Nintendo’s Lawsuit Against Palworld: A Symptom of a Bigger Problem

[Crimson]

When I heard about Palworld facing a lawsuit from Nintendo, I was frustrated. I love Palworld and think the game has implemented ideas that Pokémon should have explored a long time ago.

What really bothers me, though, isn’t just this particular cast it’s the concept of patenting game mechanics. This practice should never have been allowed for developers or publishers.

One of the most notable examples of this issue came with Shadow of War and its Nemesis system, which was an innovative and brilliant mechanic deserving of praise. However, once it was patented, no other developer dared to create something similar for fear of legal repercussions.

This kind of restriction stifles creativity and innovation in gaming. If more companies follow suit and start patenting game mechanics, the industry will suffer. Developers will constantly risk stepping on legal landmines, making it harder to create new experiences.

In the long run, this practice will harm the gaming industry. Growth and progress depend on iteration and inspiration, and patents on mechanics threaten to snuff that out.

While I respect Nintendo’s contributions to gaming history, this approach is deeply disappointing. I hope the industry can move toward more openness and collaboration, which benefits both developers and players alike.

[Corona Scurrae]

That's the free market in a nutshell. Stifle competition whenever you can. This is why we don't see new players in the market. They either get bought by the big players or they get bodied through anti-competitive behavior.

[funewchie]

It does need to be clarified, only Sony MUSIC has formed a joint venture with PocketPair (along with Aniplex).
Not Sony Interactive Entertainment or Sony itself.

Not to say Sony wouldn't try to protect the investments of it's subsidiaries, but it did need to be clarified.

Цитата допису Crimson:

While patents can protect innovation, they often serve as tools for larger corporations to consolidate power. Smaller developers those who arguably bring some of the most original ideas to the table can find themselves priced out of legal disputes, even when their implementations are distinct. This creates a risk-averse environment where creativity is stifled, not because the ideas are bad or derivative, but because the financial or legal consequences of pushing boundaries become too high.

Finally, while licensing is an option, it’s rarely a fair process for indie developers. Larger companies often set licensing fees that are prohibitive or simply deny access altogether to control the market.

Exactly.
Look at Thomas Edison.
That scum barely invented anything in his life, but stole credit for other's inventions through the patent office.

Meanwhile, Nikola Tesla, one of the most brilliant minds in history, died broke and bankrupt, from all his inventions being stolen, especially by Edison.
(Who infamously swindled Tesla out of $50,000 in 1890's money (about $1.4 million today)).

That's why the movie industry moved out of New York City to Hollywood back in the day, to get away from the likes of Edison and patent office shenanigans.

And yes, Nintendo would absolutely deny permission for anything. They want to vacuum up every penny not nailed down (then have the courts force the owner to pull out the nail so they can get that penny, too)
Fair warning, by the way, Amok is firmly on Nintendo's side, and spreading quite a lot of misinformation. You're not going to have a very good faith argument with him. Just saying.

[amok]

Цитата допису funewchie:

[...]
Meanwhile, Nikola Tesla, one of the most brilliant minds in history, died broke and bankrupt, from all his inventions being stolen, especially by Edison.
(Who infamously swindled Tesla out of $50,000 in 1890's money (about $1.4 million today)).
[...]

I must disagree with you there. Tesla was a very good engineer, but far from one of the most brilliant minds. Many of his ideas, such as the Tesla turbine and Wardenclyffe Tower, did not achieve practical success or were never fully realized. Some of his more ambitious inventions, like his so-called 'death ray' (Teleforce), wireless power transmission, and an 'earthquake machine', were never proven to work. He also proposed concepts such as artificial tidal waves, anti-gravity propulsion, a thought camera, and a 'free energy' device, none of which ever had a working prototype or any scientific basis.

Tesla rejected the concept of electrons as discrete particles carrying charge (beliving the atom being immutable and therefore cannot be split into smaler particles), arguing instead that electricity functioned differently than was widely accepted and we know today.

He also rejected Einstein’s theory of relativity, believing that space had no intrinsic properties and therefore could not be curved. Tesla claimed to have developed a 'dynamic theory of gravity' that did not depend on special or general relativity, but he never published his findings. After his death, extensive searches of his writings found no evidence of such a theory ever existing.

While he did have some important inventions, he was fundamentally wrong on many things. He was also a poor businessman, and many who invested in him lost money, partly due to his inability to produce commercially viable solutions.

By the way, in relation to this discussion, Tesla attempted to patent nearly everything he invented, including concepts that ultimately proved unworkable. You can look up those patents as they are public information. He even tried to sue Marconi for patent infringement.

(As a footnote - there’s a reason why so many flat Earthers hold Tesla in such high regard.)

[amok]

Цитата допису funewchie:

[...]
Fair warning, by the way, Amok is firmly on Nintendo's side, and spreading quite a lot of misinformation. You're not going to have a very good faith argument with him. Just saying.

I’m definitely not on Nintendo’s side :), and I believe that if this case goes to court, Nintendo will have a hard time proving their claims.

I have not posted anything that qualifies as ‘misinformation.’ On the contrary, I’ve been correcting the misinformation spread by others. Disagreeing with or not liking what I say does not make it false. As the saying goes, ‘facts don’t care about your feelings.’

[Amatsu]

Цитата допису krishnath.dragon:

Nintendo's patents should never have been allowed in the first place due to prior art, also some of their patents are so hilariously generic that they cover everything from image editing software to scanners, digital cameras, and smart phones.

Also, when Nintendo made the lawsuit they made two crucial mistakes. #1: Pocket Pair had Nintendo's lawyers look over the game and its mechanics two weeks prior to release and was given the go ahead, and Pocket Pair has the receipts to prove it in court, and #2: Nintendo didn't know that Sony was the money behind Pocket Pair, and Sony absolutely hates Nintendo, and have a lot more money to throw at the trial than Nintendo does.

Nintendo is going to get absolutely blasted if it ever goes to full trial.

No, Pocket Pair did not have Nintendo's lawyers look at anything. Pocket Pair has never said this at any point whatsoever. Pocket Pair had their own lawyers assess things and deemed nothing violated copyright at least. Sony also isn't the money behind Pocket Pair...the joint venture between Sony and Pocket Pair came about way after release, after Palworld became an overnight success.