A Baldur’s Gate 3 developer revealed why Nintendo’s controversial Pokémon patent could be bad for the industry. The BG3 and Larian Studios director was critical of the Japanese publisher’s recent attempts to gatekeep character summoning mechanics.
BG3 Developer Is Critical of Nintendo’s Pokémon Patent
If you’ve been out of the loop, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company made waves recently after they were granted a patent for summoning characters to fight another character.
Many are calling it the “Pokémon” patent, as the Game Freak franchise has long used the battle mechanic for its RPGs. The United States Patent and Trademark Office approved Nintendo’s request on September 9.
“U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397 covers the fundamental gameplay mechanic of summoning a character and letting it fight another.”
This decision, of course, quickly incited backlash in the industry. Many critics argued that the patent was too broad. And it wasn’t just random people online; one of those critical of the decision was Larian Studios Director of Publishing, Michael Douse.
In a post on X, the Baldur’s Gate 3 developer explained why the patent can become problematic.
“These types of patents are too often used in bad faith,” Douse wrote. Many other developers had similar concerns. After all, the gameplay mechanic of summoning a character to fight is also one that has been used in many games. The worry is that Nintendo now has the right to sue a staggering number of titles that use this battle design feature.
So, is the backlash fully warranted? It’s a bit complicated.
Is Nintendo’s Patent As Bad As Everyone Thinks?
While many IP lawyers and industry insiders were skeptical about Nintendo’s Pokémon patent, not everyone agrees. Looking at the actual patent itself, it seems to be very specific to Pokémon’s auto-battle mechanic that we saw in games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
We saw a similar system in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet with the “Pokémon Let’s Go” battle mode. You essentially threw your character out on the field, and they would automatically attack wild Pokémon for quick XP and items.
On social media, many Nintendo fans defended the patent. For example, one user wrote: “Nintendo got a patent for a very specific method of handling (Pokémon) summoning. It has a conditional branch at summoning with auto/manual modes while staying in a persistent field system and being able to direct movements or chain fights within a consistent state machine.”
One of the reasons the Nintendo patent has elicited such criticism is that The Pokémon Company is currently in a lawsuit with Palworld. The Chinese-developed game was accused of stealing Pokémon designs and core game mechanics from the title. Naturally, many believed this latest U.S. patent granted to Nintendo will be used to sue more games.
Although again, it should be pointed out that this patent wasn’t filed until 2023. This lines up with the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Or rather, that they were trying to protect that game’s specific system.
Still, BG3 producer Michael Douse isn’t wrong to be concerned. It’s true that gameplay patents are often used in bad faith. Hopefully, though, that isn’t the case here.
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