u/Mollywobbles77

If anyone out there is on the fence about buying a switch 2 or an SD card or similar, it looks like even after the price hikes now is still a better time to buy than later.

Wonder if or how this will effect physical game carts in the future?

To save you a click, from Nintendo Life:

"Developer Level-5 has issued another statement in the wake of increasing backlash against its stance and use of generative AI.

Essentially, it sounds like the company is really starting to panic at this point, and has made attempts to explain anomalies found within its trailers and presentations. It's also apologised for "causing distrust" with what it calls "immaturity" of its AI utilisation, while confirming that Professor Layton and The New World of Steam will not include any AI.

It has issued no such confirmation, however, for the newly-announced remake of Professor Layton and the Curious Village.

Level-5 explains that irregularities in imagery from Yo-kai Watch 2: Haunted Domain is due to human error, including simplification of power lines that led to them being mistaken for AI. Though supposedly hand-drawn by Level-5's designer, this has since been corrected to look more natural.

Another highlight was the face provided for protagonist Keita (Nathan Adams in the western release). Many folks had noticed differences between his appearance in the recent Nintendo Direct and the Level-5 Vision Showcase. Level-5 explains that more detail had been added to Keita's face, however the deadline provided for the Nintendo Direct meant that an earlier iteration had to be used.

Ultimately, Level-5 blames its "careless" use of AI in presentations for the subsequent audience reactions, stating that human error has been mistaken for generative AI. It has pledged, therefore, to limit AI use to efficiency improvements in the future, and will not utilise it in videos delivered directly to fans.

"Once again, we deeply apologize for causing distrust due to the immaturity of our AI utilization in relation to "LEVEL5 VISION 2026 II" and for the errors made by our staff. We will take even greater care in creating and releasing materials to avoid any misunderstandings.
"Going forward, we promise to limit our use of AI to efficiency improvements only, and to avoid using it directly in videos delivered directly to our users. We appreciate your continued support for our titles."

Full article to save you a click:

"It's no secret that Level-5 has embraced Generative AI when it comes to game development, and CEO Akihiro Hino has been very open and honest about the fact that the company is using the technology in its games – but few expected the recent Level-5 Vision 2026 II Showcase to feature so much AI-made content.

As a result, Hino posted a statement on social media addressing concerns fans have raised about GenAI:

"This time, because we used AI for the footage within the event, it seems that concerns have arisen regarding the content of the works as well, so I would like to provide an explanation," he says on Twitter. "It was entirely due to the desire to make the presentation more spectacular that we incorporated processing that also served as an experiment using the latest AI. It appears that some people felt uncomfortable about this, so I deeply apologize."

He goes on to explain precisely how Level-5 leverages GenAI in its workflow:

"At our company, the parts that relate to the charm and individuality of the released works—such as scenarios, character designs, and basic settings—are all created by human hands. What we're aiming for in terms of efficiency through AI is mainly the digitization of creative work made by people, for example, accurately converting original artwork into polygons and such. Please rest assured that no simplistic AI-generated output data is included in the games that are released."

Hino then makes it clear that Level-5 will continue to use GenAI in order to streamline the development of its games:

"Thanks to the time created by AI efficiency, creators are now able to dedicate more time to the essence of creation, and I believe the finished products are turning out to a level that will satisfy everyone even more than before. Ultimately, under the plan to shorten the current 5-year development period for major titles to 2 years, we are in the stage of trial and error, and struggling forward."

While Hino is clear on the fact that Level-5 will continue to use GenAI, he does admit the "desire to create a clear and flashy presentation" led the company to over-rely on it for the recent presentation. "We will take this as a lesson and carry it forward to the next one, so please look forward to Level Five's next presentation."

It's fair to say that Hino's statement hasn't gone down well with everyone.

Samuel Deats, director of the Castlevania Netflix series Powerhouse Animation Studios, pointed out that even when using human-made assets, GenAI relies on data it scraped without permission from other artists. "Generative AI is trained on the stolen works of countless artists by tech companies to profit off their work, with the intent of replacing artists," he says. "By using it you replaced artists. You're profiting off of the skill of artists whose work has been stolen to power this software."

Even in Japan, where Generative AI isn't seen in quite as negative a light as it is in other parts of the world, the reaction has been less than positive.

"As a longtime fan, I was really looking forward to the revival of this series," says Japanese Twitter user CreationsofStar. "However, despite this statement, I can't help but have serious concerns about the use of AI. It's not only harmful to the environment but also a disrespectful act toward the team members who have worked so hard."

"It's weird that you decided to use AI just to make it flashy," adds @hiro_pad_gbf. "Since you used AI in the presentation, the possibility that it's being used in the work can't be ruled out, you know? 'We didn't use it in the work, but we will use it in the presentation'—it's such a contradiction that it's hard to trust."

