Square Enix is getting accused of using AI or AI-enhanced art for the latest release of the Kingdom Hearts compilation for PS5. The Kingdom Hearts series is iconic for its cover art with the beautiful drawings by Tetsuya Nomura, which capture the hope and light of the games (with the addition of Donald and Goofy). Now, the head of Square Enix has already spoken up about wanting to use more AI in the games, so it makes sense that he’d want a cover to be drawn by AI rather than hire any of his art team if Nomura is busy, or you know… just use the old cover, really.
It feels like we can’t go a day without seeing AI in the news and more companies pushing it onto the gamers, when most players want nothing to do with it, and it’s the higher-ups in companies that cut corners with kiddy scissors when they should keep cutting with the right tools to avoid mistakes.
More Kingdom Hearts 4, Less ChatGPT
The first time the alleged AI cover was spotted was on retail shelves, when the order came to swap the old cover for the ‘updated’ one. It’s not the kind of update the famished Kingdom Hearts fans were hoping for, right after the hype brought on by the Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer at Summer Game Fest.
The Kingdom Hearts series is iconic for its cover art with the beautiful drawings by Tetsuya Nomura
It would make sense to be cautious and build momentum on this massive update, but instead, Square Enix has to answer whether they have used AI or enhanced the poorly done cover with AI. Online, the boards are filled with people pointing out inconsistencies that are commonplace in AI-generated images, like Donald’s odd fingers, Sora’s strange shoe, and others.
Apparently, the company heard enough of the backlash and is pulling back by giving the old cover back. But in a day and age where AI is not profitable, why do companies still push it? The cover has already been pulled from Amazon, while GAME still has the AI cover as well as the official Square Enix store. It seems like the captain is set on going down with the ship.
It is very important to note that Square Enix didn’t address this at all, no notes, no comments, no tweets, nothing. While we should applaud the decision to pull back at least from the retailers or some, it would be nice if it were more understood, and we won’t get the next cover enhanced by AI with Sora holding onto a key blade with more fingers than there are Xehanorts in each hand.
