Sony calls AI "foundational" to PlayStation strategy, eyes synthetic game assets

Full text

Recent comments from Sony executives affirm PlayStation is eagerly exploring applications of AI, including the use of "synthetic assets" in game development.

A translated Q&A from the company's recent games and network services meeting includes joint remarks from Sony president and CEO Hideaki Nishino, studio business CEO Hermen Hulst, and senior vice president of finance and corporate development Lynn Azar.

In the meeting's opening presentation, Nishino says, "We also see AI as an important foundational technology supporting our strategy. AI is already helping us across various fields by improving development efficiency, enhancing the player experience, improving content discovery, and enabling creators to build richer content."

Nishino adds that, "With our global player base, deep library of IP, and integrated ecosystem, AI is an exciting long-term opportunity for us."

Nishino notably doesn't specify generative AI, which many game developers have pushed back on , but Sony does discuss how AI may be used in game development. Some of its messaging echoes previous chatter of expediting or removing tedium from game production, but it also looks at more operational applications across the business.

One questioner asks, "As new content emerges in the age of AI, how do you plan to differentiate your platform?"

Sony's joint response is wide-reaching. "With the introduction of AI, we are now able to analyze data at scale much more quickly, and we are seeing strong progress in advancing data utilization," it begins. For example, given the "enormous" volume of PlayStation Store transactions and the risk of "very significant" financial impact from fraud, Sony says "AI engines are being used to assess transaction reliability with a high degree of sophistication, contributing to the prevention of fraud."

(Image credit: Guerilla Games) Quick to stress that "as a creative entertainment company, we prioritize our creators," Sony says AI can enhance that creative work by "by removing repetitive tasks and enabling faster iteration and higher-quality outputs."

This includes the use of "synthetic assets, including synthetic voices, as early placeholders." Indeed, artificial voices have been used as placeholders in some games for quite some time, and the likes of Arc Raiders even shipped with many artificial voices. Today, the risks of AI-generated placeholder assets, especially art, slipping into the final version of a game and causing a stink among players have increased.

Former Dragon Age narrative lead David Gaider discussed this exact risk in scathing comments on generative AI . "All you'd need is one lazy developer or one temp asset that's been forgotten or was placed by someone who's since left the team and you'd have an issue on your hands," Gaider says.

Sony says these synthetic assets are "less about cost efficiency and more about improving quality and development speed, which we see as highly valuable." Of course, since game development costs are largely a function of labor over time, saving time via AI is unavoidably tied to cost efficiency.

Sony also squarely focuses on how games may benefit from AI. "For many years, AI has been deeply embedded in our development processes, and we are increasingly seeing its impact on more immersive in-game experiences, where characters and worlds are enhanced by AI capabilities," the company explains. It's unclear how far back Sony is looking, or how much of this sentiment stems from the fact that AI – as a broader technology and a means of, say, directing NPCs – was woven into games long before the term AI gained new meaning in the ChatGPT decade.

This rhetoric seems to veer closer to that of Ubisoft, which has made much of player-facing gen AI , including visions for more dynamic and responsive companions and other non-player characters. We've also seen some developers question the feasibility and fun of this application of gen AI, with concerns percolating that this approach will just result in poorly defined writing that tries to do everything.

"At the same time, we are experimenting at a more fundamental level with smaller, AI-first initiatives, while remaining realistic about near-term efficiency gains," Sony concludes, seemingly blunting the sensationalism seen in some circles of AI discussion. "These efforts position us to stay at the forefront as AI continues to evolve, both in development processes and in shaping future player experiences."

Instead of putting its games on PC, Sony apparently wants to escape the reputation that "PlayStation equals the living room" by selling monitors and speakers .