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[Kenshin001]

However, multiple Sony studios are now working to get the project out the door as quickly as possible.

Great news. With Ueda's artistic vision combined with the technical expertise of the US and European studios I expect it will be fantastic. Let's face it, SCEJ have not exactly been prolific and I think a lot of it has to do with they are overly ambitious but behind the curve when it comes to tech.

 

[Dark Octave]

Too much for the PS3. I wouldn't have a problem with them making it a PS4 launch title as long as they actually use the hardware as much as possible and not just straight port.

 

[ced]

What the fuck at all the "PS3 can't handle it".

That's an excuse for a sorry developer if they can't work their vision around the target platform.

Most of us would be fired from our jobs if we used that mentality.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

Five years into development, they finally are starting to understand that the PS3 can't handle the physics required to animate and control 10000 feathers.

Sony CEO- So, how much feathers do you want on that bird thing?
Ueda-We want it to look real, maybe 10000
Sony CEO - 10000? I don't think PS3 can't handle that
Ueda-It must handle, that's my vision

5 year later...
Sony CEO-So, are we ready for release?
Ueda-Hum...almost, we have already 1000 working feathers
Sony CEO-1000?! We have to release this in this century!!
Ueda-Well, we bumped into some technical problems, not enough ram to hold 10000 feathers, there's a different 3D model for each feather
Sony CEO-but is the game near completion?
Ueda-Once we solve the feathers problem, we are ready to start developing the game itself

SeemsLegit.gif

What the fuck at all the "PS3 can't handle it".

That's an excuse for a sorry developer if they can't work their vision around the target platform.

Most of us would be fired from our jobs if we used that mentality.

Well, after I started using Autodesk Revit at work and realized that the design program itself is so poorly optimized and overambitious that it can't handle a file larger than 100megs on even the most expensive of workstations, I started getting a lot more appreciation for being locked into technical nightmares. Although, it would appear these guys are able to make whatever schedule they want on this project. I wonder what that's like.

 

[Haunted]

Team ICO like every other japanese company* probably adapted poorly to the HD systems.

*except Capcom


Looks like that's the case. That Sony is bringing in help from Santa Monica and their tech people in the UK to finish the game is extremely telling.

Most of us would be fired from our jobs if we used that mentality.

Well, Ueda isn't working as a full-time Sony employee anymore, so...

 

[WinFonda]

Five years into development, they finally are starting to understand that the PS3 can't handle the physics required to animate and control 10000 feathers.

Sony CEO- So, how much feathers do you want on that bird thing?
Ueda-We want it to look real, maybe 10000
Sony CEO - 10000? I don't think PS3 can't handle that
Ueda-It must handle, that's my vision

5 year later...
Sony CEO-So, are we ready for release?
Ueda-Hum...almost, we have already 1000 working feathers
Sony CEO-1000?! We have to release this in this century!!
Ueda-Well, we bumped into some technical problems, not enough ram to hold 10000 feathers, there's a different 3D model for each feather
Sony CEO-but is the game near completion?
Ueda-Once we solve the feathers problem, we are ready to start developing the game itself

I admire Ueda for his games a lot, but I have no doubt this is how he approached game development. And not just him, but a lot of Japanese developers/creators in general. They have this weird, detrimental fetish for... little details in their game design, character design, etc. It's just fucked up priorities in the grand scheme of things.

 

[bigboss370]

i can wait. don't really understand the terrible overreactions in this thread.

-its a small dev team with around 40 people and doesn't do outsourcing, compared to others that have 300+. now that they have more people working on it the game should move along a bit faster.

-when you have to make a new engine from scratch its already given the game will take at the least 3-4 years.

-they have great track record

-they're taking whatever time is necessary to make the game great, which makes me confident they're not taking concessions for the sake of a quicker release. if blizzard/valve can say "it'll be ready when its ready" then these guys can too

-there have been plenty japanese games this gen that have proper release schedules and are great games, just because some didn't doesn't mean ALL japanese games went through the same thing.

-porting to PS4 is a terrible idea, it means even more time to adjust the engine (which was built from scratch for PS3), and the code, as well as the game probably not showing at its best because it would be a port from a last generation development. not to mention a next gen playstation hasn't even been announced much less released and them having to rely on an unknown install base of users. such a bad idea. ppl questioned god of war 2's release on last gen instead of current gen and it turned out that last gen was a good call for the devs.

oh yeah and they never announced a release date, so it was never technically delayed.

