Summary
- Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser has said that the company is deliberating on the use of AI in development.
- However, he stated that the developers are what make the games special.
- His namesake would agree.
The growing prevalence of AI in game development is undeniable. Of course, there’s always been AI in game development, but it’s concerning when it is used to actively create content for a game, especially at the expense of developers. We can all agree that AI-created dialogue, art, or whatever the hell this is, is soulless.
Related
I Was On Board With The Nintendo Switch 2 Discord Knock-Off Until The Very Last Reveal
Paying for parties? I’ll stick with Discord.
While many developers may be looking at increasing output and decreasing costs by implementing AI into game development, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser acknowledges the possible benefits, while also stating that it’s the developers that make their games special.
Developers Make Games Special, Not AI
In an interview with CNBC (via GamesRadar) about the Switch 2 Direct, Bowser was asked about how and if the company would be integrating AI into its developmental processes. He started off by saying that he didn’t want to speak on behalf of the developers, but noted that “we always want to make sure the technology we may be leveraging, whether it’s to develop our games or whether it’s in our devices, is going to create a better gameplay experience.”
He went on to say that while the company is currently deliberating on how to implement the use of AI, like a number of other companies looking to “enhance productivity”, it will not be done so in a way to replace the actual developers who have been responsible for the company’s success.
“If developers choose to use AI, and it is a discussion right now at Nintendo, it’s not the only method of developing games,” he explained. “We still believe that what makes our games special is our developers, their artistic capabilities, their insight into how people play, so there’s always, always going to be a human touch, and a human engagement in how we develop and build our games.”
The integration of AI into the workplace seems inevitable at the moment. Hopefully, like Bowser said, it’s not done so in a way that replaces humans.
