This looks great, but the more I scrolled down, the more I wondered how likely it is for Nintendo to throw their lawyers at this game… The art style is dangerously similar to pokemon...
This looks great, but the more I scrolled down, the more I wondered how likely it is for Nintendo to throw their lawyers at this game… The art style is dangerously similar to pokemon blue/red/yellow, even the player character looks like Red/Blue. Then I saw the two versions…
Yeah, I get taking inspiration from something, specially games. But from what I see in the page, this project is basically a modernized Pokémon targeting the nostalgia of the old pokemon fanbase....
Yeah, I get taking inspiration from something, specially games. But from what I see in the page, this project is basically a modernized Pokémon targeting the nostalgia of the old pokemon fanbase. I’d totally be one of those people happy to try it, so I hope Nintendo lets this slide (hard to believe considering how aggressive they are with their cease and desists)
Yeah I think if I was a developer even considering a commercial project which is "inspired by" a Nintendo franchise the first thing I would do is hire a decent copyright lawyer and get them to go...
Yeah I think if I was a developer even considering a commercial project which is "inspired by" a Nintendo franchise the first thing I would do is hire a decent copyright lawyer and get them to go over my pitch with a fine toothed comb to make sure it's bullet proof.
Maybe this developer already did that. I noticed they've cunningly avoided the ball capture mechanic which got Pal World but I'm not smart enough to know what else Nintendo could get you on.
Yeah you're very right. But who knows, maybe those features can't or haven't been copyrighted? Honestly no idea, I am not a laywer and Nintendo lawyers are gonna go hard. If it was me I agree with...
Yeah you're very right. But who knows, maybe those features can't or haven't been copyrighted?
Honestly no idea, I am not a laywer and Nintendo lawyers are gonna go hard. If it was me I agree with you, I'd be safer than sorry!
iirc the Palworld issues are all based on patents (or applications for patents) rather than copyrights. I don't know much about patent law, but my understanding of copyright law is that a...
iirc the Palworld issues are all based on patents (or applications for patents) rather than copyrights. I don't know much about patent law, but my understanding of copyright law is that a copyright case against them would be extremely weak at best. That doesn't necessarily preclude them from suing, they're Nintendo and they have the money, but under US law I really don't think this even approaches actual copyright infringement.
Yeah, that's what I'm thinking, they're absolutely going to be demolished by Nintendo lawyers. Probably not a bad idea to get free publicity, gain good will, fold immediately and release a new...
Yeah, that's what I'm thinking, they're absolutely going to be demolished by Nintendo lawyers. Probably not a bad idea to get free publicity, gain good will, fold immediately and release a new sprite sheet that satisfy Nintendo. I wish them luck, I want to play a modern and good version of 2D sprite based mom game too.
Ooof yeah. I mean ever since Stardew Valley came out, I've hoped to see more indie-driven spiritual successors to old/tired franchises. And while I still enjoy Pokemon, I've never found anything...
Ooof yeah. I mean ever since Stardew Valley came out, I've hoped to see more indie-driven spiritual successors to old/tired franchises. And while I still enjoy Pokemon, I've never found anything quite like it either. I've played gameboy-era knockoffs, I've played Palworld, I've play rom hacks... none of them come nearly close enough. I want a Stardew Valley for Pokemon really badly.
Many of you seem concerned that Nintendo might go after them, but I don’t see why or how they even would. If you’re worried because Nintendo went after Palworld, then I want to remind you that...
Many of you seem concerned that Nintendo might go after them, but I don’t see why or how they even would.
If you’re worried because Nintendo went after Palworld, then I want to remind you that this was mainly for two reasons:
The 3D models were very obviously ripped off original Pokémon games and then minimally modified to appear different enough that they could get away with it. This is not what Nintendo hit them with, but it is one of the reasons why they went after them, and if you ask me, rightfully so (and I say this as someone who isn’t very fond of the concepts of “copyright” and “intellectual property”, and greatly dislikes how they are weaponized in court). The monster models being so similar (and the game having become so popular) there is a real danger that consumers might confuse the two brands.
