Dupin: Look!! I can hold myself in the air like this with my cane like this!! 🎩🪄
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WAIT… PALWORLD HAS A FARMING SIM COMING SOON?!
I went down the PALFARM rabbit hole, and the more I looked into it, the more I felt like this is a test for something much bigger.
(based on everything i’ve been reading, the community seems pretty split. a lot of people are calling it “animal crossing with pals,” while others think pocketpair is spreading itself too thin. from what i found, that’s not really what’s happening. palfarm is being built by a separate team, which fits the broader strategy of expanding the palworld ecosystem without pulling the core team away from the main game)
Now, the more I thought about it, the more it reminded me of what Nintendo did with Mario.
Mario didn’t become one of the biggest gaming franchises in the world because Nintendo kept making the same game over and over. They experimented by introducing games like Mario Kart, Mario Party, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Mario Strikers, Paper Mario, Mario RPG, Dr. Mario, and Luigi’s Mansion.
None of those games replaced the mainline Mario titles. They introduced the same characters to completely different audiences and proved the IP could succeed in more than one genre.
I’m not saying Palworld is the next Mario lol. What I’m saying is that the strategy feels very similar.
Instead of asking, “How do we make Palworld 2?” it feels like Pocketpair is asking, “What other experiences can we build around this universe?”
When you zoom out, the pieces start fitting together. You have the survival game, the TCG, Palworld Online, Palfarm, merchandise, licensed collaborations, publishing, and a growing ecosystem around the IP.
(maybe i’m completely reading into this, but the more i research pocketpair, the clearer the strategy becomes. i genuinely think they have a real shot at becoming one of the most influential indie studios in the industry if they play their cards right)