At 12:31pm on December 6, 2014, in the midst of the PlayStation Experience, I posted the following note on Twitter. “If The Last Guardian doesn’t show up today, it’s never happening.” It would only make sense, after all. What better time to re-announce Team Ico’s game than at an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the PlayStation Experience. What a way to kick off the first, in hopefully a series, of yearly events.
It didn’t happen. There was no sign of The Last Guardian . It was as though the game never existed. And now, I believe it would be for the best if we went ahead and completely forgot about it.
Because truly, The Last Guardian has gone into a realm beyond development hell. Even suggesting it is in development hell would be claiming work is being done. Even though we’ve heard talk of things being done, there’s no proof of it. There has been no sign of the game in years. Even the platform is still a mystery.
A The Last Guardian PlayStation Experience announcement could have been magic. It would have been akin to a phoenix rising from the ashes. People could rejoice and revel in the notion that something many have wanted for years, and always hoped would be real, could actually exist. It could have been our unicorn, appearing to the faithful due to our pure love and unwavering belief.
It didn’t, and I think its absence is telling. If The Last Guardian was still going to happen, the PlayStation Experience would have been the moment to reveal it. A reveal of any information would have benefited Sony immensely. It would have helped sell consoles, as people have waited for this game for years. It could have guaranteed a future for PlayStation Experiences, as people would buy tickets every year in the hopes future events would have been as huge. Most importantly, it would have dealt serious blows to Microsoft and Nintendo.
A year ago, I said we should go ahead and forget about The Last Guardian . Now, after the very first PlayStation Experience, my assertion has been confirmed. If Sony wasn’t going to bring it up at what was undoubtedly one of its biggest events, then it isn’t going to happen. Because even if work is still being done, if there’s nothing to show after 5 years, there probably never will be.