Publisher System 3 is currently getting a boatload of backlash following its trailer upload for James Pond Legacy: The Pond Is Not Enough, a new compilation for Switch 2 that presents multiple versions of the first four titles (thanks, Kotaku).

The trailer is a parody of the opening credits for James Bond movies, but the big issue here is that it appears to utilise generative AI throughout. All of the characters have that smooth, lifeless quality that seems typical of AI-generated assets, while one of them even has four fingers on one hand and five on the other – a proper giveaway.

Commenters are holding absolutely nothing back, accusing System 3 of not only using AI for the artwork, but also for the accompanying music theme (which, to us, sounds similar to Mike Oldfield’s Nuclear in some ways). Nevertheless, the publisher has posted a pinned comment to the trailer, claiming that no generative AI was used in its creation.

“To be absolutely clear, no generative AI was used in the James Pond Legacy trailer or character artwork.

“The new 3D Pondverse characters were created from the authentic original pixel graphics through a human-led process involving manual redrawing, 3D rendering, Photoshop clean-up and a final paint-over. These characters appear in the introduction, menus and presentation surrounding the collection. They do not replace the original in-game graphics.”

System 3 has even provided a blog post to explain the creative process behind converting the original pixel art for The Bovine Bomber to 3D, but even this doesn’t seem to be enough to convince commenters. Many have quite rightly pointed out that the original arm cannon for the character was presented as a milk jug, yet the 3D render transforms this into a more generic-looking weapon.

It seems that System 3 may need to either provide more clear evidence to refute the claims, or simply come clean. Generative AI has obviously become so commonplace these days that it’s hard to ignore, but judging from the reception here (and to Shift Up’s music video for Stellar Blade: Blood Rain), gamers really don’t want it.