Despite comments to the contrary in the past, Sega’s senior executive officer/deputy chief business officer Tsuyoshi Saito has stated the company is currently being “very cautious” about how it incorporates AI into game development.
In a rather massive interview with Nikkei about all facets of Sega’s business, Saito touched on Sega’s incorporation of AI into development by saying, “We are using AI to improve efficiency in areas such as publishing and corporate departments, as well as for generating business ideas. However, we are being very cautious about its use in the game development process, and we are not entrusting the creative aspects of games to AI.”
This statement is likely backpedaling from Sega after two of its games have received criticism for utilizing generative AI. Back in May of this year, Sega revealed it had been utilizing AI in the ongoing development of Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis. Then, in June, Sega stated that AI had been used for “reference” in the upcoming Crazy Taxi: World Tour. Fans were swift in their response, admonishing the technology and Sega’s insistence that AI was even necessary in the first place.
As VGC notes, Sega had established a “Generative AI Committee” last year to help develop tools and create guidelines around the usage of AI in development. The committee would also check to ensure conduct compliance for Steam listings, of which Crazy Taxi: World Tour does disclose AI was used. For better or worse, Sega doesn’t seem to be backing down, but will likely limit its AI usage to programming or coding. That’s just a guess on my part, however.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
