Nintendo recently officially denied reports that it was lobbying the Japanese government against the use of generative AI.

The incident originated from a post on social media by Japanese Congressman Satoshi Asano on Saturday, saying that Nintendo "avoids the use of generative AI to protect its own IP" and is "lobbying with the government."

This statement quickly sparked heated debate and prompted Nintendo to issue a rare official statement to clarify.

Nintendo said in a statement: "Contrary to discussions circulating on the Internet, Nintendo has not had any contact with the Japanese government regarding generative AI. Regardless of whether generative AI is involved, we will continue to take necessary measures to prevent infringement of our intellectual property rights."

Subsequently, Asano retracted his previous remarks and publicly apologized: "I deeply regret that I failed to fully verify the facts."

It is worth mentioning that earlier this year, Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser also talked about the company’s views on AI technology in an interview.

Bowser said in an interview with CNBC: "If you look at the overall technology perspective, whether it is in game development or hardware devices, Nintendo always hopes that the technology used can bring a better gaming experience. This is the core starting point when we consider whether to use a certain technology - including AI."

He added: "It all starts here... it plays a very important role in our decision-making process and determines how we think about and use AI."

The rise of generative AI is putting tremendous pressure on many creative industries, and the gaming industry is no exception.AI tools like Midjourney have been criticized by many industry insiders, believing that they use artists' works for training without permission, and even replace the work of professional creators to a certain extent.

According to the latest GDC "State of the Game Industry Report", nearly 50% of developers said that their companies are already using generative AI tools, and as many as 84% ​​of respondents expressed concerns about their use.

In addition, data shows that as of this summer, the number of games marked as using generative AI on the Steam platform has increased by 800% year-on-year. This trend has triggered further discussions in the industry on AI norms and creation ethics.