Gamers Hate LLM Slop

[Saturn830]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-05-23/video-game-companies-have-an-ai-problem-players-don-t-want-it

Publishers like EA and Take-Two are warning shareholders about the potential “reputational” risks of AI

Imagine something being so terrible it makes EA Games worried about their reputation.

[The Commendatore]

Originally posted by Saturn830:

Originally posted by Hot Girl Stuff:

Who cares man. Moreso, why care?

This is a video game platform.

Wait, what? Since when? Can you prove it?

[Saturn830]

Originally posted by Soren:

I don't know. I've seen how well CoD and Fifa sell. You're not making a convincing argument that gamers hate slop. Only that their slop tolerance has a limit.

Was my original post not clear that I was referring to llm slop? Do you have anything constructive to add to this conversation?

[Soren]

Originally posted by Saturn830:

Originally posted by Soren:

I don't know. I've seen how well CoD and Fifa sell. You're not making a convincing argument that gamers hate slop. Only that their slop tolerance has a limit.

Was my original post not clear that I was referring to llm slop? Do you have anything constructive to add to this conversation?

Well, I'm just saying the title is a bit of clickbait. Though I do understand that is intentional now.

[Saturn830]

Originally posted by Soren:

Well, I'm just saying the title is a bit of clickbait. Though I do understand that is intentional now.

Fair enough; I've changed the title.

[Utiviroo]

If they are worried, it probably stems from their big fiscal outlay in AI (and all the other AI-ish stuff) and the fact, it may well prove to have been a worthless tactical/strategic mistake in the medium to long term.

If AI gen games take too long to develop and the hype train crashes before the train has left the station, still on boarding phase atm, then of course they have none other than themselves to blame, but instead of taking responsibility, they will blame the customer for being wrong.

Smooth.

More likely, they are doing tea reading and seeing the economy is going to crap, so, luxury items such as gaming will have massive declines in revenue as gaming is non essential item for the masses. (Everyone plays retro/back logs/replays or just phones a friend and do a face to face).

If they are smart they will reinvest their AI tech into real war stuff and go true evil, sorry, profitable. Them banks will want to collect on those loans, interest, tick tock...

[Uncle Sam]

Originally posted by Saturn830:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-05-23/video-game-companies-have-an-ai-problem-players-don-t-want-it

Publishers like EA and Take-Two are warning shareholders about the potential “reputational” risks of AI

Imagine something being so terrible it makes EA Games worried about their reputation.

Well at least EA & Take-Two (Rockstar parent company) for a brief moment did stop being blinded by their greed, good on them
Thanks for the info & link OP

[Saturn830]

Originally posted by Uncle Sam:

Well at least EA & Take-Two (Rockstar parent company) for a brief moment did stop being blinded by their greed, good on them
Thanks for the info & link OP :lunar2019coolpig:

Oh, it's still greed. It's just that in this case consumer sentiment risks outweighing cost-cutting.

From the article:

Take-Two and EA are acknowledging a problem that not enough companies have confronted: Players kind of hate generative AI. As every major video-game firm rushes to concoct a robust plan for implementing artificial intelligence in their business, they need to consider the potential backlash. When video-game enthusiasts react harshly to a product or initiative, it can change the entire narrative, sometimes tanking a game or at least helping prevent it from taking off.

We’ve seen the backlash to AI take various forms this year. A recent job listing for a PlayStation studio seeking an artist with experience using AI tools was roundly mocked. A leaked video of an AI prototype of Horizon Zero Dawn protagonist Aloy was so silly, and triggered so much criticism, that Aloy’s real voice actor, Ashly Burch, made her own video denouncing it. An AI recreation of Darth Vader in Fortnite, using the voice of the deceased James Earl Jones, led to a voice-actor rebellion and complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.

A large part of this backlash comes from the potential loss of jobs, plagiarism concerns and the heavy environmental cost. But players also seem uninterested in what generative AI has to offer. The idea of, say, a computer-controlled character who can react to anything you say to them has been possible for decades (see: the 1960s computer program Eliza) but has never turned into more than a novelty. AI-generated art is consistently sloppy and unpleasant, generally associated less with aesthetic merit and more with fake Facebook movie posters that convince your parents a sequel to Breaking Bad is coming this year.

