10 Rare Video Games That Survived Development Hell
9. The Last Guardian - 9 Years
After the success of Shadow of the Colossus, director, Fumito Ueda, was inspired to create a follow-up, centred around the protagonist's bond with a fantastical creature. This concept led to The Last Guardian - an action-adventure title, starring a child travelling the land with his adorable (but gigantic) animal friend, Trico.
Within two years, Team Ico had completed enough content to unveil a demo at E3 2009. Although the presentation left a massive impression, it created a problem. Despite game trailers often show footage that's superior than the finished product, Sony Computer president, Shuhei Yoshida wanted The Last Guardian to look just as good as the demo. Because Team Ico was a tiny studio, it was unfeasible to maintain Ueda's vision on PS3 hardware, encouraging Sony to shift the project to the PS4.
As more devs were brought in to assist, Ueda felt like his team were being pushed out, compelling Ueda to walk away to create his own studio, GenDesign. Because Ueda was still contracted with Sony, GenDesign worked alongside them to complete The Last Guardian.
It may not have sold well, but every Ico fan found The Last Guardian to be an utter delight from start to finish.