Artificial intelligence remains one of the largest conversation points in video games and many other industries, and now the president of Nintendo of America has intervened to share his thoughts.
Doug Bowser told CNBC that he sees opportunities for technologies to improve productivity in some areas, but when it comes to the real development of the game, humans will always lead the way.
“If developers choose to use AI, and it is a discussion at this time in Nintendo, it is not the only method to develop games,” he said. “We still believe that what makes our games special are our developers. His artistic abilities. His idea of how people play. So always, it will always be a human touch and a human commitment in how we develop and build our games.”
He added that AI is not different from any other new technology that has entered the market, saying that Nintendo could choose to take advantage of it if it helps to create “a better game experience.”
It seems that Nintendo executives are aligned in their messages on this subject, since Bowser is echoing what the president of Nintendo, Shutaro Furukawa, said in 2023. At that time, the executive said that Nintendo would consider taking advantage of the AI as he would do with any new technology, but the games will not be made only by “technology.” Meanwhile, Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, said Nintendo will not necessarily have the AI only because other companies can do so.
Looking outside Nintendo, Electronic Arts Andrew Wilson chief believe that AI could be used to develop games more quickly. Meanwhile, Microsoft is strongly invested in AI and has said that AI will appear in each product you do in the future, including Xbox, and Ubisoft plans to create AI NPC with which players can have conversations.
IA technology has been used in games development for decades, but the new and different in recent years is what is known as generative artificial intelligence. Many are still concerned that the growth of the generative market can lead to job losses, and companies such as EA and others have admitted that this is a legitimate concern.
The video game industry has faced brutal dismissals in 2023 and 2024, although the role that advances artificial intelligence technologies in these cuts is unknown.
In other Nintendo news, Switch 2 is launched in June. The price was announced at $ 450, but some believe that Nintendo will end up increasing prices due to newly announced rates.
