The Pokémon and Palworld comparisons just won’t end, and now everyone is wondering what Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are cooking up in response.
The time of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has now come and gone with both expansions having been released, so everyone is looking to Pokémon Day next month to see what the company is working on for the future.
But when the Nintendo of America Twitter/X account posted an innocuous tweet about “hidden details” in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on Jan. 21, seemingly every reply had more to say about Palworld than Pokémon itself.
“Y’all are finally getting collectively roasted for this low end effort and I love it, step it up,” said one reply, while another wondered aloud “why would you tweet this right now?”
The video itself is pretty innocent, showing off some random features in Scarlet and Violet, like how Nosepass points its nose north, Spinarax’s thorax-face changes depending on its mood, and how traveling animations change depending on where you’re going. But in the face of Palworld, nobody seems to care one iota.
“Outdone by an indie team because you insist on staying behind,” another said. “It’s just going to keep happening as long you keep choosing to act like it’s 2002.”
One of the top replies probably summed it up best, though, saying that “the whole world is playing Palworld.” Pokémon is still huge, don’t make a mistake about it, but gamers are looking to Palworld for some inspiration for the long-running franchise to take from, just as Palworld has allegedly taken from it in turn.
Things may change if Pokémon comes out guns blazing (pun intended) on Pokémon Day next month on Feb. 27 with some big announcements. But will the rumored new Legends game or a Pokémon Black and White remake be enough to pull players away from the Pals? Stay tuned.
