AI in games is a big and pretty unpopular topic right now, which is why you might be surprised to learn that PlayStation seems to be leaning into it. A patent filed by the company has resurfaced, suggesting that, one day, PlayStation games might have an AI ghost that can play through your games for you.
Although the patent for Sony’s “Ghost Player” was filed over a year ago, VGC noticed that the filing resurfaced recently after the World Intellectual Property Organization published an international status report about it. The patent details how exactly the tech would work, noting that players will be able to summon an AI ghost version of the character to play through sections of games.
PlayStation’s Patented AI Ghost Player Technology
The intention is that this Ghost Player will be able to play through sections of a game where the real player gets stuck. Although I guess, if these AI-powered PlayStation ghosts become a reality, you could have them play through levels and boss fights if you simply can’t be bothered to play through them yourselves.
Why someone would pay $70 for a game to then have an AI ghost play through it for them is beyond me, but hey, maybe I’m just old and out of touch.
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The patent mentions a guide mode and a complete mode, with the latter suggesting you can have the ghost complete entire sections of the game for you. As for how exactly these AI ghosts would work, should they ever become a reality, PlayStation explains that they would be trained on existing footage of the game, presumably pulled from other people’s gameplay, as opposed to developers creating a pre-recorded run. I guess it wouldn’t be AI if it were the latter.
Just Because PlayStation Is Thinking About AI Ghosts, That Doesn’t Mean We’ll Ever See Them
As is the case with any gaming patent, even though it has officially been filed by PlayStation, this is all just hypothetical, for now. While it’s something being worked on, it’s tech that might never see the light of day. Also, even if we are headed for a future where we can tag in an AI ghost to play games for us, there’s nothing saying we have to use them. At least I hope there won’t be.
Between the pushback on AI being used to develop video games and complaints about games trying to help us too much, I’m not sure how popular these PlayStation ghosts would even be. While Death Stranding 2 letting you skip difficult boss fights didn’t get much flak, the puzzle hints in God of War Ragnarok annoyed players to no end.
As for AI, we’ve quickly gone from many thinking there’s a place for it in games when used sparingly, to the term being treated as a slur. Even beloved studios like Larian and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developers Sandfall have fallen foul of it as of late, with the latter losing one of its Game of the Year awards after it came to light that generative AI had been used during its development process.
- Brand
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Sony
- Original Release Date
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November 12, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$499, €499, £449, ¥49,980 (Base) // $399, €399, £359, ¥39,980 (Digital),
- Operating System
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Orbis OS
- Processor
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Custom 8-core AMD Zen 2
- Resolution
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720p – 8K
