Nintendo has been forced to deny reports it used AI-generated imagery to advertise its new My Mario children’s toy range.
Separately, IGN has spoken with one of the models used on the photoshoot, who has discussed the lengths she and others went through to get cast for the marketing campaign, only for doubt to be thrown on its origins.
Last week, reports began circulating online that Nintendo had used AI fakery to generate images of parents and babies holding Super Mario toys. Suspicion was raised by one particular image where a model’s thumb was spotted at an unusual angle, quickly prompting numerous users on social media — as well as some news reports — to label the photo as likely AI-generated.
However, Nintendo did not use generative AI to create parents and babies, and instead cast actual human models to advertise its new product range. But doubt spread regardless, due to the growing assumption that AI tools can now create photorealistic imagery that’s increasingly impossible to detect from the real thing.
“Everything is real,” said Brittoni O’myah Sinclair, a model who worked on the photoshoot alongside her real-life family, in a statement to IGN. “All the models were casted, and most of us worked with our real families. We had to do auditions, and call backs to book this job.”
While Sinclair is not the model whose thumb prompted the AI speculation online, she says she saw them in passing — and they were very much a real person, too. Separately, a Nintendo spokesperson has confirmed to IGN that no AI was used in any of the images.
“As a person born w/ double-jointed thumbs myself, it honestly baffles me how quick ppl are to assume an image is genAI just because a person bends their joints in a way they’re not used to,” wrote Nintendo fan BrunAmitie on social media, posting a photo of their thumb bending in a similar manner. “Y’all need to do your research before spreading stuff like that first.”
The use of AI in entertainment is one of the hottest topics across video games, movies, and television. Last month, Epic Games came under fire for what fans believe to be AI generated art in Fortnite, though at least one example was proven to be hand-drawn by the original artist. Last week, Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian said it no longer planned to use AI tools in the creation of concept art for its upcoming Divinity, following significant online pushback.
Opinion on the use of AI is divided, with some vehemently against its use, while others claim it’s an inevitable part of the future. Rockstar co-founder and former Grand Theft Auto writer Dan Houser recently likened AI to mad cow disease, and claimed that humanity is being pulled in a direction “by a certain group of people who maybe aren’t fully rounded humans.” But the CEO of Genvid — the company behind choose-your-own-adventure interactive series like Silent Hill Ascension — has claimed “consumers generally do not care” about generative AI in games, and stated that: “Gen Z loves AI slop.”
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
