It's difficult to go against the stream, especially when you're a publicly traded company with shareholders to answer to. While tech companies are often hailed as innovators, there's also pressure to follow the direction everyone else is heading. At the moment, that means AI. It's everywhere, and most companies are keen to talk about how they're going to be making use of it, which makes Nintendo is a welcome exception.
In the gaming sphere, both Sony and Xbox are exploring the use of generative AI to develop games. Xbox has a deal with Inworld and Sony has talked about a shift to AI-augmented storytelling. You would think Nintendo would be under pressure to follow suit, but, refreshingly, the company's president has dismissed AI, saying it has nothing on the company's years of experience (see our pick of the best Nintendo Switch deals and the best Nintendo Switch games).
As noticed by Tweak Town, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa responded to questions about using AI in games in a recent Q&A session with investors. He said that while AI has long been used in gaming to control enemy character movements, his opinion is that generative AI is questionable due to issues with intellectual property rights.
"Generative AI, which has been a hot topic in recent years, can be more creative, but we also recognize that it has issues with intellectual property rights," he said. "We have decades of know-how in creating optimal gaming experiences for our customers, and while we remain flexible in responding to technological developments, we hope to continue to deliver value that is unique to us and cannot be achieved through technology alone."
That's not exactly a a categorical 'no', and I wonder how long Nintendo's skepticism will last. If it doesn't see an generative AI in the future of its game development, that doesn't mean that it won't use it for other purposes. But Nintendo has always been a bit quirky and different, and it's nice to see a company that isn't in a rush to start using generative AI.
Perhaps it's even taken on board the fact that fans have often been highly critical of AI. There have been complaints about AI-generated 'storybooks' with stolen IPs popping up on the Switch store, and earlier this year, Niantic was blasted by Pokémon fans for possibly using AI for Pokémon Go's Adventures Abound, something it neither confirmed nor denied.
