Nintendo Denies Using AI-Generated Images For ‘Mario Kart World’
Nintendo have denied using AI-generated images in the upcoming open-world racing game, Mario Kart World. The allegation came after gaming press reported on suspicions some held over various billboards potentially featuring signs of being created by AI in part or whole.
The allegations came from footage during the Nintendo Treehouse livestream in early April, showcasing Mario Kart World and other Nintendo games. During Day 2 (at 9:15 in the uploaded segment) we see Mario glide through the Crown City course, buildings either side of him adorned with billboards. Those billboards were accused by some of being AI generated on social media.
On the right we see a billboard for a fake car company called Dash. While the car has comically tall windows in comparison to the car’s body — what could be interpreted as an AI program exaggerating the wrong proportions — this is exactly how the cars driven by NPCs look in Crown City (the bigger windows and shorter body letting us see the Koopas inside).
As part of a trio of construction billboards, we see the latter two featuring the image of a bridge and the launch site of the DK Spaceport course. While Eurogamer erroneously reports that course is a “work-in-progress skyscraper, with strangely-orientated floors and pathways” these in actuality are parts of the track.
Nonetheless, the art of bridge is oddly smooth and lumpy in places; as though line-art had been put through a filter, or an AI created the entire image. X users have also claimed the bridge’s flags are inconsistent (lacking a cable), and lampposts at odd angles. This isn’t the bridge we later see when entering Whistlestop Summit (11:37), as it doesn’t have flag poles on top, and a different style of lamppost. Press images however show many Yoshis and Spike driving down the bridge in the billboard.
Other reports didn’t discuss the first construction billboard, featuring a Toad mushroom house with pointed back (rather than the the nigh-perfectly smooth spherical shape the “cap” roof usually is).
The suspicion over a few assets- irrelevant of how much water the claims hold- raises questions about others. We see Crown City’s logo painted onto a roof (9:03). Is the logo too wobbly even for the painted-on-concrete effect seen in car parks the world over? Are there too few gaps?
When looking for AI, every stylized piece of text or imperfection becomes sign to those looking for it. A sign in a grocery store window (10:19) where the text is just a scrawled mess. During the Mario Kart World direct, we see a billboard with retro-sprites (14:42), but the text of the year in the bottom right is thick and thin in all the wrong places. AI up-scaling gone wrong, or AI creation gone wrong?
A Nintendo spokesperson gave a succinct answer to Eurogamer, in their aforementioned report. “AI-generated images were not used in the development of Mario Kart World.” Well, that ends that, right? After all, Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa had previously insisted Nintendo wouldn’t be following the crowd.
When speaking with The New York Times in September last year, Miyomoto swore “It might seem like we are just going the opposite direction for the sake of going in the opposite direction, but it really is trying to find what makes Nintendo special. There is a lot of talk about A.I., for example. When that happens, everyone starts to go in the same direction, but that is where Nintendo would rather go in a different direction.”
Furukawa also told shareholders in July last year “Generative AI, which is becoming a big topic recently, can be used in creative ways, but we recognize that it may also raise issues with intellectual property rights.”
“We have decades of know-how in creating the best gaming experiences for our players. While we are open to utilizing technological developments, we will work to continue delivering value that is unique to Nintendo and cannot be created by technology alone,” Furukawa insisted.
So… What about those billboards? It could be speculated Nintendo were being technically honest; AI-generated images weren’t used in Mario Kart World, as they didn’t say anything about AI-upscaled images. On the other hand, upscaling is treated with far-less scorn than AI creation and generation, so why not admit to it?
Being honest about that would be preferable to being caught-out failing to disclose AI, even for a smaller purpose. Or maybe the bad PR over the game’s price has gotten Nintendo to keep their heads down, and attempt an even more iron-clad grip over how details of the game are revealed to the public?
As the first open-world Mario Kart game, fans are sure to get into every nook and cranny, and we’re bound to learn how everything was put together after it launches.
The AI of the opposing racers are also bound to rain down Blue Shells and Lightning as you are inches from the finish line, like God suddenly remembered your sins. Some things won’t change with advancing technology.
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