As the monster-collecting game “Animo” becomes a hot topic, a thread on 5ch’s Console Wars board (ゲハ) asked: “Nintendo sued Palworld, so why isn’t it suing Animo?” Nintendo and The Pokémon Company sued Palworld developer Pocketpair for patent infringement back in 2024, and with that still fresh in posters’ minds, the board debated why this situation is being handled differently. Some argued visual similarity alone justifies a lawsuit, while others countered that the real issue is whether patent infringement can actually be proven — and confusion over the developer’s nationality only muddied things further.
Isn't it embarrassing to only act tough against indie devs?
Nah, there are honestly some that look almost identical.
Like people said from the start, Palworld's real enemy is China.
Name the specific monster, then.
Has patent infringement actually been confirmed?
Genshin Impact alone is probably infringing dozens of patents.
Give a concrete example, then.
Palworld blatantly picked a fight.
They can still make enough trouble that stores won't stock it properly, like what happened to Palworld.
And overseas fans have actually been saying they won't forgive Animo for ripping off Palworld.
But it's Nintendo, so what can you do.
Nobody looks at Genshin or Animo and thinks they're connected to Nintendo, so there's no need to sue.
With Palworld it was such a scandal that some outlets actually contacted Nintendo for comment — nothing like that happened with Animo.
Public perception is probably just "another game with some monster-collecting elements," nothing more.
It only became its own genre because of Palworld.
You mean like Sony cutting Kojima loose?
Wasn't this also on September 17th?
Feels like there's a coordinated push going on, like someone gave the order to go on the offensive.
They basically said in an interview that they pick what to rip off before they even start making the game, so there's no saving them.
Instead, it ended in a crushing defeat for them.
Palworld's doing so well that Chinese and Korean companies keep cranking out Palworld-likes.
Those companies were ripping stuff off long before Palworld even existed.
Stop pretending they had any morals before Palworld came along.
Stop pretending Japan never ripped anything off either.
One look at Showa-era rip-offs and you can't exactly go around criticizing China and Korea.
And yet Palworld's the one that got sued — how badly do you have to play your cards to end up like that… lol
Background and Key Points of This Debate
In September 2024, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company sued Palworld developer Pocketpair for patent infringement. The dispute reportedly centers not on visual similarity between the monsters, but on several patents covering things like how monsters are captured out in the field. The thread split over this basic premise: some posts framed the lawsuit question purely around “do the monsters look alike,” while others insisted the real issue is “can patent infringement actually be demonstrated.” There was also speculation that Nintendo was hesitant to sue because Animo’s developer is Chinese, though other posters pointed out that the studio is actually based in Singapore — showing that even the basic facts were in dispute. It’s also worth remembering that Palworld was repeatedly reported on as “Pokémon-style” from the moment it launched, generating major buzz — a backdrop worth keeping in mind when trying to understand why Nintendo is handling this case differently.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Console Wars board)) thread “Why isn’t Nintendo suing “Animo”? lol Even though it sued Palworld.”
