Sony is partnering with Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. (the parent company of Bandai Namco Entertainment) on a “collaborative pilot initiative” focused on generative AI and its role in the future of video production. AI was a major theme in the company’s latest earnings and corporate strategy presentation, with Sony Chairman and CEO Hiroki Totoki describing the technology as an “amplifier of human imagination and a catalyst for new possibilities”, while insisting it will not replace artists or creators.
Of the gen AI project with Bandai Namco – which admittedly seems quite vague and may well go nowhere – Totoki said the companies have seen “massive gains in speed and productivity per person.” He also highlighted “lack of consistency and controllability” as an issue for industry professionals who require both of these things in their jobs, but said AI allowed those involved in the project to achieve a level of production sophistication that was not previously possible due to time constraints.
Given Bandai Namco’s association with video games, the fact that Totoki hasn’t explicitly talked about gaming in regards to the Gen AI project seems a bit odd (again, it’s a hot topic right now). Sony Interactive Entertainment chief Hideaki Nishino, however, has plenty to say about how AI in general is being adopted within PlayStation. Nishino said that development cycles – which increasingly span generations in the case of first-party PS5 games – can be accelerated by AI, while “allowing more creators to enter the market”.
What’s more concerning is Nishino’s admission that AI will create a “significant increase in the volume…of content.” You know: slop. He added that his company’s studios and intellectual property are committed to ensuring they only deliver “high quality” games that players come to PlayStation for.
Nishino explained how studios like Naughty Dog and Sony’s San Diego Studio have adopted a facial animation tool called Mockingbird, which animates 3D models after performing performance capture. AI also helps with hair animation, with models fed videos of real hairstyles, then producing images with “hundreds of strands” modeled.
“As AI capabilities evolve, the role of our creators will remain unchanged,” Nishino said. “The vision, design, and emotional impact of our games will always come from the talent of our studios and performers. AI is intended to augment their capabilities, not replace them.”
AI is also at the heart of the PS5 Pro’s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution upscaling tool, which was recently updated to be more efficient and is now supported in a large number of third-party and first-party games. It’s almost certain that PSSR will be a major theme of the PS6 when that happens, but you only have to look at the community reaction to NVIDIA’s unveiling of DLSS 5 to see what happens when AI scaling gets a little too ambitious.
The other half of Sony’s presentation focused on its dismal quarterly results, during which the company reported a 46% drop in PS5 sales during its fiscal fourth quarter compared to last year. Sony only sold 1.5 million PS5s in the last quarter and, like most big tech companies, is currently struggling with rising costs and running out of memory. The company recently increased the price of its entire console lineup, the second price hike in 12 months.