On May 23, Sony published an interview with The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann as part of a company-wide campaign on the future of technology. The Q&A was extremely controversial, including quotes from Druckmann advocating for the use of artificial intelligence to write dialogue and cut costs, on top of some braggadocious words about Naughty Dog’s next game. However, following Druckmann publicly disputing how the interview portrayed his answer about the studio’s next project, Sony has removed the interview from its website entirely.
If you look at the web page where the interview once was, you’ll now find a statement from Sony saying it found “several significant errors” in how it portrayed Druckmann’s answers, including his perspective on “animation, writing, technology, AI, and future projects.” Notably, when Druckmann disputed the interview publicly, he focused specifically on how he talked about Naughty Dog’s next game. The interview quoted Druckmann as saying the studio’s upcoming game “could redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming,” though Druckmann’s transcript says nothing of the sort. It’s still unclear how accurate the quotes on AI were, as Druckmann didn’t bring attention to them in his tweets on the matter. Sony’s statement reads as follows:
In re-reviewing our recent interview with Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann, we have found several significant errors and inaccuracies that don’t represent his perspective and values (including topics such as animation, writing, technology, AI, and future projects). We apologize to Neil for misrepresenting his words and for any negative impact this interview might have caused him and his team. In coordination with Naughty Dog and SIE, we have removed the interview.
As for how this happened, we can only speculate, but when you conduct an interview internally, it will ultimately have a PR spin. It’s important to remember that Naughty Dog is wholly owned by Sony, so this was very much an internal affair. Sometimes corporate higher-ups might want to weave a narrative while using a public figure’s influence. Someone at Sony may have been eager to push AI as the future and drum up hype for Naughty Dog’s next game and made some heavy-handed edits. Or, you know, they could have given too much work to a new intern. There’s also the possibility that this could be damage control after the interview didn’t go over well with the public.
Druckmann is currently working on HBO’s The Last of Us show, which is shooting its second season. HBO recently announced that Jeffrey Wright will be reprising his role as Isaac after playing the character in The Last of Us Part II.
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