Is hit Japanese game Palworld just 'Pokemon with guns' or something more?

Ever since the first Pokemon games were released in 1996, catching and battling creatures has become a passion for millions of people, so much so that the hit Japanese video game has evolved into the world's most valuable media franchise.

So when Palworld, another Japanese game about capturing cute monsters, was released to consumers in late January, many were quick to draw a comparison between the two.

"I'd heard the rumors that it was a copy of Pokemon or that it was Pokemon shooting guns," said Palworld player Komei Sato.

Sitting at a monitor in his Tokyo bedroom, Sato is one of millions of people in the world playing Palworld. Following the game's early access release on January 19, Palworld's maker Pocketpair Inc. announced that as of January 31 it had been downloaded 19 million times.

"Pokemon games on the Nintendo Switch, the current platform that Nintendo has, sell 20 to 25 million units, but that's across three, four, five years on the platform right? And this particular game (Palworld) has sold, again, close to 20 million times, or has seen downloads close to 20 million in a matter of days," Japanese games industry analyst Serkan Toto said.

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The superficial similarities between Palworld and Pokemon — and the former's record-breaking player numbers — sparked a response from the Pokemon Company. In a January 26 statement that did not explicitly name Pocketpair or Palworld, the company said it would investigate and take action over any infringement of its intellectual property rights.

For Sato, a longtime Pokemon fan, Palworld's gameplay offers a different experience to the Nintendo classic.

"There are some ways that it resembles Pokemon but there are also original things. Like, players are not building things in Pokemon but they are in Palworld, so in that sense I don't think it's exactly the same as Pokemon," he said. "Palworld can be enjoyed as Palworld."

"I really hope that Palworld and Nintendo can get along so that Palworld survives. Because it's such a good game," he added.

Toto said that he believes Nintendo and the Pokemon Company may take legal action against Palworld's developer, which has denied accusations of plagiarising Pokemon's designs.

"If they don't take legal action against Palworld and the developer, then my question, my rhetorical question, would be, when will they ever take legal action against another company?" said Toto.

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(Production: Tom Bateman, Christopher Gallagher)