Ueda Not With Sony But Committed To Completing Guardian

The rumors were true, unfortunately.

ICO and Shadow of the Colossus creator Fumito Ueda has indeed left Sony, as the company revealed in an official statement.

However, although he is no longer a part of Sony, the statement says Ueda is "committed to completing" his current project, The Last Guardian. He's working on a contractual basis with Sony; after that, he's free to do what he wants. Those looking forward to his current title may have to wait, though, as the game doesn't appear to be on the horizon. Worse, Sony has lost one of the premier interactive entertainment minds and visionaries.

Although he doesn't have a slew of titles to his credit, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus remain two of the most beloved and critically acclaimed games of all time. Today, developers will often cite Ueda's productions as the inspiration(s) behind current concepts and ideas.

We don't know why Ueda left Sony, but we certainly hope The Last Guardian will make a lot of headway in 2012.

Related Game(s): The Last Guardian

Tags: last guardian, fumito ueda, the last guardian, team ico

12/13/2011 9:13:57 AM Ben Dutka

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Comments (33 posts)

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Kiryu
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 9:29:09 AM
Reply

FUMITO UEDA I WILL MISS YOU FOREVER!

7 up, 1 down

Metal Head
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 8:55:43 PM

FUMITO UEDA should thank Sony for trusting him with a game like Ico that play like no other game ever did. Is a masterpiece, but what other company would take such risk?. I'm sure The Last Guardian will be the most innovating game ever. Fumito Ueda thank you for bringing gaming to a new level.

0 up, 1 down

DrRockso87
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 9:59:24 AM
Reply

One of the most creative minds in the industry. Sad, sad day.

Maybe he'll pull a Lorne Lanning and come back to video game development after a long hiatus someday? I do want to hear about that "first-person" game he spoke of once.

*sigh* Great fortunes wherever you go, Fumito Ueda. Thank you for two (soon three) of the greatest games ever created.

5 up, 0 down

bebestorm
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 10:05:46 AM
Reply

This is sad news indeed. Even though he's committed to finish LG I wonder if his heart is really in it. No matter where he goes I'll always be a fan and I look forward to his future projects!

4 up, 0 down

daus26
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 1:40:09 PM

Will his future products be facebook games though? Or is that another guy?

1 up, 0 down

jimmyhandsome
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 10:20:41 AM
Reply

Bummer. As long as The Last Guardian still comes out I suppose it isn't the worst possible news.

If he averaged 1 game every 5 years WITH Sony, how long will it take him to make games WITHOUT Sony?

8 up, 1 down

SoulController
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 11:22:50 AM
Reply

Blown. I had such a bad feeling about this. The game was/is taking too long and I wouldnt doubt the reason for that is creative differences between him & Sony. Let's be honest guys, Sony more than likely is "suggesting" that TLG have more action than Ico & SoTC. It's wrong for me to assume this but what else could it be really?

I love Ueda but come on, its just ridiculous that this game has been in development 6+ years. & I'm all for this game being as artistic & emotional as possible but the budget for this ONE game could've probably paid for 2...*sigh

Last edited by SoulController on 12/13/2011 11:24:25 AM

5 up, 1 down

Lotusflow3r
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 12:21:41 PM
Reply

Biggest blow to Sony's game development front yet.

He was the biggest jewel in Sony's game crown....Next generation, Sony need to do something incredible. People went into PS3 because of PS1and PS2. Now that we've lost so many titles that were linked to said consoles and acquired few other groundbreaking teams (media molecule comes to mind....Naughty Dog for technical reasons....and some more third party exclusives ala Yakuza, Level 5 games etc, etc) ...it doesn't add up.

Don't get me wrong, PS3 is top dog, but like PS1 and PS2, it needs to show a much bigger gap between it and the 2nd best.
Losing perhaps the greatest mind in the 1st party teams...is...as said above, a big blow, especially for the hardcore.

*sigh*

This generation has been so mixed for me. Like the industry doesn't know which direction it wants to go in and thus giving us games that reflect that.

Last edited by Lotusflow3r on 12/13/2011 12:22:40 PM

4 up, 2 down

jimmyhandsome
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 1:56:14 PM

He hasn't even released a game yet this generation, so how can it be the biggest loss?

4 up, 1 down

Shams
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 4:01:09 PM

@Jimmy

Play the Ico collections, and you'll know why.