 

[indigo-cyclops]

i can wait. don't really understand the terrible overreactions in this thread.

-its a small dev team with around 40 people and doesn't do outsourcing, compared to others that have 300+. now that they have more people working on it the game should move along a bit faster.

-they have great track record

-they're taking whatever time is necessary to make the game great, which makes me confident thy're not taking concessions for the sake of a quicker release. if blizzard/valve can say "it'll be ready when its ready" then these guys can do

-there have been plenty japanese games this gen that have proper release schedules and are great game, just because some didn't doesn't mean ALL japanese games went through the same thing.

-porting to PS4 is a terrible idea, it means even more time to adjust the engine (which was built from scratch for PS3), and the code, as well as the game probably not showing at its best because it would be a port from a last generation development. not to mention a next gen playstation hasn't even been announced much less released and them having to rely on an unknown install base of users. such a bad idea. ppl questioned god of war 2's release on last gen instead of current gen and it turned out that last gen was a good call for the devs.

oh yeah and they never announced a release date, so it was never technically delayed.

Great track record if the game actually releases. Their development process and over-ambitious nature has gotten worse progressively. There's a reason people are worried.

 

[FunkyPajamas]

Do you guys remember that backfire thread of a guy saying that Last Guardian should be postponed for PS4? It was a few years back, way before any development hell rumors came to light.

):

 

[hemo memo]

This is both incredibly disappointing and completely unsurprising.

Shadow of the Colossus came out near the end of the PS2's main lifecycle and nearly crushed the power of the system under the weight of what it was trying to achieve. I don't doubt that this is the same situation with The Last Guardian. The game was certainly one of the most ambitious of this generation, and I suspect that once again the team is trying to implement effects that have never before been seen on consoles, just as SotC did. Pair that then with the difficulty of developing sufficiently advanced programming for Trico to make it seem like a fully realized creature, rather than a simple tool for your own game advancement, and I can imagine the difficulties they are encountering.

And all of these technical difficulties must be addressed before the developers even design much of the game itself—the puzzles, the traversals, the architecture of the in-game areas, etc. Making Trico comply to the game's designs may simply be proving too difficult when they've been attempting to always make the creature so much more than simply another of those designs.

The Last Guardian has been my most anticipated game since I played SotC in 2005, well before the game was ever announced or shown, but with so many difficulties encountered, so many new arrangements in the management, including the now freelance capacity of Ueda, and so many other teams getting involved to push this thing out the door, possibly diluting the original team's visions while perhaps also rushing the development, I don't know what to think of this game any more.

Team ICO as we knew it is in ruins. The Last Guardian seems to have now become Sony's own pet project to not only avert an enormous waste of money, time, talents, and assets, but also to prove that the gaming division as a whole is still capable of producing something like SotC. This could be either their most glorious success or their most ignominious failure.

I still have a glimmer of hope in my heart for The Last Guardian. I wish all those laboring over this beast the best of luck.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

I really hate to be that guy, but after this year's E3, I'd be shocked and appalled if this or Versus XIII were still being produced for the PS3. Or maybe I should say I'd be appalled if Sony and MS are seriously going to try to milk the current gen consoles for another 2 years.

 

[revolverjgw]

10 hours in photoshop

 

[Mahonay]

I would like to re-title this thread;

The Last Guardian - "Shit's fucked"

 

[ScOULaris]

I heard that they were trying to implement HD towns into the game, which we all know is a fool's errand.

 

[.la1n]

I have SoTC and Ico on PS3, I suppose that will suffice.

 

[watershed]

PS4 or eventually canned I think.

 

[BGBW]

This is why Nintendo decided to not show anything in advance. SONY, IT IS YOUR FAULT NINTENDO DIDN'T HAVE AN E3 BLOWOUT!

 

[SLEEPS7ALK3R]

Such a fuck up. My god...

 

[PrinceOfApathy]

Anyone taking inside bets on which game will release first? Versus vs Guardian with the outside pool of both getting the release date of "never"....