The straw that broke the camel’s back, however, is that the game “is violent”. You literally shoot “realistic-looking guns” at the monsters to weaken and capture them. Nintendo can’t allow a game with characters that look so much like their own to taint Pokémon’s family-friendly image. That is a genuine concern that I honestly agree with, given how, again, the 3D models of the monsters are so similar.
However, we all know that this is not how Nintendo went after them. Instead, they have been trying to fight them in court by claiming that the developers of Palworld appropriated the patent for the capturing mechanic by throwing a “ball”, which Nintendo “owns” (and at the time that I heard about this, it was only speculated that this was one the patents that they claimed were being infringed upon).
At the moment, however, it seems that Nintendo will lose the battle, unless Pocketpair (the company behind Palworld) can’t afford to continue the legal battle (which I think they probably will). It’s what everyone is predicting. Funny enough, Nintendo filed 23 new patents in December last year, with the express intention of going after Pocketpair with them, out of which only one was approved. It would be very nice if Nintendo lost, because that would scare them off from doing such legal shenanigans again. They already got scared off by game rentals when they went after Blockbuster (1989), and they have been careful not to get too cocky with emulation since Sony lost in a case related to emulation in 2000.
The truth is that, an “art style” or a “gameplay mechanic” can’t that easily be patented. This isn’t piracy that we’re talking about, where Nintendo can and has flexed its muscles with unchecked power, which I think is an infringement on the rights of consumers, who should be allowed to have access to products, such as the video games that they legally purchased, for life.
Now take this new game, Monsterpatch.
Yeah. Sure. The art style is reminiscent of the second generation of Pokémon. It is, however, still very different from that, and a lot more detailed, modern, and beautiful at that, if you ask me. Nintendo can’t (and won’t) sue them for the art style.
The monsters all look completely different from any Pokémon, and the art style is also vastly different. No Nintendo-owned assets were ripped.
The gameplay is vaguely inspired by that of Pokémon, but also very significantly different. Most notably, this is a fantasy setting, and you don’t go around catching monsters with “balls” or anything. Creature collection is also just one of the core mechanics of the game.
In no way will a modern audience of consumers aged 25 or below, confuse this game with any of the modern Pokémon entries. This doesn’t threaten Nintendo in any way whatsoever. The target audience of Monsterpatch is very obvious millennials and older folks, who aren’t exactly Pokémon’s target audience anymore. And if you ask me, while the game might be become popular enough to become profitable for the developer, it is highly unlikely that it becomes as popular as Palworld did, which a 3D game with a multiplayer mode and survival mechanics, along with playable and customizable characters that look like they were ripped straight out of Fortnite. I mean, you even play the game in third-person. It obviously became another fad. I’m not saying that Palworld is a bad game, but it cut out its corner in the cultural Zeitgeist. Monsterpatch won’t even get near that. It is a 2D, top-down, and slow-paced mishmash of genres that is heavily inspired on some classic games that nobody (not a large, young, modern audience) cares about anymore. Nintendo will not feel (nor be) threatened by this in the slightest.
Monsterpatch will be released on the Switch. Coromon, which is a game that is a lot more similar to an “average” 2D Pokémon game (3rd or 4th generation), is available on the Switch, and never did Nintendo go after them (the game didn’t even become that popular, although I really like it).
So, everyone, calm down. It’s going to be fine. Nintendo won’t touch Monsterpatch.
I would put money on it that Nintendo will threaten by sending C&D's because they have nothing to lose and everything to gain from doing so. A lot of legal action isn't necessarily actually going...
I would put money on it that Nintendo will threaten by sending C&D's because they have nothing to lose and everything to gain from doing so.
A lot of legal action isn't necessarily actually going to court, but pressuring the other party to relent.
