The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is currently taking place in Las Vegas, and there's great news – it looks like everyone's best friend Mario is in attendance. But there's also bad news: he's a creepy AI Mario, and we hate him.
We first learned about the monster via X (formerly Twitter) user @ProbChild_, who filmed an interaction with it:
So Mario was in #CES
But uh… who approved this abomination? 💀 pic.twitter.com/diG3axCJIG
– Gregory (@ProbChild_) January 10, 2024
On the show floor, our reporter Taylor Lyles was able to confirm that this is indeed a real thing at CES. It's a technology made by a company called Proto, which develops 3D communications software. What appears to be happening here is that Proto has uploaded a 3D image of Mario to the CES show floor, uses a combination of voice recognition and AI technology to listen to attendees ask questions and then has Mario respond in an unobtrusive manner. Italian brand voice.
What's a bit unclear here is how much, if any, of the penalties Nintendo has imposed. Nintendo is known to be very strict when it comes to who uses its characters and how. I'm no legal expert, but the extremely soft voice, mouth movements, stiff posture, and everything about this screams “Nintendo did not approve this” based on their previous work.
It's certainly not just Mario's show; Other attendees reported that the Proto hologram box had previously shown other images and real people, including a demo with the CEO of AARP:
Highlight #CES2024: Our Senior Vice President, @Innovation Andy I offered @ProtoHologram to @AARP CEO, @JoAnn_Jenkins a tour @agetechcollab Displays. A virtual hologram of Jo Ann demonstrating our commitment to innovative technology. #Innovation in the age of technology #AARP #Future_of_Technology pic.twitter.com/T6qPjTe568
— AARP’s AgeTech Collaborative™ (ILabs) (@AgeTechCollab) January 10, 2024
The AARP connection is a bit strange, as @ProbChild_ and @raystrazdas also reported that a representative from AARP (not Proto) told them at the booth to ask Mario how to purchase a game. Mario answered (in his annoyingly deep voice) by encouraging the questioner to search online at Target dot com, and in particular, the 3D image appears to have a small Target logo in the bottom corner which is not present in other demos we've done. Seen on Twitter . So it looks like Target is somehow involved too?
So I guess there was more video thanks @raystrazdas
I was told by an AARP representative to ask Mario something about how to purchase a game?
None of this makes sense. AARP? Mario? Buying from Target? Amnesty International??
This whole experience was weird from the beginning 🙃 pic.twitter.com/mHiSElHsPj
– Gregory (@ProbChild_) January 10, 2024
The best we can say is that what appears to be happening in Mario's case is that Proto is offering some sort of 3D AI technology to partner with retailers like Target that could be used as an AI assistant in stores. It seems that using Mario specifically is what Proto has set up to attract people to its booth, though it's unclear what kind of reaction Nintendo will have to the whole thing. We've reached out to Nintendo, Proto, and Target for comment on this matter.
Perhaps what's most annoying about this is that, at first glance, this entire gallery recalls something Nintendo has already done before: They had Mario (And Luigi!) Chat in real time with passersby at places like New York Comic Con and Nintendo New York. But every time they've done this in the past, the production has worked because Charles Martinet was lurking somewhere off-camera listening to the questions and answering in real time in Mario's voice. But Martinet stepped down as the official voice of Mario last year, and while he's still around as the official “Mario ambassador” (a role he doesn't even seem to understand), he's been replaced in Super Mario Wonder, at least, by an actor. Kevin Afghan. I've been wrong about the Afghan's voice before, but what Proto demonstrates doesn't really sound like him. Absolutely. Or any version of Mario, including Chris Pratt's controversial interpretation.
The contrast between the wholesome Nintendo New York Mario and SHAM of a Mario is stark the moment the plumber opens his mouth. Despite being a video game character, there's a human element to Mario that comes through in his voice that the unsettling AI Proto robot can't quite capture. Hopefully this is a signal to Nintendo and all the other major gaming companies that replacing real voice actors with robots – an issue we've incidentally seen crop up a lot at the start of 2024 – may not go the way they hope.
Rebecca Valentine is a senior reporter at IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Additional reporting by Taylor Lyles.
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