Sony apologizes for Sony interview with Sony developer Neil Druckmann

Gaming IndustrySony apologizes for Sony interview with Sony developer Neil DruckmannWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 12: Neil Druckmann attends the AFI Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 12, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI)

Sony has apologized to Naughty Dog studio boss Neil Druckmann for “misrepresenting his words” in a recentpromotional interview, which it acknowledged contained “several significant errors and inaccuracies.” The interview has now been taken down.

But shortly after the interview went up, Druckmann took to Twitter to clarify that the reported statement about redefining perceptions of gaming was “not quite what I said.”

“In editing my rambling answers in my recent interview with Sony, some of my words, context, and intent were unfortunately lost,” Druckmann very diplomaticallytweeted.

That’s putting it mildly: Druckmann also provided thefull text of his responseto the question about “future innovation” in gaming, and nowhere does he say any of the words attributed to him in the published interview. As far as I can tell, the closest he comes is to say that, thanks to the success of The Last of Us television show on Amazon, “people even outside of gaming are looking at us to see what it is that we put out next”—a far more attenuated and reasonable statement.

(Image credit: Neil Druckmann)

Neil Druckmann’s full response to question about “future innovation” in gaming in May 2024 interview with Sony

We noted the change in our report on the interview, but an obvious question was left hanging: If Sony so thoroughly mangled Druckmann’s answer to that question, what about the rest of them? And now we have our answer.

“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),” Sony said in astatementthat’s replaced the interview. “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.”

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The net result is that Sony has not only managed to irritate one of its most prominent developers to the point that he was willing to drag the company for it (Druckmann’s tweet was diplomatic, yes, but also unmistakablynot happy), it’s also cast doubts on its wider credibility: How often has this happened, unnoticed or unremarked upon, in the past?

I suppose one possibility—and this is purely speculative, because Sony hasn’t commented further—is that someone decided to clean up Druckmann’s commentary with an AI-powered summary and didn’t bother to check the output. As awful and embarrassing as that would be, it’s probably the best possible explanation from Sony’s perspective. “We relied on the machine and got burned” ain’t great, but it’s a whole lot better than, “We wilfully misrepresented the words of one of our top guys because we thought it would make for more effective PR.”

I’ve reached out to Sony for comment and will update if I receive a reply.

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