Earlier today, System 3, the game studio working on the James Pond Legacy: The Pond is not Enough, announced that it would be releasing exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 this October, with a limited physical release at launch. However, these details were quickly sidelined after fans of the series watched the newly dropped trailer, which features no gameplay whatsoever and has been made entirely using generative AI.
You can watch the new James Pond Legacy trailer below.
The James Pond games are a series of 2D side-scrolling platformers in which you play as the titular super-spy, James Pond, in an obvious parody of James Bond.
The James Pond Legacy: The Pond is not Enough is a collection of all versions of the four games in the series (Amiga 500, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, SNES, and Commodore 64), along with modern conveniences such as multiple save slots and controller rumble. It also includes the Pondverse, an interactive hub filled with character profiles, hero and villain biographies, franchise history, level information, and more.
The physical release on Nintendo Switch 2 is limited to 6,000 copies, with System 3 describing it as an “opportunity to own a tangible piece of James Pond history” and being developed with “game preservation at its heart.”
The trailer, which riffs on the opening credit sequences of the James Bond films, features AI-generated artwork of the game’s cast, including the suspiciously twin-like Jane Ponda and Tina Tuna. According to a press release, the “original studio-recorded title track” that debuts with the trailer is titled ‘Maybe’ (inspired by the game’s villain, Dr. Maybe), and is planned for release on Spotify and Apple Music ahead of the game’s launch in October, despite no artist being attributed to it.
The YouTube comments section of the trailer is filled with responses calling out the use of gen AI in it, the song, and game key art, with some stating that it flies in the face of the studio’s comments on game preservation.
System 3 has pinned a comment emphasising that no generative AI was used in the creation of the game trailer or the character artwork, with a link to an article they posted on their website today. The article details the journey of recreating a 2D character sprite of a cow enemy into 3D to be included in the Pondverse.
James Pond Legacy: The Pond is not Enough releases exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 this October.
Will you be picking up James Pond Legacy: The Pond is not Enough? What do you think of the new trailer, song, and character key art? Let us know in the comments below, and join the Gamer Social Club Discord to chat about your favourite games, play in community game nights, take part in giveaways, and more!
