Nintendo Catches Flak for GenAI Use in My Mario Toys
Nintendo is being criticized over advertisements for a new line of Mario toys aimed at young children, which has some fans crying foul over the possible use of generative AI. It’s not the product itself that has Nintendo in hot water, but the advertisements, which show nothing looking off about the product, but about the hand holding it.
The use of generative AI in game creation is becoming commonplace, as many development teams utilize the newest technology to a variety of degrees, from simple ones like setting up resources in early planning stages to using it to create entire games. However, in an era of massive layoffs in the gaming industry, many enthusiasts have taken a hard stance against any kind of generative AI use at all, wishing to protect the jobs of the talented people who make games and preserve the integrity of the gaming industry at the same time.
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Fans Question if Nintendo Used Generative AI in Ads
Nintendo’s stance on generative AI has placed it on the right side of this culture war in the minds of many fans, as reports from as early as July 2024 saw company president Shuntaro Furukawa telling investors that plans were set to keep the technology away from the development of any first-party games. However, some fans recently questioned whether there had been a shift in acceptance of generative AI at Nintendo based on advertisements for the My Mario line of toys and games for young children, which is set to launch in February. A thread on ResetEra, which started on January 9, showed a screenshot of a social media post from Nintendo of America showing multiple My Mario products being used, but one of the images was called out for the possible use of generative AI based on the odd placement of the thumb of a person holding a plush Mario doll.
Displayed in the lower-right corner of the picture collage, the image appears to show a baby in its mother’s lap as she holds the doll of Nintendo’s primary mascot in one hand. However, the angle of her thumb is quite odd, as only its middle joint shows any sign of bending, making many fans think her digit appeared to be broken or, more likely, that the image was generated by AI. Examining irregularities of hands is well-known to be one of the easiest ways to spot AI usage, but after some digging around, fans revealed other tells that point to these images being legitimate photographs, including the consistency of fabric grains and background art between shots in the image series. This revelation led many to change their tune as the thread progressed, believing the thumb placement to actually be a result of poor photo editing.
Whatever the situation, the social media post was enough to raise the hackles of several Nintendo fans, whether they believed the art was AI-generated or they were defending the company against a potential witch hunt with no basis. While the company’s stance against AI in its first-party games seems to be holding true, some have called its continued dedication into question after Nintendo dispelled rumors that it was lobbying against generative AI with the Japanese government, which were started in response to the company’s copyright infringement lawsuits against the makers of Palworld.
In addition to Nintendo, there are still plenty of other figures in the gaming industry who are actively opposing AI usage, including The Last of Us co-director Bruce Straley. The anti-AI movement has also gained a strong foothold in the independent gaming community, with Polygon Treehouse creative director Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou creating a No Generative AI seal for indie developers to use as an indication that their games are fully made by humans. That seal is, interestingly enough, based on the classic Nintendo Seal of Quality.