nintendo, a major japanese game company, is actively calling for stricter government regulation of generative ai to protect intellectual property rights. according to mr. asano, a member of the house of representatives, nintendo supports the newly announced "guidelines for the use of generative ai in content production" by the ministry of economy, trade and industry, which clearly stipulates that ai-generated content must not plagiarize existing works. this attitude is consistent with nintendo's consistent strategy of protecting copyrights. president jun tarō furukawa has long warned about the risks of ai, and mr. shigeru miyamoto emphasized that they will never blindly follow industry trends.
nintendo's conservative attitude has sparked heated debates within the industry. masahiro sakurai, the creator of super smash bros., believes that ai is just an aid to development and cannot replace human creativity. however, according to a survey by the japan computer entertainment association, more than half of domestic game companies have already adopted ai technology. companies such as capcom argue that ai is safe in game development as long as it does not infringe on copyrights. developers have already used ai-generated voiceovers and assets in their games, but nintendo's platform has added related warnings.
nintendo fans generally support the company's attitude, but analysts point out that this technological conflict may not be able to stop the trend of industry change. as the popularity of ai in game development continues to rise, how nintendo balances innovation and copyright protection will be an important indicator for future developments.
