25 January 2024 , 11:54
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Following significant online discourse since Palworld released this past week, The Pokemon Company has finally put out a statement on the popular 'Pokemon with guns' game.
Palworld hasn't exactly been discreet about which games inspired it. It's 'Pokemon with guns' meme status has managed to work out well for developer Pocketpair, who has confirmed on Twitter that Palworld managed to sell 8million copies in under six days – that's on top of being available for free for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Of course, its similarities to Pokemon have inspired seemingly endless discourse, with accusations of plagiarism being thrown about. Including one image comparing the models of Palworld and Pokemon, however, the user behind this later admitted to scaling the models – which doesn't discredit that some models are undoubtedly similar, but they're not quite 1:1 as the original image would have you think.
Outside of a copyright strike on a video showing the game with Pokemon characters modded in (via @ToastedShoes on Twitter ), neither Nintendo nor The Pokemon Company had commented on the game from reveal to release. However, earlier today, The Pokemon Company released a statement on its website titled "Inquiries Regarding Other Companies’ Games".
The short statement reads "We have received many inquiries regarding another company’s game released in January 2024. We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game". The Pokemon Company then confirmed that it is looking into the character model situation "We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon".
Gotta pal 'em all
Honestly, I think people are reading into this statement a bit too much. To me, this reads like "please stop emailing us about Palworld, we know about Palworld". I imagine the developers at Pocketpair were careful enough to not directly rip things off from Pokemon, or use assets from the game, given how well-known it is that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are highly protective of it's Intellectual Property.
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Yes, there's no denying that Palworld took some cues from Pokemon company, even more than other monster-battling games like Shin Megami Tensei 5, Monster Hunter Stories 2, and Dragon Quest Monsters – games that put more effort into designing original-looking monsters of their own.
But, in my opinion, I don't think The Pokemon Company will be intimidated by Palworld's success in the slightest. Pokemon is the highest-grossing media franchise ever made, while Palworld feels like a flavour of the month. Despite its popularity, it doesn't seem to be the best game around. However, if its popularity spurs The Pokemon Company to make sure the next set of Pokemon games are actually polished at launch, unlike Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, then maybe it's a win-win for everyone.