Highlights

  • Nintendo has no plans to use generative AI in first-party titles.
  • President Shuntaro Furukawa emphasizes Nintendo's focus on creating unique content that cannot be replicated.
  • Using generative AI can also lead to issues with IP rights.

Nintendo recently assured gamers that it won’t be using generative AI in its first-party games anytime soon. The past few years have been eventful for Nintendo fans, with plenty of blockbuster first-party titles debuting on the Switch, including The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and solid remasters of classics like Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Additionally, Nintendo has confirmed that its next console will be revealed at some point between now and 2025.

As exciting as the future may be, there are some aspects that gamers aren't especially thrilled about, with one controversial subject being the use of generative AI in media. Over the past few years, AI programs like ChatGPT and Midjourney have become increasingly advanced, much to the concern of artists and writers losing job opportunities due to companies incorporating this new technology. Not even the gaming industry is immune, as companies like Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix have come under fire for their use and endorsement of generative AI in the past.

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Nintendo recently revealed its own stance on the use of generative AI during a Q&A session with investors (via TweakTown). President Shuntaro Furukawa was asked about using AI in future first-party Nintendo games, responding by saying that his company has no plans to do so. While Furukawa acknowledges that AI has been used in the past to control enemy character movements, generative AI can lead to issues with intellectual property rights due to the question of who owns the content created by using it.

Nintendo Won’t Use Generative AI In First-Party Games

Furukawa explains that his company has “decades of know-how in creating optimal gaming experiences for customers,” and while it will remain open-minded about future technological developments, Nintendo wishes to continue making unique content that could not be replicated using technology alone. This stands in contrast to console competitor Xbox, which has indicated that it plans to use AI to help create quests and write dialogue in future projects.

On the other hand, Nintendo is more concerned about the implications AI has for IP rights, something that the legendary company has aggressively prioritized in the past by issuing cease-and-desists to unauthorized fan projects and suing modding companies for selling pirated hardware. Generative AI remains a controversial topic in the gaming industry, with major companies like Nintendo taking a strong stance in the ever-growing debate about where these programs belong in a field driven by artistic expression.