Emulation is a similar boat. They all back down eventually when they really do have a strong case and a decent chance to win. But who knows against a giant like Nintendo? This Patreon funded dude can't go to court, even if Nintendo has no real chance of winning.
It'll boil down to popularity. If it blows up I can see Nintendo going haywire.
There's more to the Nintendo vs Palworld story that leads me to believe they were probably not going to go after Pocketpair at all until Sony got involved. Assuming the information is both...
There's more to the Nintendo vs Palworld story that leads me to believe they were probably not going to go after Pocketpair at all until Sony got involved.
Assuming the information is both accurate and being recalled correctly, the video I linked below supports the idea that Nintendo mostly cares about trademark and copyright and weren't particularly interested in Pocketpair's style and functionality similarities. But, then Sony got involved and since there's some bad blood between Nintendo and Sony it became an opening for Nintendo to strike.
Some of my speculation is that Nintendo likely assessed that if they just ignored Palworld it would kind of die off on its own, but giving it a bunch of headlines would keep it relevant longer. Then that calculation changed when a big name, Sony, got involved in pushing it's relevance back up.
Yeah. I doubt Nintendo will care much because this one isn't trying to capitalize on Pokémon's aesthetics and current fan base as much as Palworld did. Palworld's art style and designs weren't...
Yeah. I doubt Nintendo will care much because this one isn't trying to capitalize on Pokémon's aesthetics and current fan base as much as Palworld did. Palworld's art style and designs weren't just similar, but damn-near identical.
While some of the accusations and comparisons were a stretch, some are still essentially clones or redesigns of Pokémon. Boltmane and Luxray, Direhowl and Lycanroc, Robinquill and Decidueye... There are plenty more that feel like fusions of Pokémon, or mix and match features. The one that got me was Dinossum, which looks like a Meganium with a Liligant's flower crown, down to the color palette and the dang eye shape. They have some actually unique and original designs, but too many of them are too close to specific Pokémon to be coincidence.
So yeah, I wasn't surprised Nintendo went after them. Especially since Palworld exploded in popularity and was heavily compared to modern Pokémon games.
In comparison, like you said, MonsterPatch isn't trying to appeal to the current Pokémon fan base but people into the older games, or just pixel art/retro games in general. And in regards to the art, it looks pretty different to me. I would never mistake those screenshots for Pokémon. The riskiest design I see on the page is Axolot, since it's a blue axolotl with brown "antlers" and looks like Wooper. Probably should've at least gone with a different color.
So between that, and this game likely never attaining the level of popularity as Pokémon, I expect Nintendo won't see it as a threat worth pursuing. It's not really competing with modern Pokémon games, and their current "virtual console" model uses Nintendo Switch Online to access whole libraries so it wouldn't be undercutting rereleases of older Pokémon games either. I really do think they mainly went after Palworld due to the notoriety it got for the direct comparisons to Pokémon.
I can’t believe what I just read. This looks AMAZING! I hope I get to try it out some day. It gives me Oracle of Seasons/Ages vibes with the art style, but is a creature collector with what looks...
I can’t believe what I just read. This looks AMAZING! I hope I get to try it out some day. It gives me Oracle of Seasons/Ages vibes with the art style, but is a creature collector with what looks like some really fun mechanics.
A good while ago I tried out Coromon, which I highly recommend if you like to play 2D Pokémon to occasionally scratch that “creature-collecting RPG campaign” itch. I’m glad that this genre is finally expanding. We need to invest more of our money into 2D games in this genre and vote with our wallets.
Hm, by quick glance game looks quite similar to Moonstone Island (mix of Pokemon with Stardew Valley) that I really like. I do not like Pokemon games, but this combination is interesting and I...
Hm, by quick glance game looks quite similar to Moonstone Island (mix of Pokemon with Stardew Valley) that I really like. I do not like Pokemon games, but this combination is interesting and I quite enjoyed it.
Honestly, I did not care for coromon. It is a very impressive and polished game, but the gameplay didn’t do it for me. I’m not sure how to explain it but I didn’t find it very fun. I think they...
