Or how to alienate all the voices behind your cult characters
Sony’s latest discovery is curious to say the least, even if it is not very recent. According to VGC, it was in July 2024 that the manufacturer filed a patent application for a new technology (before being approved last month), which aims to generate podcasts for players.
And not just any ones, since we are talking here podcasts created from preferences and data (your recently played games, those of your friends, etc.) of each player, which would be generated using the voice of an iconic character from a game that you would have played in the past. As if Nathan Drake or Kratos came to present to you the news of the day, for example by telling you about game updates or making recommendations, while sharing your friends’ activity.
And we can’t imagine to what extent voice actors must be cringing when reading this, especially following a strike (especially American) which lasted several months because of the dangers of AI (among other things). At a time when this profession is in danger, it would be very frowned upon to put such a patent into practice. Nothing says that Sony will do it (and that’s good), like the many other patents that it files fairly regularly.