Generative AI just might be the tool the gaming industry needs to take video game development to new heights.
The first PlayStation is home to an array of iconic video games that went on to define the sheer significance of this console.
I think from a historical perspective I would change Spyro for Grand Turismo. It's the franchise that made the PS1 look like an absolute unit. Other than that, I can't argue with the rest when it comes to games that defined the PS1.
And to be honest, there should be space for Tekken 3, Wipepout and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater in order to round out the PS1 identity as the machine to own at the time.
With Tomb Raider 2, Silent Hill, Symphony of the Night, Tenchu, and Soul Reaver as backup contenders.
Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.
Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.
Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.
"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."
That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.
As of right now, there are no monopolies in the games industry, and for the sake of the medium as a whole, they never should either.
And yet the biggest tech companies in America are essentially that. They buy up all the small comps only to kill them off and steal what they have, and if they can't buy em they bleed them to death.
They buy IPs not talent. That's why these buyouts never work and the IPs die. Right now it's too expensive to develop games - but I expect that to shift maybe as AI tools can make it easier. The best games have been indie games for awhile as big developers fuck their ips to death with "games as a service" -
Nice try, Microsoft
Nice and long winded, but NOT about the parts people have an issue with AI about (ai driven tools are not new). You totally side stepped and pointed out instances that are really NOT about the augment. It’s great that YOU a game journalist think what developers and creatives need to do with AI, but get a grip on the conversation first before hitting the pedal.
Give it a decade and maybe I can see it being beneficial in some ways. At the moment, AI driven concepts usually just feel soulless and disjointed.
The problem is that yes, generative AI "can" be used to assist rather than replace game development, but there is a massive massive massive financial incentive to have it replace. The more integrated AI becomes the increased likelihood it will be used in a negative fashion. Unfortunately the people who make those decisions are the one with the most to gain by having it replace workers.
Upcoming game The Finals is already replacing VAs with AI voicework, with the game director specifically saying they did it to cut costs.
Much like Hollywood is working to accomplish, it would be nice to see protections for video game artists, writers, and voice actors put into place so that the optimistic view of AI you have can actually be reached
I will be in the minority here.
I think ML language models are going to be phenomenal for games, although they should not be thought of as the a replacement for human written scripts for many, many years. In the here and now they offer open ended systems based games like GTA, the ability to have the nitty gritty aspects to character dialog interactions done far more dynamically and appropriately. Your enemies and allies could start to feel human as opposed to pre-scripted moments that even though a human wrote them come across as mechanical. It's not about quality, it's about interactivity; see the game in "Her" for an example. It may take a few years before such games come to the market.