Skip to main content

‘The Last Guardian’ flaps its wings ahead of E3 2016

The Last Guardian: 10 Years in the Making - IGN First
The spiritual sequel to ICO that was announced six years ago is still in development, and that’s becoming something we have to remind ourselves of every once in a while. The Last Guardian is designer and director Fumito Ueda’s first entry for the current generation of hardware, and while it’s arguable that the hype has died down since its initial announcement, dedicated fans are still anticipating its arrival. In a recent IGN interview leading up to E3 2016, Ueda delved into some of the details of the game’s turbulent development process.

As you may already know, the development of The Last Guardian has been something of a train wreck. Starting off as a PlayStation 3 exclusive, eventually it found its way onto PlayStation 4 as the development process got prolonged. Ueda says that the studio saw transitions between consoles, something he wasn’t too happy about, as well as internal changes to the studio itself.

Recommended Videos

Since the studio’s release of the original ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, it has also developed and released HD remakes of the two classic games. It seems like the time spent working on two remakes gave the team a well-needed break, Ueda even goes so far as to say that the game might not even have made it home if they hadn’t gotten the energy boost from developing those remakes.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The game portrays a small boy who has been kidnapped by forces unknown. After some time he discovers something akin to a griffin. All we know is that the boy refers to this creature as “Trico” throughout the game, but it’s unclear if this name is given by the boy or if someone we don’t know yet provided the griffin-like creature with a name. Traversing different environments, the boy and Trico bond throughout their journey, but their goal remains unclear.

The Last Guardian is slated for a release on PS4 by the end of this year.

Dan Isacsson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Being a gamer since the age of three, Dan took an interest in mobile gaming back in 2009. Since then he's been digging ever…
Here’s what E3 2023 could look like without Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft
Playstation character wall at E3 2018

Let's start with the good news: E3 2023 will be held in its in-person format once again after three long years of digital events necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, this time with ReedPop at the helm. The bad news is that Sony, Xbox, and Nintendo -- gaming's "Big 3" -- may not show up at the industry’s biggest convention this summer.

This is according to a report from IGN citing multiple sources, who claimed the companies won’t be a part of the show or make appearances on the floor at the Los Angeles Convention Center in any way. Their absence from this year’s E3, especially Nintendo’s, may come as a shock to the gaming community, but it's not such a surprise when looking at the past few iterations of E3. Even before the pandemic locked everyone down in 2020, Sony and Xbox had been hosting their own E3-style livestreams, so it was more likely they would do it again this year anyway. Nintendo, on the other hand, managed to show off its upcoming games via Nintendo Direct streams and at its booth, console kiosks and all.

Read more
Summer Game Fest returns just before E3 2023 next June
The official artwork confirming Summer Game Fest's return on June 8, 2023.

Geoff Keighley has confirmed when Summer Game Fest will return in June 2023. It will begin with a live kickoff show on June 8, 2023, placing Keighley's game announcement alternative less than a week before E3's grand (intended) 2023 return.
Unlike past years, Summer Game Fest Live Kickoff 2023 will feature a live audience, like Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards. It will take place in the YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park, with tickets going on sale in early 2023. It will still be livestreamed across platforms like YouTube and Twitch, though. It's currently unknown who's participating, how long Summer Game Fest will run afterward, or if it will feature a Summer Game Fest Play Days-like element for fans. Still, Keighley says all of that info will be revealed ahead of the event next year, teasing what people can expect. 
"In keeping with tradition, we'll have tons of exciting announcements from the developers that are pushing the games industry forward, and will once again highlight other publisher digital events, demos, and more surprises to be announced in the coming months," Keighley says in a press release. 
That June 8 start date, and the other Summer Game Fest events likely to follow, put Keighley's show just ahead of E3 2023. The ESA and ReedPop plan to bring E3 back between June 13 and June 16, 2023. With five days of lead time on E3, Summer Game Fest can coexist with the long-running gaming conference and encompass the plethora of publisher showcases that tend to precede E3.
Geoff Keighley made it clear that he wants Summer Game Fest and E3 to coexist for a while. "We've had extensive conversations with ReedPop about E3," he said in an interview with Epic Games Store. "I think it'll kind of fit together and flow kind of from what we're doing into what they're doing and stuff. E3, to me, is this kind of master brand that represents gaming news in June."
With the start date of Summer Game Fest confirmed, the coexistence of these two summer gaming events is a reality. Summer Game Fest returns on June 8, 2023.

Read more
E3 2023 returns in June with separate business and consumer days
The logo for E3 2023.

E3 2023 will return as an in-person event from June 13 to June 16, 2023, as announced by ReedPop today.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) already revealed that E3 will return in 2023, but now we know exactly when the event will take place, along with several other key details. E3 will once again take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center after a four-year hiatus, but will incorporate separate days for industry professionals and general consumers.

Read more