Gen Z and Gen Alpha crave games with 'more meaning' and 'personalisation across everything' according to PlayStation exec—who implies that (you guessed it) AI is the answer
Sony's been on a bit of a bender with AI stuff recently, huh—as I'm sure a recently-misrepresented Neil Druckmann will tell you. AI—or I should specify, generative AI—may prove valuable in game development, but as with a lot of new technologies the actual use cases devs are finding clash severely with the executive pipe dream of paying fewer voice actors and writers in the name of «reactivity».
Flying under the radar of the Druckmann controversy (though nonetheless spotted by IGN) is another ream of buzzwords courtesy of head of PlayStation productions and product Asad Qizilbash, who has a brave new angle on the tech via an interview on Sony's website: You see, AI's got what the kids crave for more reasons like—uh, personalisation, and reactivity, and meaning, and stuff.
«In terms of gaming's future, I envision games becoming more personalised due to advances in technology and AI,» Qizilbash says when asked about PlayStation's next 10 years, gazing into his crystal ball.
"… technological advancements will enhance emotional depth in games by allowing characters to be much more emotive and expressive, fostering more evocative storytelling. That's going to help a whole generation of creators be able to just create so much more emotion in the stories. The focus is going to shift from graphics or visuals to immersive narratives that resonate long after the controller is set down."
As we all know, videogames made prior to 2024 have all been about ray-traced graphics and sick 360 MLG no-scopes. Before AI, no one was ever emotionally moved by a game—no one ever put a controller down and felt impacted by the thing they just played. It never happened.
This newfound frontier of immersion and narrative, hitherto just impossible without current technology, is especially relevant to the youth™, Qizilbash argues: «Advancements in AI will create more personalised experiences and meaningful stories for consumers. For instance, NPCs (Non Player Characters) in games could interact
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