Games

In a new Sony Corporate Report, Sony has revealed that PlayStation will use AI and machine learning to speed up its game development.

On page 16 of the report, Sony had that “bolstering technologies that can help creators engage in maximizing the value of their IP in efficient, high-quality ways, including sensing and capturing as well as real-time 3D processing, AI, and machine learning,” and that these technologies will help to deliver its IP “rapidly and at low cost to a broader range of fans.”

The report reveals that PlayStation used machine learning in the production of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 by applying voice-recognition software in certain languages. This process allowed the company to automatically synchronize subtitles with each character’s lines to “significantly shortening the subtitling process.”

Astro Bot is stuffed with little robot guys cosplaying as gaming icons from across PlayStation history, but the game's lead has now opened up about the one essential character that's missing.

Sure, Astro Bot's 300 collectible bots don't cover every single notable game from the platform's three-decade run. Twisted Metal and SOCOM aren't included, for example, despite being PlayStation staples for a time. But the big boys are all here. Whether that's Sony's own God of War, Ape Escape, and Shadow of the Colossus - or famous faces from other companies, like Tomb Raider and Crash Bandicoot.

Since the joyous platformer jumped onto store shelves, however, more than a few players have complained that Cloud Strife is missing, in spite of how monumentally important Final Fantasy 7 was on the PS1. In fact, publisher Square Enix has no presence in the game, with Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts, and Nier all omitted, which is particularly strange since the game's free predecessor Astro's Playroom at least makes reference to Cloud's big buster sword.

In an interview with Game File, Team Asobi studio head Nicolas Doucet hinted that the development team had eyed up a Cloud cameo that never got approval from Square Enix. "It's difficult to comment on that," Doucet said. "We really respect the choice of each publisher."

nitter link / twitter link

From the Japanese Palworld twitter (nitter / twitter). "As announced in the official PlayStation "State of Play", the PS5 version of Palworld was released today in 68 countries and regions around the world. In Japan, the release date has not yet been decided. We apologize to everyone in Japan who was looking forward to it, but all of our staff will do our best to deliver it to PS5 users as soon as possible, so we would appreciate your patience for a little while longer. We hope you will continue to support Palworld."

Sony has doubled the price of PlayStation 4 game Horizon: Zero Dawn following the reveal of its PS5 remaster.

Eurogamer spotted the price rise in the UK (from £15.99 to £34.99) but the price also rose in the U.S., jumping from $19.99 to $39.99 on the PlayStation Store.

Horizon: Zero Dawn has been at the previous price point for years as part of the PlayStation Hits collection, and other entries such as God of War and The Last of Us Remastered have remained at the typical $19.99 price.

Any retailer that sells an online-only video game will soon need to warn customers, at least in the state of California, that the game they’re purchasing may not be theirs to play forever.

That warning will be required in California as of January 1, thanks to AB 2426, a consumer protection and false advertising bill signed earlier this week by the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom.

The bill makes it illegal for sellers of any digital goods—games, movies, books, etc—to use terms like “buy” or “purchase” during a transaction without the inclusion of a warning about the potential impermanence of what they’re paying for.

“The legislation was motivated by consumers losing access to content,” the bill’s sponsor, assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-CA), told Game File.