Summary
- Palworld's PS5 release has skipped Japan.
- Pocketpair did not provide reason for Japanese release delay.
- However, it's speculated that it could be tied to Nintendo's recent lawsuit against the company.
The recent release of Palworld on PlayStation 5 in 68 countries across the globe has skipped over Japan. While no official reason has been given for the Japanese region's exclusion, it could be tied to Palworld developer Pocketpair's ongoing legal battles with Nintendo.
Although the monster-catching, survival crafting game is still technically in its Early Access period, it first became available simultaneously for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC in January. Though its player counts have dropped off significantly since that time, Palworld hit ridiculous sales milestones early on, pushing out more than 7 million copies in its first five days of availability. Relying on elements of the monster-catching genre of games, it also places players in an open world and tasks them with collecting resources to craft their own bases, similar to games like The Forest and ARK Survival.
Former Palworld Developer Suggests Designs Were Changed to Look More Like Pokemon
A former developer working on Palworld reveals that Pocketpair made changes to their designs to more closely resemble Pokemon.
Palworld shadow-dropped for PlayStation 5 on September 24, with the announcement of its arrival on the console coming during the State of Play showcase. While the arrival of Palworld on PS5 opens the door for players in 68 countries and regions around the world, the Japanese release has been delayed to a later date, according to a post made by the game's Japanese Twitter account. In that post, Pocketpair apologizes to its fans in Japan and states that it still plans to release the game there on PlayStation 5 "as soon as possible." However, nowhere does it state the reason for the delay.
Palworld PS5 Launch Delayed in Japan for Unknown Reasons
While Pocketpair is keeping mum about the reasons for the delay, there seems to be a good chance that it is tied to Nintendo's lawsuit regarding Palworld. Nintendo and The Pokemon Company filed a lawsuit in Japan against Pocketpair on September 18 over infringement of patent rights. While Palworld contains several gameplay and design elements that make it markedly distinct from the Pokemon franchise, some have speculated that the infringement may have to do with the tossing of Pal Spheres to catch Pals, the game's various monster species, with comparisons stating the gameplay is similar to the one presented by tossing Poke Balls in games like Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
Many fans of both Palworld and Pokemon have predicted the lawsuit coming for a long time. Even before its release, the gaming community had given Palworld the moniker "Pokemon with guns." Less than a week after its Early Access release, The Pokemon Company issued a statement about Palworld, saying the company would "investigate and take appropriate measures" in relation to any potential infringement against the Pokemon franchise's intellectual properties.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 71 /100 Critics Rec: 58%
- Released
- January 19, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Violence
- Developer(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Xbox Series X|S, pc
WHERE TO PLAY
In this game, you can peacefully live alongside mysterious creatures known as Pals or risk your life to drive off a ruthless poaching syndicate. Pals can be used to fight and breed, or they can be made to work on farms or factories. You can even sell them or eat them.
Survival: In a harsh environment where food is scarce and vicious poachers roam, danger waits around every corner. To survive, you must tread carefully and make difficult choices...even if that means eating your own Pals when the time comes.
Mounts & Exploration: Pals can be mounted to traverse the land, sea and sky—allowing you to traverse all kinds of environment as you explore the world.
Collect all kinds of exciting Pals to fight, farm, build, and work for you in this completely new multiplayer, open world survival and crafting game!
- Cross Save
- yes
- Number of Players
- 1-4 (Co-Op); 32 Players Server Limit
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Shooter, Survival
- How Long To Beat
- 36 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 6 GB (February 2024)
