Twitch star Asmongold is warning that if Nintendo and the Pokemon Company win their infringement lawsuit against Palworld, there would be serious consequences in store for the entire games industry.
Back in September, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company hit Palworld developer Pocketpair with an infringement lawsuit, demanding 10 million yen (about $66,000).
One of the patents believed to have been infringed involves throwing an item to catch a monster, which, of course, has been a Pokemon staple ever since its inception.
However, top Twitch streamer Asmongold has voiced some major concerns about this case and is worried that its ramifications could hurt gamers and developers looking to design their own titles.
Asmongold explains why Nintendo needs to lose Palworld lawsuit
During a Twitch broadcast, Asmongold watched a video from Bellular News about the Palworld situation, and after finishing it, remarked that he “really, really, really hopes [Nintendo] loses.”
“I think it sets a terrible precedent for gaming,” he added. “What that does, is it creates a world where people who are trying to make new video games are limited by so many existing claimed land that they can’t build their own place.”
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According to Asmongold, companies being able to patent simple game features would be bad for players, because instead of making games, companies could just license mechanics.
“That’s obviously much easier to do. All companies are going to try to make things as easy as possible for themselves,” he remarked.
He also took issue with how Warner Bros owns Lord of the Rings: Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis system, a feature that allowed for more depth between the player and NPCs. Asmongold insisted that such a concept shouldn’t be owned to begin with.
Despite the lawsuit, Palworld hasn’t backed down from Nintendo, instead calling the situation “truly unfortunate” while still taking “appropriate” legal action.