Nintendo has released an official statement addressing recent online rumors claiming that the Kyoto-based company is working with the Japanese government to block the use of generative AI.
The announcement was shared on social media in both Japanese and English, as shown below.
Nintendo’s Statement and What’s Happening
The message reads:
“Contrary to recent discussions on the internet, Nintendo has not had any contact with the Japanese government about generative AI. Whether generative AI is involved or not, we will continue to take necessary actions against infringement of our intellectual property rights.”
The statement was also made in response to a now-deleted post by Satoshi Asano, a member of Japan’s House of Representatives, who claimed that Nintendo was engaging in lobbying activities with the government to restrict the use of generative AI. Asano later issued a formal apology after Nintendo denied the claims, expressing regret for not properly verifying the facts.
The controversy follows the launch of OpenAI’s Sora 2, a video-generating AI model that has been used to create content featuring copyrighted material, including Nintendo’s intellectual properties. One such video showed an AI-generated version of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman saying, I hope Nintendo doesn’t sue us, while realistic Pokémon ran in the background. The backlash to these videos is likely one of the reasons OpenAI is revising its policy on the use of copyrighted material in Sora.
It is already known that Japan is concerned about Sora 2’s lack of protection for Japanese intellectual property rights.
