Masahiro Sakurai Shrugs Off AI Games as ‘Unprofitable Titles’ as Clones and Mods Boom

Super Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai explained why the boom in AI-created games isn’t likely to create a lasting demand for such projects, comparing them to “low-quality goods” that could never compare to human-made titles like Shadow of the Colossus.

Sakurai made these remarks in an interview with Denfaminico Gamer after he was asked for his thoughts on the huge boom in games that have been released on Steam since 2010. The interviewer noted that, since 2010, this amount skyrocketed from 275 titles to 19,000 titles.

“19,000 is amazing, but I think that number will increase even more from now on. I'm sure of it. That's because AI will increase the number. However, I think most of them will become ‘unprofitable titles.’ There are too many to keep track of, and it's impossible to understand them all,” he said.

“When it comes to things created with AI... or things mass-produced with poor quality, I think most of them will simply be reproductions of systems seen in various other games. I think there are already a lot of those now.”

He went on to mention conceptually simple games that fall into the puzzle genre, even calling out the viral Needle in a Haystack Simulator as part of his example. According to Sakurai, these types of games are easy for AI to recreate, as artificial intelligence cannot make something original, but only iterate on what has come before.

“Titles like, ‘The supermarket has been turned upside down, let's rearrange the products,’ ‘Let's put the screws back in place,’ or ‘Let's find a needle in the haystack’ have become incredibly common. They're also part of the puzzle game genre. I think that kind of imitation should be very easy for AI. However, even if AI can create various works, it's possible that we might see AI creating something similar to the works that Ueda (Fumito) has created — for example, by studying the atmosphere of ICO or Shadow of the Colossus.

“But what Mr. Ueda plans to create in the future is something that AI simply cannot replicate. What kind of artistic style will his future works possess? That's something only he can create. I think that's where human creativity lies. Basically, AI refers to ‘things that have been created so far,’ but it can't refer to ‘things that haven't been created before.’ I think this is true not only for AI, but for various kinds of creative works, as well.”

Sakurai concluded this line of thought by saying that people like Ueda, who “forge their own path” and “can create their own unique flavor," will become "increasingly important from now on," saying this is “especially true in an era of mass production and low-quality goods.”

Sakurai’s remarks couldn’t come at a better time. Over the last few weeks, AI mods have become a wildly popular trend in the gaming space, with players using the technology to port games to web browsers, combine two totally different games into a single experience, and even create ‘new’ games using pre-existing properties. As more and more layoffs hit the industry, and giants like Epic shift to “AI-first” production models, it’s looking grim — but Sakurai’s humanistic vision for a future that prioritizes human-made games with originality and depth paints a brighter picture.

This is the latest news to come from Sakurai after he was forced to abandon his Game Designer Award for the Japan Game Awards when was unable to find a successor to take over his duties after a 16-year-run.

Image Credits: Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games, YouTube