2024-01-23 10:41:42
Developed by the Japanese studio PocketFair and marketed since January 19, this game, very close to the Pokémon saga, sold 5 million copies in three days.
The friendly Pokémon Pikachu equipped with a machine gun…does that seem strange to you? Yet this is the whole concept of the survival game.Palworld» developed by the Japanese studio Pocketpair. The latter offers the player the possibility of interacting with creatures very similar to the famous Pokémon, here called “Pal», which he can exploit as he wishes and arm himself to survive on the island where the adventure takes place.
The first images of the trailer released seven months ago had already sparked many reactions. The studio presented the possibility of weakening the creatures as much as possible or locking them in what appeared to be electrified enclosures.
All while drawing great inspiration, and without authorization, from the design of Nintendo’s Pokémon games but also from the open world of the Fortnite game… enough to generate buzz around its early access release last weekend.
5 million copies sold in three days
Available on the Steam distribution platform for 26 euros and on Xbox Game Pass (Microsoft’s PC and console subscription service) since Friday, the game is already enjoying some success. As of Saturday, Palworld was selling at 86,000 units per hour. On Monday, the studio announced that it had exceeded 5 million sales. However, Pocketpair does not specify the proportion of units sold with the Gamepass.
The game has also become one of the most popular titles on Steam with more than 1.5 million players on the platform. It thus surpassed games like Baldur’s Gate 3, Elden Ring, Hogwarts Legacy or, Cyberpunk 2077.
Success on TikTok and Twitch
Streamers quickly picked up the game and, as of now, “Palworld» has more than 345,000 simultaneous spectators on the live video platform Twitch. Likewise on the Chinese social network TikTok, where videos abound of users sharing their discoveries of “Palworld».
« The game is designed to be broadcast: it is easy to learn and it offers effective surprises by reminding Internet users of other popular games. Here, in this case, Pokémon and Fortnite», analyzes Julien Djoubri, specialist in new technologies and founder of Point’n Think. “And then, it offers a more adult experience with greater freedom…Which has been requested by Pokémon fans for a long time».
On X (ex-twitter), the keyword “Palworld» also has nearly 243,000 tweets. For example, some players show how they inserted a “Pal» to project it onto their opponent, before presenting their production chain on which their creatures work. “It’s not Pokémon guys, it’s an Amazon simulation», laughs one of them. Still others are surprised that the game allows them to cut up or kill these little companions, once they are deemed useless. On “Palworld» there are no rules, and it is on this principle that the popularity of the game seems to be based.
An imitation of Pokémon and Fortnite enabled by AI?
Provocative, Palworld is also provocative in its design. The resemblance between thePal» and Pokémon is such that some people wonder if the studio has not used advances in generative AI to purely and simply copy the design of the latter. Especially since, as reported by the Frandroid site, the game also copies the title music The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild and gameplay elementsElden Ring.
However, now easier access to software like Midjourney or DALL-E allows Internet users to create false images using written requests. The studio could therefore also have used it to imagine the creatures of Palworld. “In the case of this game, it really looks like the designers asked Midjourney to design a universe that would mix Pokémon and Fortnite», underlines Julien Djoubri.
Especially since the creator of Palworld, Takuro Mizobe, would like to put an end to the limits generated by copyright, the system of protection of literary and artistic works. He has already pointed out, on his X account (formerly Twitter), that progress in AI could put an end to copyright principles within thirty years.
« For example, already in 2022, Takuro Mizobe estimated that it would be increasingly difficult to distinguish which Pokémon were created by Nintendo and those created by an AI », continues Julien Djoubri. “And the previous Pocketpair game, named AI:Art Impostorwas based on the principle of players generating works of art using AI».
A final version not yet announced
Elements which, for the specialist, could tend to prove that the studio plagiarized Nintendo. But what worries him most is the reaction of Internet users, who are not very alarmed by this possibility. “ The fun offered by these creations like Palworld prevails over questions surrounding artificial intelligence. Tomorrow, if the public follows, it is not impossible that we will see a proliferation of this type of games created quickly thanks to these new software», he notes. “Which could strengthen expectations around big studios and increase pressure on developers».
For its part, the Pocketpair studio has not yet communicated on the date on which the final version of the game would be available. Palworld is the studio’s fourth game and the other three, previously developed, are still in early access. At the same time, the studio announced that it was working on a new 2D game, called Never Grave. This time the player plays a little witch, who must cross ruins and face different enemies.
On the left, the new game from Pocketpair studio “Never Grave”. On the right, the game Hollow Knight published by the Australian studio Team Cherry. Figaro screenshot
A trailer and a scenario that resemble, unmistakably, the successful game Hollow Knight published by the Australian studio Team Cherry and released in 2017…Enough to fuel questions around possible plagiarism on the part of the Japanese studio.
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