Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s New Patent: Summoning Secondary Characters
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company recently filed a patent in the United States that introduces the concept of summoning a secondary character to fight alongside the player. While this feature may seem familiar to Pokémon fans, the patent’s description is actually applicable to a wide range of games that utilize similar systems.
Expanding the Possibilities
From the Necromancer in Diablo 4 summoning skeletons and golems, to pets in World of Warcraft, or even summoning ashes in Elden Ring, these systems have been integral to game design for many years. However, the question arises: how far-reaching can this generic patent be without conflicting with existing industry practices?
Legal Battles and Creative Boundaries
Nintendo’s recent legal action against Pocketpair, the creators of Palworld in Japan, for allegedly infringing on Pokémon-related patents, demonstrates the company’s commitment to protecting their intellectual property. With the new patent in the US, Nintendo may have another tool to safeguard their creations. This could potentially deter smaller studios from exploring summoning systems due to fears of costly legal battles.
The Future of Game Design
The underlying concern here is the impact on creativity within the gaming industry. If more publishers begin patenting general gameplay concepts, it could establish a troubling precedent where innovation is stifled by legal constraints rather than technological or imaginative limitations. While the Nintendo patent is just one example, it prompts a larger discussion on the extent to which game mechanics should be patentable in the first place.
About the Author
