In the wake of fierce online backlash, Professor Layton developer Level-5 has released a new statement apologizing for the mistrust caused by generative AI use in its recent showcase for upcoming titles, insisting some examples spotted by fans were simply human error.
Not only that, but the studio has insisted that some mistakes flagged as AI errors by eagle-eyed commenters on social media were actually human mistakes. The Japanese studio has now vowed to clean up these offending portions.
For those who missed it, Level-5 released its “VISION 2026 II: Dreams” presentation on YouTube on September 10. Narrated by a cartoon version of CEO Akihiro Hino, the showcase walked viewers through the studio’s upcoming releases, including Yokai Watch 2: Haunted Domain, Decapolice, and a first look at Professor Layton and the New World of Steam.
However, shortly after the video dropped, social media was flooded with comments and reaction videos. Commenters scrutinized backgrounds and art, noting inconsistencies and elements suggestive of generative AI use, with many slamming Level-5 for perceived “AI slop.” Comparisons between the September 9 Nintendo Direct Yokai Watch 2 trailer and the VISION 2026 trailer for the same game released just a day later also had fans pointing out AI-like errors. The Nintendo Direct trailer for Professor Layton and the Curious Village (a Switch remake of the Nintendo DS original), also had internet sleuths finding elements that appeared to be AI upscales of original backgrounds.
Oh no Level-5 is DEFINATELY using Gen AI to "update" Professor Layton. Especially when you compare the original backgrounds to the new. So many weird details and inconsistencies were added. https://t.co/AjVNfgetkk pic.twitter.com/0tRQ9vKn03
This backlash prompted CEO Hino to make a statement on X, admitting that the developer had experimented with using AI processing techniques for the VISION 2026 II showcase out of a “desire to make the presentation flashy." After apologizing for the offense that this caused, Hino insisted that key elements of Level-5's games (such as story, character designs and settings) were created by people and that AI tools were used to speed up the process of digitizing artists’ creations. “Please be reassured that there is no simplistic, AI-generated data in our released games,” Hino commented, before noting that the company’s use of AI tools to make processes more efficient was giving its developers more time to be creative, and that they are currently in a trail-and-error process of shortening the 5-year development cycle for major titles down to two years.
Hino’s statement went down like a lead balloon, however. The CEO’s comments about “using AI in various ways” to enhance the visual appearance of the showcase drew particular ire, with many Japanese users seeing this as a lazy ‘style over substance’ approach. “Isn’t the point of a trailer to express creativity, not flashiness?” one person said.
In its latest statement issued on September 17, Level-5 said: “We deeply apologize for the distrust in our production process that our inexperienced use of AI and simple human errors have caused. Please note that AI has not been used directly in the contents of the games themselves. Moving forward, we will pay even greater attention to the accuracy and quality of the work we produce.”
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/professor-layton-developer-level-5-scrambles-to-reupload-trailers-as-ai-backlash-intensifies
