In recent years, AI (and generative AI in particular) has become a hot topic in the gaming industry. With many companies claiming to use it and many players against the technology in its current form, it’s become a divisive concept at best, with supporters saying it could revolutionise how games work and detractors saying it’s based on stolen work from existing artists.

Add this to fears that jobs could be lost and industry conditions could get even worse, and it’s arguably become even more controversial than even crypto was.

But among this wave of corporate buzzwords and consumer wariness, it seems Nintendo won’t be entering the fray anytime soon. Why? Because in a recent interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, he had this to say:

It might seem like we are just going the opposite direction for the sake of going in the opposite direction, but it really is trying to find what makes Nintendo special. There is a lot of talk about A.I., for example. When that happens, everyone starts to go in the same direction, but that is where Nintendo would rather go in a different direction

It’s a pretty vague comment, but it makes sense. AI content tends to be rather generic, with even the ‘best’ stuff feeling like a soulless imitation of a human made product.

And with Nintendo’s charm coming from their originality and inspired design practices, it’s something that just seems to fly in the face of everything they stand for. It’s unoriginal, it’s blatantly flawed, it’s unethical with regards to how it treats workers, and it makes everything just kinda blend together.

So, it’s basically the complete opposite of Nintendo’s design philosophy through and through.

What’s more, it’s not like Miyamoto is alone with his distaste for AI at Nintendo. The topic was also brought up in a recent shareholder meeting too, with one investor asking how it might be used by the company in future:

Efforts are underway to equip smartphones with AI, and it is expected that AI will become more prominent in everyday life. I’d like to hear about Nintendo’s initiatives using AI.

Shuntaro Furuwaka’s response to that question was fairly muted as well:

In the game industry, AI-like technologies have long been used — for example, to control the movements of opponent characters — so I believe that game development and AI technology have always had a close relationship. Generative AI, which is becoming a big topic recently, can be used in creative ways, but we recognize that it may also raise issues with intellectual property rights.

We have decades of know-how in creating the best gaming experiences for our players. While we are open to utilizing technological developments, we will work to continue delivering value that is unique to Nintendo and cannot be created by technology alone.

So yeah, it seems like AI isn’t exactly in Nintendo’s plans right now. Miyamoto seems to have little interest in using it, and the other Nintendo higher ups are hesitant to consider it due to intellectual property considerations and a want to provide creative experiences that can’t be delivered by technology alone.

Still, what are your thoughts here? Are you surprised by Miyamoto’s comments on AI, or Nintendo’s attitude towards the technology in general? Should generative AI actually be a thing in video games, or would you rather it was left out altogether?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below, or on our Discord server today!

Source:

Shigeru Miyamoto Interview About the Nintendo Museum (New York Times)