Honestly, I can't figure out why people would think that spending thousands (millions) of dollars to fight a legal battle, which your own lawyers are fairly confident you'll lose, could be considered as smart business sense in any way, shape, or form.
I mean, Nintendo has the money to lose, but was this battle worth it? They severely damaged their reputation. They lost patents, that were originally pushed through under the radar, in both Japan and the United States. They've also opened the floodgates for competitors to challenge the fact they charge $80+ for a game just because it has a character like Mario in it.
Pocketpair has, quite literally, shown indie developers that the monopoly these companies have comfortably held can be challenged, and that if you make a better game customers will flock to you rather than bow down to the extortion of these corporations.
- You can make a Zelda game without "Zelda"
- You can make a Mario game without "Mario"
- You can make a car racing game without "Forza"
- You can make a military game without "Call of Duty"
The flood gates are open folks, and it's time for indie developers to knock the big names down a few notches.
Tripple-A corporations have been charging extortion prices for video games for a very long time now, while indie developers have been proving time and time again that good games can be built without needing an outrageous price tag.
Sony's most recent move to get rid of physical media, following Microsoft and Nintendo, has once again sparked the drive of the home consumer to take a serious look at what they're spending their money on.
Palworld is just the start. Pocketpair already has plans, and has been working on, a Palworld-based experience to challenge island decorating games such as Animal Crossings and Disney's Dreamlight Valley. If they succeed it could mean the end of high prices and corporate monopolies.
The bell has tolled on these monster AAA companies, and I say it's about damn time.
