In a wide-ranging discussion on The VergeCast, host Sean Hollister spoke with former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida about the evolving landscape of video games, from AI's impact to the future of gaming platforms and business models. Yoshida, who helped launch the original PlayStation and championed indie games, offered his insights into where the industry is headed.
Yoshida began by noting the continuous growth of the gaming audience globally, playing across diverse devices. He highlighted the democratization of game creation, initially through tools like Unity and now significantly accelerated by AI. He shared anecdotes of friends, talented in design or art, who can now create games independently using AI coding, allowing them to bring their visions to life without traditional programming limitations. While this is "great news for gamers" due to the promise of more diverse titles, Yoshida acknowledged it could pose a "challenging time for all the game creators who want to make living by making games."
The conversation then delved into AI within games themselves. Yoshida mentioned experimental indie titles utilizing natural language input for character interaction or story generation. However, he cautioned about the cost implications for server-dependent AI games, citing the "Ryza chat" service where heavy usage incurs significant charges, raising the question, "who's going to pay for that?" Despite a prevalent stigma against AI among some gamers and developers worried about job loss, Yoshida revealed that many, especially indies and even larger studios, are already leveraging AI for tasks like concept art, QA, and localization to speed up development. He believes communication about AI's specific uses will be key to broader acceptance, as people will accept tools that expedite processes rather than generate new content that might appear "AI gen."
Regarding where these games will be played, Yoshida discussed various platforms. He attributed the success of Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 not solely to their portability but to their hybrid console nature, allowing developers to consolidate resources. Personally, Yoshida expressed a fondness for portable gaming PCs like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, though his current favorite for "research" is a Steam Machine. He noted that the PC architecture of modern consoles, including PlayStation and Xbox, makes porting games to PC much more straightforward and potentially lucrative—an opportunity Sony capitalized on until recently. He observed Sony's shift back to PlayStation exclusivity for AAA single-player titles, suggesting the "platform business" side is currently winning the internal argument over "first-party business" that championed PC ports.
The topic of console affordability and new business models was also addressed. Hollister brought up Microsoft's dilemma of pursuing "radical new business models" without subsidizing the Xbox hardware. Yoshida questioned the viability of expensive subscription models for hardware, suggesting that console manufacturers might delay next-generation launches due to high component costs. He believes many players are content with current-gen hardware like the PS5 and Switch 2, and developers aren't necessarily clamoring for more powerful machines.
Cloud gaming, another potential solution to hardware costs, was met with Yoshida's long-standing skepticism regarding who would bear the significant server and electricity costs. He recalled Google Stadia's unfulfilled promises but conceded that a future scenario where aging AI server farms become cheaply available could potentially change the economics for big tech companies already invested in cloud infrastructure.
Finally, the discussion turned to mobile gaming. While phones are the most popular devices for playing games, Yoshida argued that designing games for mobile is fundamentally different, and many companies that initially shifted to mobile later returned to PC/console development. He highlighted the control scheme as a primary limitation for "serious games" on mobile, despite advancements in dedicated Android gaming devices. However, he acknowledged the rising influence of Chinese and Korean developers, like MiHoYo (Genshin Impact), who design games for mobile first while ensuring they also perform well on PC and console, increasingly targeting hardcore gamers with high-end titles.
In conclusion, Yoshida painted a complex and dynamic picture of the gaming future, marked by the transformative potential of AI, shifting platform strategies, evolving business models, and the ongoing interplay between dedicated gaming hardware and ubiquitous mobile devices.