Honestly, I did not care for coromon. It is a very impressive and polished game, but the gameplay didn’t do it for me. I’m not sure how to explain it but I didn’t find it very fun.
I think they may have reworked the game since I played it last though, so maybe it is better now.
Looks decent although I share the worry about Nintendo. The creator has a good Kickstarter track record with quite a few projects backed and released with decent reviews on Steam....
Looks decent although I share the worry about Nintendo. The creator has a good Kickstarter track record with quite a few projects backed and released with decent reviews on Steam.
My first thought was "It's a kickstater, let's check the creator's rap sheet first." But yeah this is a good start! It's easy to get bitten by first time kickstaters who aim for the moon and don't...
My first thought was "It's a kickstater, let's check the creator's rap sheet first." But yeah this is a good start!
It's easy to get bitten by first time kickstaters who aim for the moon and don't even get as far as building the cannon.
Wow. Incredible looking game. It seems very ambitious. I am making my own mon tamer and I could not imagine developing all of these features in a reasonable time frame. That being said, it already...
Wow. Incredible looking game.
It seems very ambitious. I am making my own mon tamer and I could not imagine developing all of these features in a reasonable time frame. That being said, it already looks really far along.
This dev also made the amazing Littlewood which is like a much smaller-scale, story driven Stardew Valley sort of game. It was really good, and also pitched on Kickstarter. In fact, Littlewood...
This dev also made the amazing Littlewood which is like a much smaller-scale, story driven Stardew Valley sort of game. It was really good, and also pitched on Kickstarter. In fact, Littlewood made this an instant backing for me.
I had to laugh at the middle NPC under the "Recruit townsfolk" bullet. I'm pretty sure they put breasts on her back in order to show both T and A in the same pose.
I had to laugh at the middle NPC under the "Recruit townsfolk" bullet. I'm pretty sure they put breasts on her back in order to show both T and A in the same pose.
Nah, she's obviously the Ghost equivalent trainer which lets her torso spin a full 180 degrees. You know, like how possessed people's heads spin around... but sexier.
Nah, she's obviously the Ghost equivalent trainer which lets her torso spin a full 180 degrees. You know, like how possessed people's heads spin around... but sexier.
The Kickstarter for this game has been incredibly successful! With 48 hours remaining, it has already met every stretch goal. I hope it's not too ambitious, but all the progress updates look...
The Kickstarter for this game has been incredibly successful! With 48 hours remaining, it has already met every stretch goal. I hope it's not too ambitious, but all the progress updates look promising so far.
This looks great, but the more I scrolled down, the more I wondered how likely it is for Nintendo to throw their lawyers at this game… The art style is dangerously similar to pokemon blue/red/yellow, even the player character looks like Red/Blue. Then I saw the two versions…
I wish the devs all the luck
Yeah, I get taking inspiration from something, specially games. But from what I see in the page, this project is basically a modernized Pokémon targeting the nostalgia of the old pokemon fanbase. I’d totally be one of those people happy to try it, so I hope Nintendo lets this slide (hard to believe considering how aggressive they are with their cease and desists)
Yeah I think if I was a developer even considering a commercial project which is "inspired by" a Nintendo franchise the first thing I would do is hire a decent copyright lawyer and get them to go over my pitch with a fine toothed comb to make sure it's bullet proof.
Maybe this developer already did that. I noticed they've cunningly avoided the ball capture mechanic which got Pal World but I'm not smart enough to know what else Nintendo could get you on.
The shiny variants and battle tower are standing out to me as mechanics that didn't even use alternate names...
Yeah you're very right. But who knows, maybe those features can't or haven't been copyrighted?
