The Last Guardian trademark "abandoned"

[Pleiades]

Source: Trademarkia | NeoGAF

It could simply be in need of renewal, or the implication that a name change is coming. Or it could be something very terrible.

[super-mega-hyper-sonic]

Oh shit. I hope Team Ico are still working on this.

[Pleiades]

Oh shit. I hope Team Ico are still working on this.

Perhaps it is still in development, and Sony only forgot about it. That inspires confidence, no?

[super-mega-hyper-sonic]

Perhaps it is still in development, and Sony only forgot about it. That inspires confidence, no?

It does, but you can't rule out the possibility. I mean, hasn't this been in development hell since 06?

[Pleiades]

It does, but you can't rule out the possibility. I mean, hasn't this been in development hell since 06?

The lack of sarcastic tone expressed through text strikes yet again. That Sony somehow forgot of its existence is impossible. Cancellation is just as likely as a name change or future renewal. I'd just like to cling to hope and say it's one of the latter.

[Pleiades]

Sony says TLG is still in development.

http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2012/08/...n-development/

That's a relief, at least for now.

[Spiderpig24]

It makes you wonder if they are just waiting until the PS4 releases for this game.

[Nerdysimmer]

A development process lasting this long would often mean to me that the current build of the game is totally different than what was shown when it was announced some years ago. Perhaps they've abandoned the name because the name wouldn't be a good representation of the game's current state. It might have the same plot elements, game mechanics, and so on, but they might have changed a few things here and there.

It makes you wonder if they are just waiting until the PS4 releases for this game.

Considering the limited graphical and processing capabilities the PS3 has in this day in age, I'd say that could be a possibility. I'm not too keen on speculation, so I'll just leave time to tell, regardless of how much I've wanted the game to be finished.

[Pleiades]

Considering the limited graphical and processing capabilities the PS3 has in this day in age, I'd say that could be a possibility. I'm not too keen on speculation, so I'll just leave time to tell, regardless of how much I've wanted the game to be finished.

What do you imagine the effect of transitioning to a new generation of hardware would be on Team Ico's development process and TLG in general? It's been many painstaking years, but the team is still fairly small.

[Nerdysimmer]

What do you imagine the effect of transitioning to a new generation of hardware would be on Team Ico's development process and TLG in general? It's been many painstaking years, but the team is still fairly small.

If the hardware of Sony's next console is anything similar to the PS3, it shouldn't be too difficult to transend the source code to that particular console. Hypothetically, if the said console were to exist in its prototype build, the processing and graphical power of it would allow the developers to develop complex algorithms for the creature's AI and a more complex physics engine.

The reason why I said it "could be a possibility" was because 2013 is when the 360 and PS3 are well passed their heyday, and releasing the game for that particular platform when - what I think - the new hardware will be announced/released will result in poor sales, unless Sony markets the game more than Activision masturbates over Call of Duty. Announcing new hardware will generally hog all of the attention, and The Last Guardian will not get the attention it deserves because of it. I could be wrong about it, but I'm pretty sure that Sony/Microsoft will announce their new consoles since there is a significant difference between today's clocking speeds of the PC, and the speeds of the consoles manufactured since 2006.

As for the development process, it's really hard to be optimistic about it considering Team Ico's team size, as well as creative differences and tensions between the developer and publisher arise through its process. Their lead designer/director left the team to start working in freelance, though he addressed that he's still working on the game, but not as a full-time member. Their executive producer left as well, and he was one of the more critical members of the team since he was in charge of overseeing the development, which include setting deadlines, arranging meetings, QA testing, maintaining the game's budget, marketing deals with Sony, etc. That hurts the development process pretty substantially, and unless they find a new executive producer to keep the team in check, they'll need to keep up with the process on their own, otherwise they're in trouble.

[Spiderpig24]

Releasing a game that has been in development for this long on a new PlayStation wouldn't make much sense financially though, as the install base would only be a fraction of the size of the PS3. Releasing the game on a PS4 would be a missed opportunity for Sony.