The world of gaming is following with growing attention a story that could have enormous repercussions on the video game industry: the director of the US Patent Office (USPTO) has personally ordered an extraordinary review of the controversial patent granted to Nintendo last September, which covers game mechanics already used in dozens of titles. The decision of John A. Squires, director of the USPTO, represents a very rare event in the sector – the last time a director personally intervened dates back to 2012 – and could redraw the legal boundaries of patentable gameplay mechanics.
At the center of the controversy is a patent that Nintendo obtained in the United States in September 2024, which covers the action of summoning a secondary character who fights for the player. This is a core mechanic not only for Pokémon games, where trainers send captured creatures into battle, but also for countless other successful franchises such as Pikmin, Persona, and even action-RPG titles with automatically or manually controllable teammates.
Squires motivated the review by citing two previous patents that could completely invalidate Nintendo’s. The first, granted to Konami in 2002 and identified as \