Well, what’s a couple more months at this point?
Sony announced on its blog today that the upcoming PlayStation 4 game The Last Guardian is delayed to December 6. It was supposed to release on October 25. The Last Guardian is one of Sony’s biggest exclusives for the rest of the year. PlayStation fans have already waited a long time for it; The Last Guardian was originally announced back in 2009. Development took so long that many gamers thought it was cancelled before Sony reintroduced The Last Guardian at its E3 press conference in 2015.
“[Directo] Fumito Ueda, [developers] Gen Design and Japan Studio have a wonderful vision for The Last Guardian’s touching, emotional journey of friendship and trust, and we want to deliver the most polished experience possible for our fans who have supported us for so long,” Sony noted on its blog. “A delay is a difficult decision, particularly with this game, but we have encountered more bugs than anticipated while in the final stages of development. To ensure that The Last Guardian delivers on the experience that the game’s creators have envisioned, we need to take the extra time to work on those issues.”
The Last Guardian shares gameplay and design elements with Ueda’s previous games, 2001’s Ico and 2005’s Shadow of the Colossus. Those were two of the most popular and critically acclaimed titles released for the PlayStation 2. After such a long wait for The Last Guardian already, Sony and Ueda must feel pressure to deliver a memorable experience. A couple of extra months to remove bugs, especially if the delay still keeps it in the lucrative holiday season, shouldn’t be a big deal for PlayStation 4 fans.