailer for their game showing gameplay. Pocketpair also released an earlier game called Craftopia which is Palworld but the pals are just straight up animals. It has the same systems Palworld does but didn’t sell very well.

    A newer update is that Palworld has since released a patch that modified how their capture and summon system works, likely in an attempt to make Nintendo happy.

    Palworld Update v0.3.11 Notes:

    Player: Changed the behaviour of summoning player-owned Pals so that they are always summoned near the player

    UI: The reticle will now only be displayed when aiming

    Edit: there are actually 3 patents. The third one is for the player character being able to ride on another character.

    • @Prunebutt@slrpnk.net
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      334 months ago

      “moving characters to a virtual field when an event is triggered” (entering a battle)

      How is that a legit patent, when there are so many obvious instances of prior art?

      • @ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca
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        124 months ago

        It’s a Japanese patent. I’m not sure how it would hold up internationally, but Pocketpair is also a Japanese company and this lawsuit is entirely within the Japanese legal system. That probably gives Nintendo a bit of an advantage since they’re such a large and iconic Japanese corporation.

        • @Prunebutt@slrpnk.net
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          164 months ago

          Copyright is already cooked, no matter where it’s located. But the way japan acts as if Pokemon invented JRPG battles is simply ridiculous.

          • @otp@sh.itjust.works
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            14 months ago

            the way japan acts as if Pokemon invented JRPG battles is simply ridiculous.

            Am I missing some bit of context? Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy still exist (and came first).

            • @Prunebutt@slrpnk.net
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              44 months ago

              That’s what I meant with “prior art”. Nintendo’s second patent basically explains how any old JRPG worked.

    • @narc0tic_bird@lemm.ee
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      244 months ago

      So…Red Dead Redemption infringes two of these three patents?

      • Throwing an object (lasso) to capture a target
      • Player character being able to ride on another character (horse)

      Is Nintendo afraid because Rockstar can actually afford the lawsuit?