 

[ironcreed]

Oh, I am sure I will end up buying it if and when it ever does come out. I just hope that it does not end up being a patched up mess from there being too many cooks with their hands in the pot. Not to mention just being overcooked altogether. Meanwhile, it's barely a blip on my radar anymore. Too many other great games coming out that I know I will get to play.

 

[the_painted_bird]

Saddest thing ever. I wish we could write Ueda a letter for some sort of insider's response as to what the hell actually happened. I empathize with everyone but I am really sick of speculating. Would give me some closure if we really knew what's going on. If the PS3 can't handle it, then this game really needs to be forgotten. Biggest tease.

 

[Sapphire Dreams]

Hahahaha

It's gonna get canned soon, if it hasn't already.

Don't say that!

I want this game so bad ;-;

 

[synchronicity]

Sounds like it was over engineered

Its probably good they bring in other expertise. Team Ico is a very small studio

Still, why has no Japanese dev managed to do it right this gen?

FROM!

Grasshopper.

 

[LevelNth]

I really hate to be that guy, but after this year's E3, I'd be shocked and appalled if this or Versus XIII were still being produced for the PS3. Or maybe I should say I'd be appalled if Sony and MS are seriously going to try to milk the current gen consoles for another 2 years.

They absolutely are going to, and frankly, why not? You think Nintendo's Wii U showing changed any of that mentality? If anything it bought them an extra year.

Do people here actually think technical issues are even remotely close to being a problem in the industry today, and not, oh I don't know, the complete bankrupt creativity of developers?

 

[Always-honest]

TLG confirmed for PS4?

i hope so.

 

[tuffy]

-its a small dev team with around 40 people and doesn't do outsourcing, compared to others that have 300+. now that they have more people working on it the game should move along a bit faster.

If they're bringing in a lot of outside help to finish it, there's a good chance the game they'll deliver isn't the one that was promised, or the one that gamers have imagined it will be.

Keep expectations low and maybe we'll be surprised.

 

[Neuromancer]

Well shit its not looking good if they can't even say it will be released on the PS3. What a boondoggle.

 

[Dusky]

Well shit its not looking good if they can't even say it will be released on the PS3. What a boondoggle.

Well apparently it still is...

http://www.edge-online.com/news/e3-2012-technical-difficulties-holding-last-guardian

 

[we.are.the.armada]

Hopefully not shoehorning in that Move support.

 

[Lord Error]

I was going to say, if they plan on releasing this mid-to-late 2013 (which is is the only rational date now that they haven't show anything yet), they might as well release it as PS4 launch title, but now I see that TLOU is being released then as well, so I suppose they're probably actually still making this for PS3 after all.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

Well, it does exist in that people outside of the company HAVE played it. Of course that doesn't mean much for overall development.

Behind closed doors maybe. People play Duke Nukem behind closed doors too. Speaking of those people, you have a link to these people's impressions?

 

[TheJollyCorner]

just adding it to my list of heartbreaking disappointments this gen*:

-Team Silent dissolved (i.e. no in-house Silent Hill developed)
-so far only one offline main FF (XIII) and even that seemed incomplete; didn't meet its potential.
-no console Suikoden
-6 years into the new Sony generation and no Ueda game


*these are all in relation to my anticipation going into the new gen

 

[GrandHarrier]

Almost be worth it to collectively not buy it even if it comes out, as just punishment for a studio that has shamed themselves before the gaming world.

Spoiler

lol Dramatic.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

I think it's nice to have a status update every now and then. At least we know it isn't abandoned yet.

Because that's worked out great for S-E and Versus.

 

[Dabanton]

A cut down PSN release is what I'm expecting now. Maybe in episodes.

 

[LordCanti]

I'd have settled for a few new screenshots, a candid Ueda interview, or pretty much anything. Nothing though? Bah.

 

[Zoibie]

Hahahaha

It's gonna get canned soon, if it hasn't already.

If it hasn't been cancelled yet, Sony are going to fight tooth and nail to ship something. Question is whether it'll be any good or a rushed mess.

 

[TheExodu5]

They should have pulled the plug a long time ago.

 

[Lord Error]

Behind closed doors maybe. People play Duke Nukem behind closed doors too. Speaking of those people, you have a link to these people's impressions?

Famitsu and Eurogamer had writeups about it.

