Ken Kutaragi, the visionary behind the PlayStation, took part in a panel discussion at Japan’s University of Electro-Communications on September 29. He addressed the opening ceremony of CEREC, a new academic hub focused on games, where he delved into the evolution and future possibilities of video games as a medium, emphasizing the crucial role of human “curiosity.”
According to GameWatch and 4Gamer, Kutaragi highlighted the global game industry’s immense growth, now valued at $186 billion in software alone, outpacing film, television, and music. Despite gaming’s advancements since the 1970s, Kutaragi doesn’t see it as a mature industry with limits, predicting that major breakthroughs are still on the horizon.
However, he pointed out that while modern games have expanded in scale and graphics, their content has become stagnant. He noted that recent titles have reinforced this view, observing that the approach to creating content remains largely unchanged since the original PlayStation project he led.
Kutaragi believes the industry is at a pivotal moment, ready to advance to the “next stage.” Reflecting on his team’s development of the PlayStation with the goal to “change the world,” he described the past game industry as one that “created the world’s most cutting-edge technology” rather than merely following trends. He encouraged industry professionals and students at the panel to adopt this same innovative mindset.
Kutaragi also stressed the importance of curiosity for students, explaining that the human brain’s neural networks are most active at birth, and as we age, networks not in use are gradually pruned. “The moment you lose your curiosity and think, This is probably as good as it gets, it’s all over,” he cautioned.