It may be hard to believe now, but there was a time a few years back when Sony had been planning to build their entire business model around NFT’s.
While the public never much liked NFT’s, in its newness, many tech bros mistakenly assumed that NFT’s were the next big thing. Millions of people lost money investing in NFT’s, a bubble that would break within two years. As of July 2024, 98% of the NFT market had been obliterated.
While generative AI has not fallen as far out of favor with the public as NFT’s have, poll after poll has shown declining interest and even hostility to the use of it in the arts, whether that be in gaming, movies, or literature. Game developers, like the creators of Black Myth: Wukong, have also spoken against it.
Yet now, in what some say is an echo of their previous mistakes with NFT’s, Sony is allegedly experimenting with incorporating generative AI into all of their future games.
The first game Sony is doing this with is Horizon Zero Dawn, as revealed by a leaked internal video. The protagonist Aloy has gotten on AI-based model which will answer verbal questions from players. If successful, Sony plans to insert similar AI models into future games, likely replacing their voice actors. As noted by multiple commenters, it’s ironic that Horizon Zero Dawn is the game being used to promote Sony’s AI efforts.
The story of Horizon Zero Dawn includes a destructive AI enemy that feeds on organic matter and which is wrecking the in-game world. The theme of the game includes a message about the immorality of replacing humans with AI, and yet, that is exactly what Sony appears to be toying with. It’s hard to find a single person on the internet who is excited for Sony’s new AI programs.
Despite the collapsing support for generative AI in the arts, Sony is not the only big corporation aiming to increase its usage of the technology. Elon Musk recently announced that X would focus on creating a gaming studio that will utilize AI in the place of human coders and artists to create gaming content. It is rumored that these efforts will attempt to incorporate NFT blockchain as well – though this hasn’t been confirmed.
Editor’s Note: Thumbnail is from the “Carja Summer Blazon Outfit” mod