Honestly no idea, I am not a laywer and Nintendo lawyers are gonna go hard. If it was me I agree with you, I'd be safer than sorry!
iirc the Palworld issues are all based on patents (or applications for patents) rather than copyrights. I don't know much about patent law, but my understanding of copyright law is that a copyright case against them would be extremely weak at best. That doesn't necessarily preclude them from suing, they're Nintendo and they have the money, but under US law I really don't think this even approaches actual copyright infringement.
The monsters are called MoNs. While probably fairly legally defendable, it doesn't scream "legally distinct from Pokemon" to me.
To be fair, Digimon are also called "digital monsters", so there's precedent for "monsters" and "mon" being distinct, generic terms.
Yeah, that's what I'm thinking, they're absolutely going to be demolished by Nintendo lawyers. Probably not a bad idea to get free publicity, gain good will, fold immediately and release a new sprite sheet that satisfy Nintendo. I wish them luck, I want to play a modern and good version of 2D sprite based mom game too.
look at what they did to Pal World and that game is vastly different from Pokémon!
Ooof yeah. I mean ever since Stardew Valley came out, I've hoped to see more indie-driven spiritual successors to old/tired franchises. And while I still enjoy Pokemon, I've never found anything quite like it either. I've played gameboy-era knockoffs, I've played Palworld, I've play rom hacks... none of them come nearly close enough. I want a Stardew Valley for Pokemon really badly.
Many of you seem concerned that Nintendo might go after them, but I don’t see why or how they even would.
If you’re worried because Nintendo went after Palworld, then I want to remind you that this was mainly for two reasons:
However, we all know that this is not how Nintendo went after them. Instead, they have been trying to fight them in court by claiming that the developers of Palworld appropriated the patent for the capturing mechanic by throwing a “ball”, which Nintendo “owns” (and at the time that I heard about this, it was only speculated that this was one the patents that they claimed were being infringed upon).
At the moment, however, it seems that Nintendo will lose the battle, unless Pocketpair (the company behind Palworld) can’t afford to continue the legal battle (which I think they probably will). It’s what everyone is predicting. Funny enough, Nintendo filed 23 new patents in December last year, with the express intention of going after Pocketpair with them, out of which only one was approved. It would be very nice if Nintendo lost, because that would scare them off from doing such legal shenanigans again. They already got scared off by game rentals when they went after Blockbuster (1989), and they have been careful not to get too cocky with emulation since Sony lost in a case related to emulation in 2000.
The truth is that, an “art style” or a “gameplay mechanic” can’t that easily be patented. This isn’t piracy that we’re talking about, where Nintendo can and has flexed its muscles with unchecked power, which I think is an infringement on the rights of consumers, who should be allowed to have access to products, such as the video games that they legally purchased, for life.
Now take this new game, Monsterpatch.
So, everyone, calm down. It’s going to be fine. Nintendo won’t touch Monsterpatch.
I would put money on it that Nintendo will threaten by sending C&D's because they have nothing to lose and everything to gain from doing so.
A lot of legal action isn't necessarily actually going to court, but pressuring the other party to relent.
Emulation is a similar boat. They all back down eventually when they really do have a strong case and a decent chance to win. But who knows against a giant like Nintendo? This Patreon funded dude can't go to court, even if Nintendo has no real chance of winning.
It'll boil down to popularity. If it blows up I can see Nintendo going haywire.
There's more to the Nintendo vs Palworld story that leads me to believe they were probably not going to go after Pocketpair at all until Sony got involved.
Assuming the information is both accurate and being recalled correctly, the video I linked below supports the idea that Nintendo mostly cares about trademark and copyright and weren't particularly interested in Pocketpair's style and functionality similarities. But, then Sony got involved and since there's some bad blood between Nintendo and Sony it became an opening for Nintendo to strike.
Some of my speculation is that Nintendo likely assessed that if they just ignored Palworld it would kind of die off on its own, but giving it a bunch of headlines would keep it relevant longer. Then that calculation changed when a big name, Sony, got involved in pushing it's relevance back up.
