Controversy Surrounding James Pond Legacy
Recently, publisher System 3 announced the collection James Pond Legacy: The Pond Is Not Enough, scheduled for release in October 2026 for the Switch 2 platform in digital and physical formats. The collection includes classic games from the series originally released on Amiga 500, Sega Mega Drive, SNES, and Commodore 64: James Pond: Underwater Agent, James Pond 2: RoboCod, James Pond 3: Operation Starfish, and The Aquatic Games.
However, following the premiere of the trailer, fans immediately noticed questionable artwork and accused the company of using generative artificial intelligence. System 3 attempted to deny the allegations, but failed to convince players.
Angry Reaction from the Franchise Creator
The creator of the original James Pond, Chris Sorrell, joined the discussion. In a conversation with Time Extension, he noted that the collection's developers did not contact him at all:
- Sorrell criticized the publisher for disrespecting the franchise's legacy and the authors of the original installments.
- He called the "proof" of the absence of AI provided by the developers another piece of generated garbage, urging them to show actual 3D models or work materials.
- The game designer added that he would have liked to see a careful museum-quality re-release of his work, but instead only sees a desire to save money using AI.
The release of the James Pond Legacy collection for Switch 2 is still scheduled for October 2026, despite vocal criticism from fans and the original creator.
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