GenAI continues to be a highly debated topic, despite the fact that its use is becoming more and more common within the game industry. GenAI tools are trained on millions of images and hours of footage, almost always without the permission of the original copyright holder. The creation of such content also has high power demands, which have an environmental impact, and the internet is suffering as AI slop takes over.

To save you a click:

"Following this week’s update, if you’re playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe online on the original Nintendo Switch compared to a Switch 2 player, you may have an advantage.

Nintendo released a major version 4.0.0 update just a few days ago. It came with all sorts of goodies for Nintendo Switch 2 users like increased resolution and additional player support when playing splitscreen multiplayer.

GameXplain has now pointed out [in a YouTube video] some interesting discrepancies between the two systems. Hazards are appearing on Nintendo Switch 2 which apparently aren’t on Switch 1.

On one course, the person on Nintendo Switch 2 comes across gas canisters which aren’t present on Switch 1. On another course, which is Mario Circuit GBA, there aren’t black tires on Nintendo Switch while they’re seen on Switch 2. This happens at different parts of the track.

The good thing is that these hazards aren’t directly on the track. They’re more on the sidelines, though it can become problematic especially if you’re looking to make up some time by going a bit off road when using a Mushroom.

There may also be a strange glitch on Piranha Plant Pipeline. GameXplain points out some oddities in which the item boxes aren’t syncing between players. However, it’s not immediately clear if this is a Nintendo Switch 1 vs. Switch 2 problem or something that’s more general"

Guess I learned my lesson about buying through the Mac App Store instead of through Steam 😡. Extremely disappointed in this decision from Pearl Abyss.

Does anyone know if I re-buy the game through Steam if there is a way to transfer my save file from the MAS version into the Steam version files?

Contrary to the recently circulated rumors, Nintendo life is saying there's zero evidence Monolith Soft is the developer behind the OoT remake & it is likely the Nordic company that listed it so simply plugged it in as a placeholder for the listing/random guess.

"With the developer, however, we're going to assume at this time that Elkjøp is simply making a wild guess...Is it possible? Sure. But we know so little about the game right now that we could suggest any developer and it might sound reasonably viable. Grezzo, Capcom, Outright Games... Okay, maybe not that last one. You get the idea, though."

I was just looking over Nintendo life's reviews for the newest titles out and take a look at these scores of stuff just posted within the last *week-ish*:

Orbitals - score 9/10
Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition - score 9/10
Onimusha: Way of the Sword - score 9/10
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Master Collection - score 9/10
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault - score 8/10

HELP! I don't have enough time or money for how good we're eating now!

I've been listening to the full cast audiobooks & just can't help but be struck by how very clearly Hagrid's terrible Care of Magical Creatures teaching is a disservice to the students.

Aside from the danger he often puts them in, they learn very little valuable information let alone anything likely to inspire or nurture future careers in the Care of Magical Creatures fields. The trio even admits to each other they likely only could pass an OWL in the field due to Prof. Grubblyplank's fill-in lessons actually teaching them things.

Hagrid is great as a character, as a person, as a groundskeeper, as a friend....but not as a teacher. The students deserved a 'real' Care of Magical Creatures Professor.

Hello beings of Universe 4B28.1,

In the time it would take to pronounce one letter of my true name, a trillion cosmoes would flare into existence and sink into eternal night. I am known by many names in many timelines -- God, Zeus, Yahweh, Zorglorp, Jahova, The Sacred Masculine/The Divine Feminine, Jupiter, Allah, The force of Creation, The One, 1011011001 -- but you may call me Sam.

While your linear perception of time is but a mere illusion created by traveling across an infinite cosmos on a rock, I exist seeing all that has been or will ever be. Among my favorite of these things is My Little Pony (except the version in universe 58C31.6 where everypony is a metaphor for a different hotdog ingredient. It just doesn't make as much sense as being metaphors for a different ingredient in friendship & it really goes down hill after season 2).

But lately I've been wondering if it's weird for a philosophical concept personified into sentient existence to like something so childish, whimsical, & silly. None of the other personified conceptual beings underneath me in the hierarchy of universal Platonic Forms are into My Little Pony & I think some of them judge me for it (especially Chaos, who thinks their portrayal as Discord is 'borderline offensive').

Can anyone else out there relate or do you think there is something wrong with me?

"Leveraging human review and artificial intelligence to combat malicious activity, Apple rejected over 2 million problematic app submissions and blocked more than 1.1 billion fraudulent account creations in 2025"

Very Interesting read, stay safe out there y'all!

"Production designer Chloe Badner tells IndieWire why working on the Dropout series is as much of a gift for an ADHD brain as watching it is."