When people play video games, they want experiences that feel authored by humans. In narrative-focused games like The Last of Us, players are hoping for a story that will move them in a way that can only be crafted by creators who understand the human condition. In mechanic-focused games like Elden Ring, players want battles and levels that were designed by real people, because playing them is almost like engaging in conversation with the developers.

Even trivial elements of a game, like background art, can have a tinge of ickiness when created by AI, marring an otherwise interesting game. Players want to immerse themselves in worlds that they know were fashioned by human beings, not robots.

[Electric Cupcake]

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/98631

Mantella has promise.

[Soren]

Also, CoD already used AI in some of their playercard artwork. So companies are using the tech, just slowly doing it to replace some workers.

[Electric Cupcake]

Being able to talk back to the Stanley Parable narrator would be a dream come true.

[Uncle Sam]

Originally posted by Saturn830:

Originally posted by Uncle Sam:

Well at least EA & Take-Two (Rockstar parent company) for a brief moment did stop being blinded by their greed, good on them
Thanks for the info & link OP

Oh, it's still greed. It's just that in this case consumer sentiment risks outweighing cost-cutting.

From the article:

Take-Two and EA are acknowledging a problem that not enough companies have confronted: Players kind of hate generative AI. As every major video-game firm rushes to concoct a robust plan for implementing artificial intelligence in their business, they need to consider the potential backlash. When video-game enthusiasts react harshly to a product or initiative, it can change the entire narrative, sometimes tanking a game or at least helping prevent it from taking off.

We’ve seen the backlash to AI take various forms this year. A recent job listing for a PlayStation studio seeking an artist with experience using AI tools was roundly mocked. A leaked video of an AI prototype of Horizon Zero Dawn protagonist Aloy was so silly, and triggered so much criticism, that Aloy’s real voice actor, Ashly Burch, made her own video denouncing it. An AI recreation of Darth Vader in Fortnite, using the voice of the deceased James Earl Jones, led to a voice-actor rebellion and complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.

A large part of this backlash comes from the potential loss of jobs, plagiarism concerns and the heavy environmental cost. But players also seem uninterested in what generative AI has to offer. The idea of, say, a computer-controlled character who can react to anything you say to them has been possible for decades (see: the 1960s computer program Eliza) but has never turned into more than a novelty. AI-generated art is consistently sloppy and unpleasant, generally associated less with aesthetic merit and more with fake Facebook movie posters that convince your parents a sequel to Breaking Bad is coming this year.

When people play video games, they want experiences that feel authored by humans. In narrative-focused games like The Last of Us, players are hoping for a story that will move them in a way that can only be crafted by creators who understand the human condition. In mechanic-focused games like Elden Ring, players want battles and levels that were designed by real people, because playing them is almost like engaging in conversation with the developers.

Even trivial elements of a game, like background art, can have a tinge of ickiness when created by AI, marring an otherwise interesting game. Players want to immerse themselves in worlds that they know were fashioned by human beings, not robots.

I see, thanks for the transcript of the article

EA & Take-Two just trying to min effort max profit their way around this. Probably it did temporarely thrawed the executives plans, of firing their workers & replacing them with cheap LLM slop.

[rimshot80]

"E....A....Sports. It's in the game!" Oh man, I remember that from Knockout Kings 2000. My sister and I used to piss each other off in that "brawl" mode or whatever, where any illegal hits are fine.

[Uncle Sam]

Originally posted by Electric Cupcake:

Being able to talk back to the Stanley Parable narrator would be a dream come true.

That would make an interesting mod or spinoff game

[Rio]

People do want ai, for the games npcs, sometimes the art, and a few other things.

They don't want ai in the game to spy on them and sell thier data, or censor them, and a lot don't want ai holding thier hands the whole game.

[Soren]

Originally posted by Electric Cupcake:

Being able to talk back to the Stanley Parable narrator would be a dream come true.

You know. I imagine it'd lose it's appeal real fast. Since you'd just be speaking to ChatGPT roleplaying as a character/person. I think that's basically what they did for Darth Vader in Fortnite. An LLM that responds to your voice chat hooked up to a cloned voice of Vader.