Nintendo’s latest U.S. patent — one that broadly covers the act of summoning a character to fight another in a video game — feels less like a technical innovation and more like a calculated legal play to keep competitors at bay.
Patent No. 12,403,397 describes a mechanic so fundamental to RPGs and monster-battling games that it reads like a description of Pokémon itself — or, basically, a hundred other titles.
The patent, exposed by games fray, doesn’t just cover summoning a creature to fight; it extends to how the summoned character behaves when no enemies are nearby and how it automatically engages in battle under certain conditions.
Nintendo and Their Patent
Game fray has shared screenshots and direct links to the Nintendo patents, detailing all of the fine print and specifics. This is a patent on gameplay logic, not technology. And that should concern everyone.
What’s bizarre is how generically broad this is. Summoning a “sub character” that acts independently or engages in a fight based on player input or proximity? That could describe and directly challenge games like Digimon, Palworld, and Honkai: Nexus Anima, to name a few.
It’s hard to imagine this patent holding up under serious challenge, but the fact that it was granted with zero resistance from the USPTO is worrying. This isn’t just about Palworld — it’s about creating a chilling effect across the industry. Developers might self-censor, modify, or scrap mechanics not because they’re infringing, but because they can’t afford to fight.
Discussions sparked on social media platforms like Reddit showcased a number of gamers’ opinions on the matter. A few important notes to realize is how patents can be filed by a company to protect itself from being sued by newer, competing companies in their industry. Furthermore, Nintendo’s patent doesn’t prevent other games from using the patented mechanics, rather, developers will just need to pay a fee to license the patent from the patent holder.
Nintendo has every right to defend its IP. But patenting core game design ideas is a dangerous road. The line between protecting innovation and stifling it is thinner than ever — and this move is definitely controversial. If you haven’t already, read about how Nintendo has been suffering from a shortage of dev kits and how that’s affecting developrs.
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