Mario creator explains why Nintendo won’t use AI in its games

The creator of the Mario and Zelda games, the legend Shigeru Miyamotohas given an interview to the newspaper The New York Timeswhere he explains why Nintendo is not going to use artificial intelligence in its games.

It is something that Nintendo’s own president, Shuntaro Furukawa, had already hinted at in the last shareholders meeting: “Generative AI, which is becoming a big topic lately, can be used creatively, but we recognize that it can also raise issues with intellectual property rights.”

Copyright problem aside, there are other reasons why Nintendo is not a friend of artificial intelligence.

Nintendo says “no” to AI

The genius Shigeru Miyamoto is possibly the most legendary and beloved video game developer. Since it revolutionized recreational machines in the 80s, with donkey konghis Mario games, The Legend of Zeldaand other mythical sagas, have shaped Nintendo’s philosophy.

Miyamoto has been away from video game development for a few yearsis now the executive producer of Nintendo films. His first title, Super Mario Bros: The Moviehas been a great box office success.

Mario’s creator has granted an interview to The New York Timeswhere they ask him about the use of AI in video games.

This is Miyamoto’s response: “It might seem like we’re going in the opposite direction for the sake of going in the opposite direction, but in reality it’s about looking for what makes Nintendo special. There’s a lot of talk about AI, for example. When that happens, everything “The world is starting to go in the same direction, but that’s where Nintendo prefers to go in a different direction.”

The brilliant developer’s response makes sense, because Nintendo is a traditional video game company, in the most literal sense of the word. I even dare to say that it is the only large company that still preserves the essence of the first video games. In many ways, he still develops his greatest hits in the same way as 40 years ago.

Only Nintendo can release games like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomwhich came out just yesterday, and be a critical and sales success with gameplay from 30 years ago, more typical of the games on the Gameboy Advance handheld, or the Super Nintendo, on which this title is based.

For Nintendo, the creation of video games is a craftsmanship: designers, programmers and artists who work together for 3 or 4 years on the same title. That’s why there is no game of Mario either Zelda canonical every year. Vertebral sets only come out every 4 or 5 years.

Using artificial intelligence to generate graphics or programming would force them to change the way they create games. And also, to join the current of competition.

Nintendo is a much smaller company than Sony or Microsoft, and it knows it can’t compete with them. You can only survive by creating unique proposalslike one’s own nintendo switchto differentiate itself from the rest.

Rejecting AI is betting on the creation of artisanal video games, which gamers value so much.and that the rest of the platforms have turned their backs. Creating video games costs a lot of time and money, so all companies, openly or secretly, They are going to use AI massively to create graphics, programming, dialogues, NPCs, and everything that comes their way.

Nintendo is different. Perhaps that is why it is the most beloved and profitable company in the industry.. The latest reference to a style of making video games that dates back to the birth of this medium, 50 years ago.

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Tags: Artificial intelligence, Nintendo, Video games, Viral