Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said the company will not use generative artificial intelligence to create new games.
During a recent question-and-answer session with investors, Furukawa was asked about Nintendo's stance on using AI in the development process.
“Generative AI, which has been a hot topic in recent years, has more creative potential, but we are also aware of the issues surrounding intellectual property rights,” he explained. “We have decades of accumulated know-how in providing our customers with the best gaming experience, and we would like to continue to provide our unique value that cannot be achieved through technology alone, while flexibly responding to technological developments.”
He went on to say that “game development and AI technology have always gone hand in hand,” as “AI-like technology” has been used for many years to “control the movements of enemy characters.”
“AI will change the very nature of how game developers learn, but ultimately it will lead to more efficient development and more beautiful things being made by humans,” PlayStation's head of independent developer initiatives said last year.
Meanwhile, EA has said it wants to use more AI in the development process: “Our ultimate goal is to build bigger, more innovative, more creative and more fun games faster to entertain more people around the world at a faster pace,” CEO Andrew Wilson said.
He added that EA has 40 years of user data to train its AI, and that developers have a “strong appetite” to use it. Ubisoft has also been experimenting with AI, with mixed results.
However, during the same Q&A, Nintendo President Furukawa revealed that longer game development cycles are “inevitable.”
“[The process] “They're getting longer, more complex and more sophisticated,” he continued. “To address this, we are continually expanding our development resources and making the necessary investments.”
In other news, the iconic Final Fantasy The developer of the RPG series said he has no plans to return to the game.
