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Despite infrequent reassurances Shuhei Yoshida that it remains in development, and the contracting of the now-freelancer Fumito Ueda to continue the project after his departure from Team Ico, the latest evidence casts a pall over gamers’ hopes for The Last Guardian. Trademarkia put up an abandonment notice for the U.S. trademark of The Last Guardian, effective as of Monday, August 6. This is confirmed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which now lists Sony’s trademark for The Last Guardian as “ABANDONED” and its “Live/Dead Indicator” as “DEAD.” 
Ueda and his team wowed PlayStation 2 owners in the early days of the system with Ico and, in the twilight of the console’s reign, followed it up with Shadow of the Colossus (both of which have been released in an HD compilation on the PlayStation 3). The Last Guardian was to be the developer’s first high-definition project, but it has been years without significant new information. Right now, it sits alongside Final Fantasy Versus XIII as one of the most highly anticipated pieces of apparent vaporware in the console scene. With this latest, though, has it possibly gone from vaporware to simply vapor? By Shelby Reiches |