Nintendo (NTDOF) Has a New Pokémon Bootleg to Contend with In Pickmon

Nintendo NTDOF +2.45% ▲ stock gained on Monday even as the company faces off against another Pokémon bootleg. _Pickmon _is the latest game to come out that takes obvious inspiration from the Pokémon franchise. However, it’s probably the game with the most direct examples of designs that have clearly been made to reference characters from Nintendo’s series.

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This isn’t the first time that a game has tried to ride Pokémon’s coattails. The monster catching genre boomed in the 1990s after Pokémon’s release. That has resulted in a long list of games that have tried to mimic Nintendo’s success. Lately those efforts have become bolder, with claims that some games, such as Palworld, have taken too much inspiration from Pokémon.

_Pickmon _takes it one step further with its designs, and even appears to be a copy of _Palworld _with its playstyle, making it a copy of a copy. Considering Nintendo has filed lawsuits against Palworld developer Pocketpair, it seems likely that _Pickmon _will also be targeted in future litigation.

Nintendo Stock Shrugs Off the Pokémon Copycat

Nintendo stock was up 1.75% on Monday, but was still down 16.69% year-to-date. The shares have also fallen 17.42% over the past 12 months. While the Switch 2 launch last year boosted NTDOF stock, trade war concerns have weighed on the tech and video game sectors.

Is Nintendo Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?

Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Nintendo is Moderate Buy, based on seven Buy, one Hold, and a single Sell rating over the past three months. With that comes an average NTDOF stock price target of $82.95, representing a potential 47.34% upside for the shares.

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