Hideo Kojima, the legendary creator of the Metal Gear series who is now striking out on his own with Death Stranding, is never boring in his interviews and public talks.
Japanese website Nikkei posted a new interview with him a few days ago and once again, Kojima-san provided plenty of food for thought. The topic was the advent of 5G technology and cloud streaming services such as Google Stadia; Kojima said entirely new games will be developed to suit the new format. He also mentioned that eventually, Netflix and other similar services may have categories for both interactive (games) and non-interactive (movies, TV shows) entertainment.
The future to come will begin finally. I have been saying for over 10 years, but at the time no one understood it. With "5G" and next "6G", the evolution of technology will not stop. The world awaited finally is about to begin.
Now that 5G commercial services have begun, Google has announced a cloud gaming service, and Apple will also enhance game distribution. Clouding processes one frame of the screen by game operation with a server and delivers it to an individual. There are no dedicated game consoles, and the receiver can be a smartphone, a tablet or a PC.
Cloud games showed signs of boom five to six years ago but did not lead to explosive hits. Although there is a voice of failure, I do not think so. The technology was under the water. Realization is difficult in 4G, but I think that entertainment itself will change within five years of 5G spreading.
Games like never before come out surely. It is clear from the history of the entertainment industry. For example, the average screening time of about 2 hours for a movie was necessary because it was a movie theater. I have to sell popcorn, and after three hours I'm tired and want to go to the bathroom.
With the announcement of Google's cloud game, there will be no dedicated game console at hand, and if you have a display, you can play a full-fledged game with streaming. Viewers watching people play on YouTube will be able to join the game as they are. But this is only an introduction.
As streaming advances further, video content such as games and movies and documentaries will be on the same track. This is the future I want most. What will happen if that happens? With Netflix etc., you will be able to select movies and games on the same screen. "Interactive games" and "non-interactive movies", the quality of the content has been 180 degrees different so far, but the boundaries will disappear.
This movement has already come out. The video content "Black Mirror: Banders Natch" distributed last year on Netflix is so. The story goes on by the viewer selecting the action of the protagonist at the key point. I'm approaching an interactive game.
Later in the interview, he mentioned he has 'one big thing' he'd like to do with streaming, though he wouldn't divulge more at this time. Kojima also said that another change coming to games and entertainment as a whole is the widespread usage of AI-powered technologies and services.
It's definitely different. It will come out within 5 years when 5G spreads. Even with streaming, there is one big thing I want to do. I can't say because I get so spoiled if I talk too much (laughs).
In the next five years, I think that entertainment will change with artificial intelligence (AI). AI will change what you are currently doing interactively. I talked earlier about streaming interactive content that I choose, but in the next five years, an AI that understands me may choose for myself.
The next five years or so are indeed truly promising from a technological standpoint, though it is too early to say whether they'll fully deliver. Stay tuned on Wccftech, though, and we'll keep you apprised of anything noteworthy.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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