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Take-Two Strauss Zelnick Thinks AI Will ‘Raise the Bar’ in Gaming, Comments on Xbox Game Pass, Subscription Services

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman

As part of a recent Take-Two Interactive investor call, Strauss Zelnick was asked what he thought about the latest advances in machine learning and AI technologies, the progress of which was best illustrated not long ago, when a US politician used ChatGPT to write his speech. Zelnick responded by saying that Take-Two's game development studios should not be concerned about getting replaced by a bot that could develop video games all on its own, claiming that "people will try [to have AI make games], but that won't happen."

Instead, Zelnick believes that machine learning implementations such as the aforementioned ChatGPT text processor AI are the way forward. "We are ushering in a very exciting era of new tools," he said, explaining that AI-based assistants would allow game developers to be more efficient and creative in what they do. According to him, machine learning is about to "raise the bar" for game development as a whole, and creativity will be the crux of it all.

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Analysts have once again opted to pick Zelnick's brain on the subject of game subscription offerings during the company's February 6 earnings call. This time around, they put a macro spin on their inquiries, asking the CEO whether services like Xbox Game Pass are impacting the manner in which consumers engage with new releases and whether any such changes have consequently affected Take-Two's own engagement rates. Zelnick stayed firm in his assessment that subscription platforms remain a "relatively small" niche which is in no way cannibalizing the company's core business.

As a result, the US publisher still doesn't feel pressured to support services such as Game Pass with anything beyond appropriately timed re-releases of classic "catalog titles" that already spent a long time on the market, the CEO concluded. Zelnick's comments echoed the stance that he has been defending since 2021, which is when he first publicly dismissed the idea of day-one Game Pass launches.

The CEO also downplayed the potential impact of cloud gaming solutions on the industry's bottom line during the same call. He reminded analysts that Take-Two was among the first publishers to support Google Stadia with Red Dead Redemption 2, suggesting that the company is equally willing to embrace other similar platforms in the future. However, none of that should significantly impact its turnover because cloud gaming is a distribution technology and "not a business model," according to Zelnick. Most people willing to pay "$60 or $70" for a new AAA game are also going to be prepared to shell out for a console, the CEO posited, concluding that this state of affairs facilitated Google Stadia's demise.
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
Most people willing to pay "$60 or $70" for a new AAA game are also going to be prepared to shell out for a console, the CEO posited
Exactly. Well said by Strauss. This is exactly what was wrong with Stadia's model.

And it's also vice versa. Most people who are willing to spend $500 on a console has no problems spending $70 for a game they really want to play.
 

solidus12

Member
If the Activision deal doesn’t go through, please don’t acquire them Microsoft.

Even if competition is good for the industry, and more people will get to play Red Dead Redemption
 

feynoob

Banned
If the Activision deal doesn’t go through, please don’t acquire them Microsoft.

Even if competition is good for the industry, and more people will get to play Red Dead Redemption
MS won't aquire any of the remaining big 4, if activitision deal fails.
They will be of the table, due to how big those IPs are.
 

oldergamer

Member
[/URL]

As part of a recent Take-Two Interactive investor call, Strauss Zelnick was asked what he thought about the latest advances in machine learning and AI technologies, the progress of which was best illustrated not long ago, when a US politician used ChatGPT to write his speech. Zelnick responded by saying that Take-Two's game development studios should not be concerned about getting replaced by a bot that could develop video games all on its own, claiming that "people will try [to have AI make games], but that won't happen."

Instead, Zelnick believes that machine learning implementations such as the aforementioned ChatGPT text processor AI are the way forward. "We are ushering in a very exciting era of new tools," he said, explaining that AI-based assistants would allow game developers to be more efficient and creative in what they do. According to him, machine learning is about to "raise the bar" for game development as a whole, and creativity will be the crux of it all.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[/URL]

Analysts have once again opted to pick Zelnick's brain on the subject of game subscription offerings during the company's February 6 earnings call. This time around, they put a macro spin on their inquiries, asking the CEO whether services like Xbox Game Pass are impacting the manner in which consumers engage with new releases and whether any such changes have consequently affected Take-Two's own engagement rates. Zelnick stayed firm in his assessment that subscription platforms remain a "relatively small" niche which is in no way cannibalizing the company's core business.

As a result, the US publisher still doesn't feel pressured to support services such as Game Pass with anything beyond appropriately timed re-releases of classic "catalog titles" that already spent a long time on the market, the CEO concluded. Zelnick's comments echoed the stance that he has been defending since 2021, which is when he first publicly dismissed the idea of day-one Game Pass launches.

The CEO also downplayed the potential impact of cloud gaming solutions on the industry's bottom line during the same call. He reminded analysts that Take-Two was among the first publishers to support Google Stadia with Red Dead Redemption 2, suggesting that the company is equally willing to embrace other similar platforms in the future. However, none of that should significantly impact its turnover because cloud gaming is a distribution technology and "not a business model," according to Zelnick. Most people willing to pay "$60 or $70" for a new AAA game are also going to be prepared to shell out for a console, the CEO posited, concluding that this state of affairs facilitated Google Stadia's demise.

I've been saying something similar to this since stadia came out. It targeted gamers that are willing to spend hundreds or even thousands to get the latest gaming tech. As a service it wouldn't last. Gamers willing to upgrade a PC, or buy a console wouldn't see the real benefit. Especially when games on the service cost the same as buying it for dedicated systems or via steam. A friend of mine asked me advice if he should take a senior design position there or at EA, and I immediately said EA. They at least understand the market they are targeting.
 

XXL

Member
I was thinking about this the other day. Chat GPT type AI's could greatly accelerate the development of games in many different aspects.
 
If the Activision deal doesn’t go through, please don’t acquire them Microsoft.

Even if competition is good for the industry, and more people will get to play Red Dead Redemption
If MS manages Activision there's no way they could swallow another big one like this, lmao.
If they fail to acquire Activision i also don't think they will jump straight to a different big company like this.
 

Kvally

Member
I think this is the third time he has been asked about Game Pass in the past year. Hopefully they ask him 3 more times this year. Though I am sure Game Pass subscribers are happy that he puts his games on Game Pass.
 
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