Weekend Highlights (November 9-10)

Palworld

• According to Bloomberg and the Chinese publication Leifeng, police arrested nine employees from the gaming division of NetEase. Among them are Marketing Director Xiang Lang and Head of Publishing Jin Yuchen. They were reportedly charged with laundering money totaling between 800 million and 1 billion yuan ($111-139 million). NetEase confirmed to the media that an anti-corruption investigation is currently underway regarding its employees, but provided no further details.
• The Chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Hiroki Totoki, announced during an investor event that the advanced version of the PlayStation 5 has had a strong launch. Although he did not disclose specific figures, he noted that PlayStation 5 Pro pre-orders have surpassed those of the PlayStation 4 Pro. Totoki added that the company did not aim for large sales, as the PlayStation 5 Pro is intended for hardcore gamers. Furthermore, Totoki stated that Sony does not believe the price of the PlayStation 5 Pro is excessively high or that it would negatively impact sales.
• Totoki also commented on the failure of the PvP shooter Concord. He stated that Sony is still learning how to handle service games, and the unsuccessful launch of the project became a valuable lesson. In particular, the company now intends to conduct user testing much earlier in the game development process.
• During the conversation with investors, Totoki also addressed the issue of mandatory PlayStation Network (PSN) account linking for Sony games on PC. The top executive acknowledged that many players do not like this requirement, but Sony does not intend to eliminate it. As Totoki pointed out, it is necessary to maintain order in service games and create a safe environment. Why the PSN account requirement exists even in single-player games, Totoki did not clarify.
• As part of completing the restructuring of its European business, SEGA parted ways with Amplitude Studios. The studio, known for creating Humankind and Endless Space, was bought out by its own management, making Amplitude Studios independent. The full conditions of the deal remain undisclosed, but it is known that SEGA assessed its losses from the studio's sale at 5.9 billion yen ($38.6 million).
• Two months ago, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company filed a lawsuit against studio Pocketpair, accusing the creators of Palworld of patent infringement. At that time, lawsuit details were not disclosed, but at the end of last week, Pocketpair shed some light on the situation. In a statement on their website, the developers explained that their game is suspected of infringing on three patents related to gameplay mechanics involving capturing creatures, battles, and riding. Notably, the patents were filed after Palworld's release. However, it is worth noting that they are based on earlier patents Nintendo submitted in 2021 during the development of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. For the infringement of its rights, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are seeking compensation of 10 million yen ($65,160) from Pocketpair.
• Nintendo filed a lawsuit against streamer Jesse Keighin, who regularly streamed pirated versions of the company's games and provided instructions on using Nintendo Switch emulators. The lawsuit claims that during his streams, Keighin played titles that had not yet officially been released, such as The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Super Mario Party Jamboree, and Mario & Luigi Brothership. In the past, Nintendo has repeatedly tried to block the streamer's channels on various platforms, but Keighin continued to create new ones, stating he had “thousands of disposable accounts” at his disposal. According to Nintendo, the streamer caused them to lose "millions of dollars."