Masahiro Sakurai Finds A.I. Untrustworthy, But Views The Game Industry Too Demanding To Avoid Using It
The Super Smash Bros. creator does not use the format for brainstorming
"ColonelFancy" Mike Lind
11/11/20263 min read
Sakurai believes it's easier to come up with your own ideas instead of relying on prompts
Feels the game industry is pushing itself to NEED A.I.
Renowned game director and designer Masahiro Sakurai recently attended the 40 anniversary of the Japanese game magazine Famitsu as part of a speaking panel, where he shared some insight on a handful of topics, including, but limited to the growing contentious matter of A.I. technology. The creator of Super Smash Bros. and Kirby talked about this growing issue of its use in video game development, and it appears he's not a fan and does not use it in any capacity, preferring to conjure his own ideas and concepts. details come courtesy of Automaton Media.
“When it comes to problem solving, you can’t really put everything into prompts, but if you don’t, you’re going to end up with something sloppy,” Sakurai states during the panel. “It’s not enough to simply come up with an idea. A lot of different elements come into play here, like – do you have a fixed deadline and a team that will be able to accomplish it, does it correspond with the costs, and so on.”
The hesitation of banking entirely on A.I. for visuals or ideas is a rather broad metric, and isn't necessarily the same creative vision as many of the most respected game designers and artists over the decades. Sakurai also understands that the workload in the current video game industry is pushed to the limit, but relying on A.I. as a launching platform rather than an asset won't be sustainable in its current incarnation.
“Right now, I don’t really think it’s reached that point, so I’m not using it for anything,” Sakurai continues. As far as using it for graphics, he believes the tech is way off from contributing in that capacity, as he considers it faster to create things for themselves.
The director is also aware of the increasing demand for high-profile video game demand and production, pointing out that his most recent release, Kirby Air Riders on Nintendo Switch 2, took ten times the workload of the original GameCube game released in 2003. We have seen studio closures from projects that were financially successful, which has led to layoffs of hundreds of staffers. Could A.I. be a viable tool to ease workloads and expedite production? Sakurai notes that ignoring A.I. entirely could be a problem.
“If you keep being fixated on the stance of not using generative AI because it’s not trustworthy as a technology, I think could end up falling further and further behind. Compared to those who properly develop games, I believe those who use AI without any hesitation are likely to be able to create many more games. So, doing nothing could also be a bad idea.”
Sakurai is far from the only game designer that has an apathetic stance on what A.I. can be. Death Stranding and PHYSINT director Hideo Kojima has shared his opinions on its uses, believing its improvements are commendable, but it should never replace the human element.
"I don’t find that very interesting in terms of craftsmanship. I’m worried about what will happen to that aspect of the enjoyment of craftsmanship in the future,” the Metal Gear creator stated in an interview with Game*Spark. “If you’re just making a ‘product,’ that’s fine, but I think the fun for creators lies in the creative process itself. I think ‘creativity’ and ‘products’ are different things.”
The fear of the homogenized nature of creativity that A.I. brings should be sharply monitored. In the stock market, it has taken a nosedive recently, as investors began major sell-offs of A.I. related portfolios, according to Yahoo Finance. As stated in the past, it's not going away, how will its uses be implemented? And more importantly, the video game industry really needs to scale back on the massive budgets and deadlines that run rampant in the AAA development field.
SOURCES: Automaton Media, Game*Spark, Yahoo Finance