The president of PlayStation explained to investors and the public how Sony will approach the use of AI technology in the development of video games.
Although AI technology in the world of gaming does not meet with the approval of the audience, Sony has decided to speak publicly about its plans to implement AI solutions in the development of PlayStation games.
The president of PlayStation, Hideaki Nishino, stated that AI is a powerful tool that will deliver a gaming experience to the PlayStation audience like never before.
“Even more immersion, even more adventures, fresh ways to enjoy with your favorite characters.” – says Nishino.
Admittedly, Nishino wasn’t really addressing the players when making that statement, but investors. And you can say anything to them because they don’t play games anyway.
Fortunately, Nishino was a little more specific in explaining how AI technology will help game developers and publishers. The argument is that with AI technology, game development will be faster and cheaper, and will significantly increase the amount and variety of content for players.
Ok, that’s not something specific either, but then Nishino gave an example of how PlayStation Studios teams are already using AI tools to automate repetitive actions, speed up testing, 3D modeling and animation…
An example is a tool called Mockingbird that animates 3D facial models of characters based on actors’ performances. A job that would traditionally take hours with the Mockingbird tool takes only a few seconds.
Nishino says that AI tools have already started to be used by studios such as Naughty Dog, San Diego and others. Among them is Polyphony Digital, which based on the idea of machine learning for its Gran Turismo 7 delivers the highest challenge (GT Sophy) for the most demanding players.
It was also confirmed that Sony has joined forces with Bandai Namco to explore the application of generative AI technology in game development. And that’s pretty abstract, too, but one thing runs through all of Sony’s plans for AI technology. They say from Sony that their goal is not to replace people with this technology, but to make the work of existing workers easier and faster. But that’s what everyone always says, and no one from PlayStation Studios has announced their point of view on the application of AI technology on this occasion.