Sony: The Last Guardian is making "slow progress" • News • Eurogamer.netLong awaited Team Ico adventure The Last Guardian is still alive and well but is making slow progress, according to Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida.
Speaking in an interview with 1Up, Yoshida confirmed that the PS3 game, which has been in development for the best part of six years, is still a priority for the publisher.
"The project has been making progress, but slow progress," he admitted.
"So that's tough, but we haven't changed any focus. It's still a really important project and a vision we want to see realised, and Fumito's vision is really causing a very difficult challenge for the developers, so there's some scrapping and rebuilding - iteration in the process. That's why [it's taking so long]."
Elsewhere in the interview, he also clarified the employment status of studio lynchpin Fumito Ueda, following a Eurogamer report late last year revealing he had left Sony and is now working for the platform holder as a contractor.
"He was an employee, and now he's working on a contract basis," said Yoshida.
"You know, we discussed an arrangement so he could focus on the creative side. But his work and his presence on that team never changed, so it was just more a contractual rearrangement, and that was taken [by many] as 'he left'.
"He comes in every day, and he's probably one of the people who works the longest hours," he added.
When asked whether Ueda would be working with Sony again in the future, Yoshida replied: "If this project goes well - you know, fingers crossed - we've worked with him for a long time so yeah I certainly hope we can maintain a relationship."
Original interview:
http://www.1up.com/news/shuhei-yoshida-last-guardian-update1UP: Can you give us any update on The Last Guardian? Have you seen it recently?
SY: Oh yeah, yeah. I've been seeing it.
1UP: Is it still healthy and good?
SY: Well you know, there was a rumor that Fumito Ueda left the company or something like that.
1UP: That was confirmed, right?
SY: Well it's confirmed in terms of the status of his relation to the company -- he was an employee, and now he's working on a contract basis. You know, we discussed an arrangement so he could focus on the creative side. But his work and his presence on that team never changed, so it was just more a contractual rearrangement, and that was taken [by many] as "he left."
1UP: Does he still work in the office?
SY: Absolutely. Absolutely. He comes in every day, and he's probably one of the people who works the longest hours. The project has been making progress, but slow progress. So that's tough, but we haven't changed any focus. It's still a really important project and a vision we want to see realized, and Fumito's vision is really causing a very difficult challenge for the developers, so there's some scrapping and rebuilding -- iteration in the process. That's why [it's taking so long].
1UP: So back to your earlier comment, did he become a contractor so he could work on the creative side rather than the business side?
SY: It's a personal matter, so I can't really say.
1UP: Do you think he'll continue to work with Sony after The Last Guardian is finished?
SY: If this project goes well -- you know, fingers crossed -- we've worked with him for a long time so yeah I certainly hope we can maintain a relationship.
So I suppose we can all forget a 2012 release. Sounds like its in or close to development hell
