Visitors play the Warriors All-Stars video game at the Koei Tecmo Holdings booth during the Tokyo Game Show 2017 at Makuhari Messe on September 21, 2017 in Chiba, Japan.
Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty Images News | Getty Images
TOKYO – Video games are in the spotlight with the Tokyo Game Show 2023 underway – but some of Japan’s biggest game developers say popular trends like generative AI and virtual reality/augmented reality headsets for game development might are not ready yet.
Game developers like those from Japan Cow Tecmo have been using conventional algorithmic AI “for a long time,” Hisashi Koinuma, president and chief operating officer of Koei Tecmo Games, told CNBC, but challenges still remain in using the latest iteration – generative AI – at the game development.
“We are not yet at the stage of integrating generative AI into our products, but are testing different ways to integrate it in the future,” Koinuma said on Wednesday.
“We are still researching and studying how and to what extent generative AI, including rights-related issues, will benefit game production, and how much it will contribute to making better games.”
The problem with copyright issues is not only shared by Koei Tecmo.
Earlier in September, Microsoft told users of Copilot, the generative AI service, that the company will take legal responsibility if there is any copyright infringement.
The possibilities in the field of gaming are enormous.
Nvidia in August demonstrated the potential for gamers to interact with non-player characters in new ways with the Nvidia Ace and Nemo SteerLM, in what was billed as “bringing intelligence to non-player characters (NPCs) through AI powered natural language interactions” – a move that has the potential to revolutionize the industry.
![Investing in AI: what to look out for](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/107257810-16868563985ED1-FASummit-061523-InvestingAI.jpg?v=1686857809&w=750&h=422&vtcrop=y)
While generative AI could be a new frontier, the surge in VR and AR headset development is another, especially next Apple‘S Vision Pro announcement last quarter, Meta ‘s continued development of their Quest product line and Sony‘s recent VR2 release.
But for many, the games available so far do not meet the expectations of the devices.
It’s a sentiment shared by veteran developer Koinuma, who is excited about the possibilities but cautious about the execution after a first foray into space.
“We were one of the first companies to try to develop VR games,” he said. “However, it was still too early: there were several obstacles, such as that the gadgets themselves were not suitable for playing games for long periods of time.”
“We felt that these products were not yet at the stage where they could be a tool that could provide pure fun for playing games,” Koinuma added.
“So VR, Meta or whatever, I realized after my first submission that it would be difficult for us to be successful in the market until the ‘ground’ is properly cultivated for users to play games with new devices for a certain time. It’s been a long time. So we’d like to try again when the time comes.”