Source: https://youtu.be/8apzrwv75i0
Yeah. I doubt Nintendo will care much because this one isn't trying to capitalize on Pokémon's aesthetics and current fan base as much as Palworld did. Palworld's art style and designs weren't just similar, but damn-near identical.
While some of the accusations and comparisons were a stretch, some are still essentially clones or redesigns of Pokémon. Boltmane and Luxray, Direhowl and Lycanroc, Robinquill and Decidueye... There are plenty more that feel like fusions of Pokémon, or mix and match features. The one that got me was Dinossum, which looks like a Meganium with a Liligant's flower crown, down to the color palette and the dang eye shape. They have some actually unique and original designs, but too many of them are too close to specific Pokémon to be coincidence.
So yeah, I wasn't surprised Nintendo went after them. Especially since Palworld exploded in popularity and was heavily compared to modern Pokémon games.
In comparison, like you said, MonsterPatch isn't trying to appeal to the current Pokémon fan base but people into the older games, or just pixel art/retro games in general. And in regards to the art, it looks pretty different to me. I would never mistake those screenshots for Pokémon. The riskiest design I see on the page is Axolot, since it's a blue axolotl with brown "antlers" and looks like Wooper. Probably should've at least gone with a different color.
So between that, and this game likely never attaining the level of popularity as Pokémon, I expect Nintendo won't see it as a threat worth pursuing. It's not really competing with modern Pokémon games, and their current "virtual console" model uses Nintendo Switch Online to access whole libraries so it wouldn't be undercutting rereleases of older Pokémon games either. I really do think they mainly went after Palworld due to the notoriety it got for the direct comparisons to Pokémon.
Yeah. That one was absolutely egregious.
I can’t believe what I just read. This looks AMAZING! I hope I get to try it out some day. It gives me Oracle of Seasons/Ages vibes with the art style, but is a creature collector with what looks like some really fun mechanics.
A good while ago I tried out Coromon, which I highly recommend if you like to play 2D Pokémon to occasionally scratch that “creature-collecting RPG campaign” itch. I’m glad that this genre is finally expanding. We need to invest more of our money into 2D games in this genre and vote with our wallets.
Hm, by quick glance game looks quite similar to Moonstone Island (mix of Pokemon with Stardew Valley) that I really like. I do not like Pokemon games, but this combination is interesting and I quite enjoyed it.
Honestly, I did not care for coromon. It is a very impressive and polished game, but the gameplay didn’t do it for me. I’m not sure how to explain it but I didn’t find it very fun.
I think they may have reworked the game since I played it last though, so maybe it is better now.
Looks decent although I share the worry about Nintendo. The creator has a good Kickstarter track record with quite a few projects backed and released with decent reviews on Steam.
https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/seanyoung/created
My first thought was "It's a kickstater, let's check the creator's rap sheet first." But yeah this is a good start!
It's easy to get bitten by first time kickstaters who aim for the moon and don't even get as far as building the cannon.
ooh I didn’t realize that the same creator was also behind Littlewood. Always wanted to play that one.
Wow. Incredible looking game.
It seems very ambitious. I am making my own mon tamer and I could not imagine developing all of these features in a reasonable time frame. That being said, it already looks really far along.
This dev also made the amazing Littlewood which is like a much smaller-scale, story driven Stardew Valley sort of game. It was really good, and also pitched on Kickstarter. In fact, Littlewood made this an instant backing for me.
I had to laugh at the middle NPC under the "Recruit townsfolk" bullet. I'm pretty sure they put breasts on her back in order to show both T and A in the same pose.
Nah, she's obviously the Ghost equivalent trainer which lets her torso spin a full 180 degrees. You know, like how possessed people's heads spin around... but sexier.
"Hey, at least it hasn't got 'mon' in the name!"
"Ah."
Jokes aside the art style is cute, I'll keep my eye on this one.
The Kickstarter for this game has been incredibly successful! With 48 hours remaining, it has already met every stretch goal. I hope it's not too ambitious, but all the progress updates look promising so far.