This was a year ago; http://andriasang.com/comu61/last_guardian_demo/

Eurogamer demo writeup, also around that time: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-03-02-the-last-guardian-preview

 

[MeBecomingI]

I just start to question whether it is even financially feasible at this point in time for Sony to continue development. Every time they come out with an "update" on the game, there seems to be another reason than the last about why the game wasn't at this trade show or hasn't been released or what have you.

Now with a bunch of studios helping, who I'm going to guess are more than likely the very technically proficient internal studios like SSM, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla Games and Cambridge, I could only imagine the cost of development skyrocketing even more than it could have been already after being in development for 5+ years.

Of course, I could be wrong and because Team ICO was a smaller team the cost might not be as much as it could be, but it being basically in development hell for as long as it has I'm sure the costs are not looking to good right now; especially to a company struggling to stop bleeding money.

I would really like to see how much this game is going to need to sell just to break even. Part of me thinks Sony doesn't want to abandon the game (maybe they can't contractually) and part of me thinks that Sony might want to cut the losses and move on. I want to see it, but... where is it? I mean, they couldn't even show a trailer or even a simple logo.

Regardless, that assumes of course the game isn't just vapourware at this point.

 

[StuBurns]

As long as it always seems like they can finish it with less than twenty million dollars more, it'll always be viable to finish it.

 

[Goodacre0081]

why is everyone suggesting PS4 now? wouldn't that just compound the problems they already have?

It's been 5+ years of this developer working with Ps3 architecture, now you suggest a change to all new hardware?if that was the case then this game is going to be in perpetual development hell. where does the cycle end?

 

[-Stranger-]

I hope they don't can it, the game looked really beautiful.
Better than ICO and SoTC.

 

[ScOULaris]

They should have pulled the plug a long time ago.

You shut your whore mouth! Last Guardian will be this console generation's savior!

 

[thuway]

The game was worked on for five years by a team of around 30 people. It's better if Sony retools this for the PlayStation 4 and tries to shoot for the vision of Ueda-San. It would be an excellent announcement at E3, a great launch title, and something that will differentiate Sony's portfolio in the critical first year of a new generation.

 

[ced]

why is everyone suggesting PS4 now? wouldn't that just compound the problems they already have?

It's been 5+ years of this developer working with Ps3 architecture, now you suggest a change to all new hardware?if that was the case then this game is going to be in perpetual development hell. where does the cycle end?

In addition to it showing the dev is incompetent.

I loved Ico and it's sad to pretty know this is vaporware, but they need to get their shit together for the next project.

 

[Lord Error]

why is everyone suggesting PS4 now? wouldn't that just compound the problems they already have?

If the technical problem is "It runs at 10FPS most of the time" then PS4 would do nothing but help. To be fair, the minimal in-game footage I've seen didn't seem to run that bad, but it did have visible frame drops. You can see these few seconds of footage on the bonus material of Ico collection.

The game was worked on for five years by a team of around 30 people. It's better if Sony retools this for the PlayStation 4 and tries to shoot for the vision of Ueda-San. It would be an excellent announcement at E3, a great launch title, and something that will differentiate Sony's portfolio in the critical first year of a new generation.

Agreed. I'm already worried that the game was switched to sub-hd (one trailer really seemed like it), and with inconsistent framerate too. If that's the case, they shouldn't bother with PS3.

 

[thuway]

As long as it always seems like they can finish it with less than twenty million dollars more, it'll always be viable to finish it.

I've always thought of Team ICO's offerings as prestige titles not mere profit cows. I know Sony and the business world think differently, but I hope us as gamers want the most technically sound, polished, and innovative experience possible.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

I wonder if Versus will have "technical difficulties" at TGS.

 

[thuway]

why is everyone suggesting PS4 now? wouldn't that just compound the problems they already have?

It's pretty obvious the limitations of the PS3 are making things a headache for all parties involved. This E3 we saw glimpses of what was possible next generation in the form of Star Wars 1313, Watch_Dogs, and the Square Enix Luminous technical demonstration.

Imagine that sort of power under the hood for a game of this calibur. Console launches are usually murked with low quality software, ports, and nothing truly ground breaking. This could easily be the "Zelda" or the defining title in the launch of the PS4. That's why we want PS4.