Ken Kutaragi, the visionary behind the PlayStation, attended the inauguration of CEREC – a cutting-edge academic and research facility dedicated to gaming – at Japan’s University of Electro-Communications on September 29. In a subsequent conversation with 4Gamer, Kutaragi delved into the impact of generative AI and his perspective on how this swiftly advancing technology will reshape the gaming landscape.
Kutaragi acknowledges the PlayStation’s role as a “technological catalyst” during its inception but notes that post his departure, the console has increasingly mirrored PCs, largely due to the migration of talent from the PC sector. While this transition brought both advantages and drawbacks, Kutaragi maintains that it didn’t spur further technological breakthroughs.
Looking ahead, Kutaragi posits that the gaming industry’s next leap in innovation should involve the integration of AI’s latest advancements.
He points to NVIDIA and AMD, collaborators with Sony on the PlayStation, as examples of companies venturing into AI. “AI encompasses far more sophisticated technology, yet the gaming industry hasn’t fully embraced it,” Kutaragi remarks.
“Despite the substantial investments in game development today, the changes seem limited to minor enhancements like improved shaders or NPCs with slightly more dialogue. In comparison to AI, it feels like genuine progress is lacking,” he adds.
Kutaragi contends that AI could elevate games into a form of entertainment capable of “altering human perceptions.” He forecasts that this could propel the global gaming market, currently valued at over 30 trillion yen, to approximately 3,000 trillion yen.
“It’s projected that real-time AI technology will match the content generation speed of today’s consoles by 2028 to 2029. When that milestone is reached, all content will evolve. Communication and imaginative scenarios will become content. The act of imagining itself will transform into a content medium,” Kutaragi explains.
In a separate report from GameWatch, Kutaragi described current AI as “remarkable” but likened it to a “newborn baby.” He noted that while its responses are immediate, they are derived from past data.
This leads Kutaragi to believe that the future will be shaped by “humans and AI together.” He argues that merely using AI to enhance existing models is inadequate, emphasizing the need for individuals who can grow with AI to create novel innovations. Kutaragi suggests that those skilled in expanding AI’s potential will be highly sought after in the coming years.
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