Sega Corporation has sued the Japanese developer Bank of Innovation, seeking 1 billion Yen for the damage.
Japanese gaming studios are having a hard time due to a series of lawsuits that are impacting their operations. Memento Mori is a Japanese game developed by the Bank of Innovation, which has contributed to 90% of the company’s recent sales. Unfortunately, things don’t seem favorable for the game anymore as Sega has filed a lawsuit against the Memento Mori developers over patent infringement. In September, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company similarly filed a lawsuit against the Palworld developer over the infringement of multiple patents.
As reported by the Japanese news site, Otaku Souken, Sega is seeking 1 Billion Yen as compensation for the damage and prohibition against Memento Mori and other related content. It was reported that both companies were discussing the issue but couldn’t come to a resolution, prompting Sega to take legal action.
Image – Memento Mori
Sega Takes Action – Memento Mori Lawsuit Unfolds
Following Nintendo’s swirl on Palworld, Sega has filed a lawsuit against the Bank of Innovation alleging that a set of five patents has been infringed, which is primarily related to gacha mechanics of the game. Dr. Serkan Toto, a Japanese game industry consultant posted on X that, “One of the major patent issues relates to a system of combining similar character cards in collectible games.” He also mentioned that if Sega wins the lawsuit, the loss of 1 billion Yen will hurt the BOI financially.
As per reports, Bank of Innovation said, “We do not believe that our title infringes the rights of the Sega and will defend against this litigation.” It is also reported that Memento Mori developers will keep running the game if possible. After the news of the lawsuit, BOI’s stock price dropped by 17%.
From Nintendo to Sega: Trend of Suing Indies?
While Nintendo sued Palworld developer for two patents, Sega seems to have gone further with five different patent claims. More claims mean that Sega has a lot to prove. In the case of Palworld, there were some direct references to the Pokemon games and challenges for Nintendo. The lawsuit was much anticipated which surprisingly came much later from Nintendo.
It’s not the same with Sega, as there were inadequate challenges or satirical references from Memento Mori. The damage amount of 1 billion Yen is not a dent in Sega Corp.’s coffers as its income is 56.8 billion Yen for this year. While this may not make a difference for Sega, it will surely damage the Bank of Innovation.
Gacha games are made up of a lot of innovation and effort and if this kind of lawsuit becomes a trend among the big gaming studios, it would weaken the spirit of developers.
