Nvidia GeForce G-Assist AI April Fool's joke may soon become a serious product

Nvidia AI
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Nvidia has revived an April Fool’s Day joke from 2017. It reposted a tweet introducing an AI assistant for gamers. This timely revival suggests Nvidia may announce new AI features for gamers at its upcoming keynote just before Computex 2024 kicks-off.

Along with its highlighting of the classic prank, Nvidia included the tagline, “the future is never far away.” It’s outlandish to think Nvidia would make the fictional Nvidia GeForce G-Assist into a real product, but it could be teasing AI assistant features coming soon for gamers. 

In the video accompanying the 2017 tweet, Nvidia announced a USB stick called the GeForce GTX G-Assist. This device was supposed to be able to take over for you in a game if you had to step away. It could also help you defeat hard bosses in games.

Of course, there’s almost no way Nvidia would release such a product. Games today are laden with ways to stop cheating, and this sort of thing would likely get gamers banned from some of their favorite games.

One feature of the G-Assist could be useful, though. Near the end of the video, a feature called Nvidia Nurture would analyze your gaming experience and remind you to take a break to grab a bite to eat or something to drink.

Other features could include providing a custom overlay during your game to help you. It could search for game walkthroughs of difficult parts, and display them while you work your way through to the last stages of that challenging game. It might also dig up information about other players to give you a competitive edge.

So, no, we don’t for one minute think that Nvidia will be announcing a device to help you cheat in a game. However, machine learning and other AI technologies have come a long way and definitely could prove helpful to gamers in other ways.

We don’t have long to wait. Nvidia’s upcoming keynote, which we already know will be focused on AI, is on June 2.

Jeff Butts
Contributing Writer

Jeff Butts has been covering tech news for more than a decade, and his IT experience predates the internet. Yes, he remembers when 9600 baud was “fast.” He especially enjoys covering DIY and Maker topics, along with anything on the bleeding edge of technology.

  • edzieba
    Of course, there’s almost no way Nvidia would release such a product. Games today are laden with ways to stop cheating, and this sort of thing would likely get gamers banned from some of their favorite games.
    AMD: Hold my beer!
    Reply
  • Jeff Butts
    edzieba said:
    AMD: Hold my beer!
    LOL!!
    Reply
  • voyteck
    One feature of the G-Assist could be useful, though

    Actually, two would be useful, the second one being "help with hard bosses", which I consider a cancer of RPG/ open world gaming. That's why I stopped playing "Watch Dogs" and "The Witcher 2". Not because I couldn't possibly get past them, I just didn't want to try again and again. By the way, "The Witcher 3" wasn't any better, 'cause I called it a day when had to get through a 2-3 min half-interactive walking/talking scene simply to try a fight again without any possibility to save in the middle.
    Reply
  • LabRat 891
    Not much longer until the question will come up:
    If an AI is trained *entirely* off of you, and only you; does it represent you?
    Would it be cheating to let it play for you?
    Reply
  • adamboy64
    An AI assistant for gaming is interesting.. it kinda just sounds like a cheat mode with extra steps.
    If you don't want to play the game, just look up the cutscenes or gameplay footage online. You might find it more enjoyable to watch someone else play it online, too.
    Reply
  • watzupken
    LabRat 891 said:
    Not much longer until the question will come up:
    If an AI is trained *entirely* off of you, and only you; does it represent you?
    Would it be cheating to let it play for you?
    The moment someone or something is playing for you, to me that falls into the definition of cheating. Put that into exam context, and I think it makes sense.
    Reply
  • watzupken
    adamboy64 said:
    An AI assistant for gaming is interesting.. it kinda just sounds like a cheat mode with extra steps.
    If you don't want to play the game, just look up the cutscenes or gameplay footage online. You might find it more enjoyable to watch someone else play it online, too.
    Then why play the game if you are not really playing the game? Won't it be easier just going to Youtube to watch someone playing instead as you said.
    Reply
  • Bamda
    I would welcome a Copilot-style bot tailored for gaming. Should you have any questions, feel free to ask N-Bot for assistance with a game mission or quest.
    Reply