Sony is the latest game developer/ publisher to disclose its intention to use AI to speed up the process of game development. In Sony’s Corporate Report 2024, the company’s CTO Hiroaki Kitano said the company is creating new technologies in three areas namely sensing, AI, and digital virtual worlds.
In addition to replacing humans, those against the use of AI in development often say products of AI are lower in quality compared to those made by humans. However, Sony revealed that it used machine learning in the production of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and it “proved a major hit”.
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“By applying voice recognition software in certain languages, we were able to automatically synchronize subtitles with each character’s lines, thereby significantly shortening the subtitling process,” explained Sony’s COO/CFO Hiroki Totoki. “In India, a multilingual society, we are conducting research using AI technology and machine learning to shorten dubbing and translation processes.”
According to Kitano, Sony wants to merge the physical real world and the digital virtual world through large-scale AI models. With AI, Sony hopes to achieve high-precision simulation in the digital virtual world.
“Among diverse creation technologies, Sony sees AI as a tool for supporting human creativity,” Kitano said. “We are actively involved in AI ethics research in order to create fair, highly transparent AI technology and applications.”
“Sony, as a supporter of creators, strongly believes that human creativity should not be threatened or harmed by the abuse of AI, such as through infringement of copyright, and is actively working on AI governance.
“The Sony Group AI Ethics Committee works to protect creator rights, build a framework for responsible AI use, and conduct test assessments of AI risks incorporating the perspectives of each Group company.
“Furthermore, to realize AI as public property, such as through a truly inclusive and fair large-language model that encompasses linguistic and cultural diversity, we think unbounded global alliances among industry, academia, and government are very important.”
Sony is building a Volumetric Capture Studio
In the report, Sony also confirmed that it is building a Volumetric Capture Studio that will generate 3D data from people and locations. The studio will render high-quality images from these data.
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“Going forward, we plan to apply high-quality 3D assets, including motion data from our Studio, accumulated by each of our companies cross-functionally across the Group, and explore potential external sales,” the company said.
“In real-time 3D processing, we are pursuing exploratory activities with Epic Games, focused on the Unreal Engine, developed as a physics engine for game CG generation. For instance, we reused 3DCG components from a music video shot using virtual production to produce a game set in the same world and released a proof-of-concept CG-based short film using the Unreal Engine.”
A financial breakdown shows that Game & Network Services still bring Sony the most income compared to other sections of its business. The company has the potential to expand its income further and cut down its expenditures as it adopts AI in game development.
While the use of AI in game development continues to be controversial, it has become an inevitable reality with many companies jumping on board to avoid missing out.
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