Well, That Was Fun While It Lasted: Nintendo Denies Being the Good Guy
Well, that didn't take long. Just a day after I wrote about Nintendo accidentally stumbling onto the right side of history, the company has come out to clarify that, no, they are not, in fact, the good guys.
In a move so rare it feels like spotting a unicorn, Nintendo issued a formal, public denial to the report from a Japanese politician claiming the company was lobbying against generative AI. The politician, Satoshi Asano, has since retracted his statement and issued an apology for "failure to verify the facts." So much for that.
Back to Business as Usual
The dream was nice while it lasted, wasn't it? For one glorious weekend, it seemed like the notoriously litigious company was putting its army of lawyers to good use, fighting for human creativity against the rising tide of AI sludge. The reality, as Nintendo made clear, is far more boring and corporate.
"Contrary to recent discussions on the internet, Nintendo has not had any contact with the Japanese government about generative AI," the company stated. They followed it up with a line that should send a familiar chill down the spine of any fan creator: "Whether generative AI is involved or not, we will continue to take necessary actions against infringement of our intellectual property rights."
In other words: business as usual. They're not fighting for artists; they're just sharpening their knives to protect their IP from everyone, human and machine alike.
The Corporate Word Salad
So what is their stance on AI? Nintendo of America's president, Doug Bowser, gave the most predictably vague, PR-scrubbed answer possible in an interview earlier this year. He said they're looking at how technology, including AI, can "create a better gameplay experience." It's the kind of meaningless corporate word salad you'd expect.
It tells us nothing, which, in itself, tells us everything. Nintendo isn't taking a principled stand here. They're keeping their options open. While the rest of the creative world is grappling with the ethics of AI, from AI-cloned voice actors to automated writers, Nintendo is just watching from the sidelines, waiting to see which way the wind blows.
A Glimmer of Hope, Extinguished
The initial report felt like a bombshell because it was so out of character. Nintendo, the company that treats its own history like a state secret and its fans like potential criminals, was seemingly fighting for a cause bigger than itself.
Now we know the truth. It was just a mistake, a politician's slip-up that briefly painted the company in a flattering light. The war against the endless tide of AI-generated content is still raging, but Nintendo isn't the surprise ally we'd hoped for. They're just another corporation, protecting their assets and keeping their options open. It was foolish to think otherwise. The house always wins.