The boss at System 3 Software has explained that some wires were crossed regarding communication of generative AI usage in the development of the upcoming James Pond Legacy: The Pond is Not Enough.
Last month, a trailer for the four-game retro collection was lambasted by viewers, who threw accusations of heavy GenAI use in the video’s animation and the game’s key art. System 3 denied the allegations, though fans remained skeptical. James Pond creator Chris Sorrell, who was uninvolved in the project, also had some choice words for those behind it: “I hope they choke on an AI-generated fishbone.”
Now, GameSpot has spoken with System 3 CEO Mark Cale, who explained that there was miscommunication between the publisher and developer Antstream.
“That was the statement that we were given at the time by Antstream,” Cale said. “We weren’t involved in the process. They supplied all of the artwork and they supplied, in the process, the [work-in-progress] illustration. All of that was given to us.”
The statement in question, issued by Antstream to System 3, is as follows:
“The art pipeline on some non-in-game assets includes algorithm-assisted depth and form translation: Original 2D concepts are input into a model to estimate volume and lighting, producing pseudo-3D drafts,” reads the statement from Antstream. “Artists then manually repaint, re-render, and finalise all illustrations using this pipeline. The final assets are fully human-authored, with algorithms used only for intermediate visualisation.”
The omission of the term “AI” is what created confusion for System 3, who interpreted the statement as confirmation that no GenAI was used.
“We requested this [statement] for use across the board, including Steam, and to address applicable requirements under the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, including the transparency provisions that took effect on August 2, 2026,” Cale explained.
“Antstream now argues that, because we requested the statement for these purposes, we must have known the extent of their use of AI. However, their statement expressly describes the final assets as ‘fully human-authored,’ with algorithms used ‘only for intermediate visualisation.’
“That doesn’t say ‘generative AI.’ And if they’ve used any generative AI at all, it should have been clear in that statement. That was the statement we were told to put on to Nintendo, to Steam, PS5, Xbox – any format we want to go based on that. The actual gameplay itself is, of course, all emulated anyway. And for me, I don’t know the definition of how you’re going to try to say something that’s prompt-based [is] ‘generative AI’ versus algorithms. And so we honestly looked at that and took that honestly to [mean] there was no AI.”
Despite the confusion, Cale said that Antstream was chosen for James Pond Legacy because of its impressive work in previous System 3 retro compilations, such as The Last Ninja Collection.
The CEO also said it was not feasible to produce fully hand-drawn artwork for the project.
“All of the artwork that has been created within the Pond-verse has been based on art that’s either on the box cover or characters that are in the game,” Cale said.
“And at the end of the day, if people think we’re going to redraw, re-render to that quality, and have 20 or 30 people working two years on it, forget it: It’s not going to happen. We wouldn’t put the Pond-verse in there.
“The simple fact is, it would not match an investment versus a return. I’m only speaking for myself – I can’t speak for Antstream – but if it was for me, I wouldn’t do it, because I couldn’t justify having 20 artists for a year create all of that in that way.”
Cale said that a clearer set of guidelines for what System 3 considers generative AI should help the company avoid running into a similar situation in the future.
James Pond Legacy: The Pond is Not Enough release date
The James Pond Legacy: The Pond is Not Enough will launch exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 in October 2026. A specific release date has yet to be announced.
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Written by Reece Heather
A veteran Zelda Universe editor and First-class journalism graduate, Reece emerged with a Nintendo 64 and a lifelong obsession after a narrow escape from Santa’s Naughty List in 1998. Outside of games, he’s reading Punisher comics, being bossed around by his cocker spaniel, and cornering innocent bystanders to rant about the importance of game preservation.
