It’s no secret that artificial intelligence, and generative artificial intelligence in particular, has been gaining traction in recent years, but if you’re worried about Nintendo using the technology in the development of its games, then you can put those fears to rest… at least for now.
During a recent enterprise annual meeting of shareholders, president Shuntaro Furukawa was specifically asked about Nintendo’s interest in applying artificial intelligence to game development. Furukawa acknowledged the benefits of AI, but seemingly confirmed that Nintendo won’t pursue the technology for now, citing potential intellectual property rights issues (a subject the company is notoriously tight-lipped about).
Here’s what he said:
“In the gaming industry, technology similar to artificial intelligence has long been used to control the movements of enemy characters, so game development and AI technology have always been closely related. Generative artificial intelligence, which has been a hot topic in recent years, can be more creative, but we also recognize that there are problems with intellectual property rights.
“We have decades of knowledge and experience in creating the optimal gaming experience 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.”
So there you have it! It sounds like Nintendo wants to continue creating custom products for the foreseeable future. We can’t say we’re particularly surprised given the company’s continued success with the Switch, but other major publishers, such as Ubisoft and EA, have taken a more relaxed approach to AI technology and actively started implementing it into their development processes.