Bandai Overtakes Sony in Japan’s 2025 Gaming Patent Rankings

• Bandai tops Japan’s 2025 patent list with 245 patents, surpassing Sony.
• These “Patent Scores” reflect both patent quantity and competitive relevance.
• GREE, COLOPL, and MIXI maintain strong positions, overtaking Nintendo and Sega.

Patent Results, a Japanese patent analysis agency, has found that Bandai Co., Ltd. has overtaken Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (SIE) in its latest patent holding list, thus topping it.

The analyst agency had ranked companies specific to domestic gaming and entertainment for the fiscal year of April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025. As per their data, Bandai achieved a patent score of 8,565.2 across 245 patents. Whereas Sony, which topped this chart last year in 2024, scored 6,631.0 from 208 patents, came second this year.

The ranking also showed mobile-game developer GREE, Inc. in third position with 5,121.9 points from 176 patents. Last year, GREE was positioned ahead of Bandai, occupying the second place. Other companies like COLOPL, Inc. (4,978.0 / 137), MIXI, Inc. (4,664.8 / 241), followed GREE, rounding out the top five patent holders of this year.

Notably, popular companies like Nintendo Co., Ltd. (4,210.8 / 154) and Sega (2,763.2 / 87) stood at sixth and eighth place in the rankings. It is unclear why these two well-known gaming companies trail behind, but a few recent activities from both companies show that they are struggling significantly with some lawsuits.

Nintendo and its partner, The Pokémon Company, are currently involved in patent litigation against Pocketpair since last year for patent infringement. Industry experts claim that it may have an impact on Nintendo’s Pokémon patents. 

Sega, however, is struggling a bit with its profits but hopes that Sonic Rumble will help boost it again. Nevertheless, the company too had filed a lawsuit against Bank of Innovation in Tokyo over gacha game patent infringement back in 2024.

It must be taken into consideration that the "Patent Score" of the agency Patent Result, encompasses not only the number of patents, but also their relevance. For instance, it calculates the frequency with which a company's patent is used to object to another company's patent application and the frequency with which competitors attempt to contest or block that patent.

Patents Reflect Each Company’s Core Strengths

Bandai continues to be strong in the toy industry, as seen in the majority of its patents, including Tamagotchi (1996), Gundam Plastic Models (1980) and many more. 

Meanwhile, Sony’s patents show the company’s drive for immersive experiences, reports AUTOMATON Media. Sony’s patents interestingly also include a virtual display technology and a sound technology that provides sound recommendations for media and games. Additionally, Sony is creating AI-powered gaming features, such as techniques that use AI to analyze user data and game state.

GREE, on the other hand, has patents related to “a computer program for streaming gaming content that controls the streamer’s actions based on the viewers’ engagement,” and “a program that uses collectible in-game items to enhance viewer interest during video content.” 

At the same time, COLOPL's primary patent focuses on “a multiplayer game system that provides a new viewing experience where streamers and viewers feel connected.” 

Although Sony may have fallen to second place this year, its increasing emphasis on immersive displays, AI-driven games, and sound technologies indicates that it is getting ready for the next generation of interactive entertainment, priming itself to quickly take the top spot again.