History Trivia / TheLastGuardian

* ExecutiveMeddling: Ueda and Team Ico members wanted to complete the game's development on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, but Sony mandated to move its progress to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 prior to 2012.

** Progress was incredibly slow, featuring several false starts, with Fumito Ueda announcing that he was leaving Sony, along with other Team Ico staff (though committed to finishing it via after contract after founding genDESIGN), and rumors of cancellation due to a lack of information. For context on just how long it spent in development hell, keep in mind that the game started development for the ''UsefulNotes/PlayStation2.''

* DoingItForTheArt: Fumito Ueda was adamant and persistent about his vision of a boy interacting with a companion creature with independent AI and was determined to push against the hardware to achieve it, even waiting to bide out a console generation to achieve his vision, even if his original company shut down and he had to work by contract to finish the project. [[http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/fumito-uedas-slow-route-to-perfection Even more remarkable is the fact that Sony backed Ueda through all this]]:
--> ''In part, these delays are a function of Ueda’s uncompromising vision and unusual directorial process. When he is working on a new game, he begins by creating a mockup short film, which gives his team an impression of the feelings he wants to elicit but doesn’t get into technical details...Sony, for its part, indulges Ueda’s perfectionism. When asked, in 2015, whether the company would like to work with him on another project, Shuhei Yoshida, the president of Sony’s Worldwide Studios, said, “Everyone would." ''

* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: It was famous for having one of the most protracted production cycles in videogame history:

* CreatorKiller: As stated above, the game's [[DevelopmentHell notorious development cycle]] caused the eventual departure of Ueda from Sony, taking several of his co-workers with him. This effectively killed Sony's incarnation of Team Ico, though Ueda later formed the independent genDESIGN as a spiritual successor.

* CreatorKiller: As stated above, the game's [[DevelopmentHell notorious development cycle]] caused the eventual departure of Ueda from Sony, taking several of his co-workers with him. This effectively killed Sony's reincarnation of Team Ico, though Ueda later formed the independent genDESIGN as a spiritual successor.

** [[https://web.archive.org/web/20101029133011/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=272000 Ueda originally imagined the protagonist as a girl]], but she was changed to a boy because he thought a boy would have a stronger grip and to avoid upskirt shots while climbing. [[note]]Because apparently girls can't wear pants.[[/note]]

** [[https://web.archive.org/web/20101029133011/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=272000 Ueda originally imagined the protagonist as a girl]], but she was changed to a boy because he thought a boy would have a stronger grip and to avoid [[PantyShot upskirt shots]] while climbing. [[note]]Because apparently girls can't wear pants.[[/note]]

* {{Jossed}}: [[spoiler: Early in the game's development, WordOfGod said that the ending would be sad. This led to people speculating that either the boy, Trico, or both would die. The final game disproved all three, instead being a BittersweetEnding.]]

* ArtistDisillusionment: What resulted in Fumito Ueda's departure and other staff members, due to feeling a "sense of crisis" as a result of the delays. Many moved on to other companies, while Ueda and the rest founded genDESIGN. Fortunately, the studio decided to help finish the game via contract with Sony.

** [[https://web.archive.org/web/20101029133011/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=272000 Ueda originally imagined the protagonist as a girl]], but she was changed to a boy because he thought a boy would have a stronger grip and to avoid [[PantyShot upskirt shots]] while climbing.

* ArtistDisillusionment: What resulted in Fumito Ueda's departure and other staff members, due to feeling a "sense of crisis" as a result of the delays. Many moved on to other companies, while Ueda the rest founded genDESIGN. Fortunately, the studio decided to help finish the game via contract with Sony.

* DuelingGames: With Microsoft's ''VideoGame/{{Scalebound}}''. Both are games involving human protagonists accompanied by giant monsters set in a fictional world. Both are to be released in 2016 exclusive to the opposing console.
** Subverted, as ''Scalebound'' ended up getting pushed back to 2017, then was unceremoniously cancelled early that year.

** Progress was incredibly slow, featuring several false starts, with Fumito Ueda announcing that he was leaving Sony, along with other Team Ico staff (though committed to finishing it via after contract founding genDESIGN), and rumors of cancellation due to a lack of information. For context on just how long it spent in development hell, keep in mind that the game started development for the ''UsefulNotes/PlayStation2.''

** Sony's conference in E3 2015 gloriously confirmed that the game is still alive with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXLZvsSmBIs a seven minute gameplay trailer]], with a 2016 release. For many gamers, it was unquestionably the highlight of 2015's E3, reaffirmed in E3 2016 [[http://time.com/4588009/the-last-guardian-review/ and the early critical notices, expressed their disbelief that the game reached completion after all]].

** Sony's conference in E3 2015 gloriously confirmed that the game is still alive with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXLZvsSmBIs a seven minute gameplay trailer]], with a 2016 release. For many gamers, [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome it was unquestionably the highlight of 2015's E3]], reaffirmed in E3 2016 [[http://time.com/4588009/the-last-guardian-review/ and the early critical notices, expressed their disbelief that the game reached completion after all]].

* CreatorBacklash: Even though its clear from gameplay footage the giant baby griffin and boy [[TrueCompanions care about each other very much]], Team ICO are ''not happy'' to comment upon the relationship between Trico and the boy. Stating its up to the viewer, the audience, to interpret whatever they wish beyond their hostile-first-meeting.

* ArtistDisillusionment: What resulted in Ueda's departure and other staff members, due to feeling a "sense of crisis" as a result of the delays. Many moved on to other companies, while Ueda the rest founded genDESIGN. Fortunately, the studio decided to help finish the game via contract with Sony.

* ArtistDisillusionment: What resulted in Ueda's departure and other staff members, due to feeling a "sense of crisis" as a result of the delays. Many moved on to other companies, while Ueda the rest founded genDESIGN. Fortunately, the studio decided to hell finish the game via contract with Sony.

** Progress was incredibly slow, featuring several false starts, with Fumito Ueda announcing that he was leaving Team Ico (though committed to finishing it via contract), and false news of cancellation due to a lack of information. For context on just how long it spent in development hell, keep in mind that the game started development for the ''UsefulNotes/PlayStation2.''