PlayStation 5 sales ofPalworldare already off to a great start, although much like the mighty Mammorest, there’s a rather large but. As of the time of writing,the PS5 version ofPalworldis unavailable in Japan: a region that Pocketpair’s Global Community Manager John “Bucky” Buckley recently told Game Rant was the game’s second most popular market when it comes to active PC players.
Bucky was speaking at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, where Pocketpair andPalworldboasted one of the most impressive and eye-catching booths. After revealing that PS5 sales are “going well,” he mentioned that Japan had more activePalworldplayers than any other country except China, suggesting that despite the developer’s defiance, they may already be starting to feel the effects of Nintendo’sPalworldlawsuit.
Although Pocketpair hasn’t officially confirmed why the PS5 port ofPalworldhas been indefinitely delayed in Japan, the general consensus seems to be that it has something to do with Nintendo’s lawsuit, which was filed just a few days before the announcement thatPalworldwould finally be coming to the PlayStation 5. For those unaware,Nintendo alleges that Pocketpair infringed upon one of its patents, although Bucky and the rest of the Pocketpair team still have no idea which one.
“We have still heard nothing.” - John Buckley, Global Community Manager at Pocketpair
The fact that Japan is the only major market in which the PS5 port ofPalworldhas been delayed seems to be in line withthe views of veteran patent analyst Florian Mueller, who told Game Rant that he doesn’t expect Nintendo’sPalworldlawsuit to have much of an impact outside of Japan. Assuming Pocketpair’s decision to indefinitely delay the game’s PS5 port did have something to do with the lawsuit, though, that impact may well prove to be fairly significant.
72.3%
63.8%
PC
14.7%
Despite another year of explosive growth, only around 15% of young Japanese gamers play on PC and fewer still own an Xbox. With that in mind, and withPalworldunavailable on the Nintendo Switchand mobile devices, the PS5 would presumably have been most Japanese gamers' platform of choice. As such, the decision to delay could lead to Pocketpair missing out on tens of thousands of sales in the Japanese market, with many of those potential players having no viable alternative.
For those interested in learning more about the future of Palworld, Game Rant’s interview with Pocketpair will be published on the site over the coming days.
Palworld
WHERE TO PLAY
Fight, farm, build, and work alongside mysterious creatures called “Pals” in this completely new multiplayer, open-world, survival, and crafting game!
