Nintendo Denies Using Gaming’s Most Controversial Technology

The , Miyamoto spoke about Nintendo’s refusal to follow the trend toward more photorealistic graphics that dominates much of the games industry.

“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,” he said. “There is a lot of talk about AI, 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.”

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa acknowledged that generative AI can conflict with intellectual property rights during a shareholder call, though he also said that it “can be used in creative ways.” They’re far from a promise that Nintendo will never use generative AI, but Miyamoto’s unprompted comment and Furukawa’s reticence do suggest at the very least a desire to avoid it.

The questionable Mario Kart World art could just be slightly wonky human-made placeholders intended to be cleaned up before release. Given the myriad ethical issues surrounding genAI, it’s disappointing that so few developers have been willing to step up and affirmatively say that they reject its use on those grounds. But even if they’re not willing to do that, the outcry over the mere potential that Nintendo is using the technology should be a wakeup call. The specter of generative AI has made players paranoid over any hint that it’s wormed its way into another game, and developers would be wise to make their rejection of it loud and clear.