1 up, 1 down

johnld
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 4:34:23 PM

even though i havent played ico or sotc, not my type of games, i'll give him credit for that. however, him leaving isnt really that big a blow to sony. were getting close to the end of this generation of consoles and he still havent released his game. also, he is still committed to releasing last guardian so theres no loss there. if he releases a game every 6 years then he doesnt seem to be contributing much to hardware sales. by the time his game is released, fans wouldve already bought a console. i believe losing insomniac as an exclusive developer is a much bigger blow to sony.

2 up, 1 down

Shams
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 5:19:14 PM

Play Shadow of the Colossus, then talk. If not, then hush. You don't know what you've missed on, so it is better you don't presume.

Regarding how prolific he hasn't been, the same could be said about Kaz from Polyphony. If he left while releasing GT5, we'd still feel it, too. But idk, maybe you wouldn't care for that much, either.

0 up, 1 down

bigrailer19
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 7:06:38 PM

He may have created some great games. But there's been nothing productive from him for Sony for quite a few years. There for it's not a huge blow to Sony, in fact it's a bigger blow to him and his development team not having Sonys resources anymore.

I'm not here to argue he's a pretty brilliant person. But from a business stand point and that's exactly what this is, a business, he's been kind of lax this generation. So much so that we heard about the game and it disappeared. I feel like the game is uninspired anymore. But I'll gladly accept being wrong when and if LG releases. I fear it's farther off than we think though, and productivity seems to be a good reason why he's no longer with Sony.

To me a big blow to Sony would be a developer that drives the company forward, like say ND. Also most of his fans are Sony fans, I mean was this a good decision? We will see.

Last edited by bigrailer19 on 12/13/2011 7:10:23 PM

3 up, 0 down

johnld
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 8:26:22 PM

@shams
look, i'm not knocking ico or shadow of the colosus' quality. in fact i admire that he did his own thing and will give credit to these two games. its sad to admit though that his type of games can be considered as niche titles, especially today. there will be some that would praise his artistic aproach but there will be more people that wont get his concept. after all the descriptions of ico and sotc i keep hearing, i'm pretty sure its not my type of game. i dont see his games as system sellers in todays market, its great that he make games like that but it wont push as much systems as a game like uncharted would.

just because i havent played the previous games doesnt mean i dont know what i'm talking about. just because one person sees how great a game is, it doesnt mean that everyone else will think the same way. i am keeping an open mind though. once i dont have anything to play and the ico collection is on sale, i might buy it. i see the same way with last guardian. those arent my type of games but i will one day try them. back to to topic though. in a business sense losing someone who takes forever to make a game for a niche market, by today's standard, isnt as big a loss for sony than losing an exclusive studio.

1 up, 0 down

Rogueagent01
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 @ 3:39:22 AM

I'm betting that Ueda left Sony not the other way around. And that is a really good thing to me. I don't like the idea of Sony, MS, and Nintendo acquiring studios. They have to make too many business decisions and that is not a healthy relationship to have with developers who are in fact artists(some more than others). Many artists over the centuries have welcomed being homeless to selling out or being told what direction they should take. And if that is the case here then more power to him. Go be an artist Ueda you have proven that you can make great pieces of art and fans will support you regardless. I will buy your game day 1!

As I said in the previous article, if it takes you a lifetime to make a game then so be it. It was an exaggeration but I still stand by the thought. And as I said in some other more recent articles, I wish they would never have released info on the game till it was/is much closer to a release date. If they would adopt this philosophy you wouldn't have half of the arguments that exist around games like this.

0 up, 1 down

josiahlo
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 12:28:51 PM
Reply

This comes down to development time which means money and I don't blame Sony one bit. This will probably be a amazing game but honestly it will sell decent but nowhere near uncharted 3 which was developed and released in 2 years from the second one? Sorry but it's not worth it unless it sells like gran turismo 6 years working on this isn't worth it. Still can't wait to play it!

1 up, 1 down

daus26
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 1:37:38 PM
Reply

Yeah it is sad. Even if the game was completed, and the fact that it becomes successful and great, it'll just keep reminding us on how we'll probably have no games like it for the future of Sony's PS brand. That is unless another Ueda steps in, which I highly doubt.

0 up, 0 down

Fane1024
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 3:58:27 PM
Reply

Just because he's not working *for* Sony doesn't mean he won't be working *with* Sony in the future. As I said in the previous article, this looks like a David Jaffe situation to me, though I will admit that the timing of Ueda's departure suggests a dispute rather than a simple desire for independence.

Last edited by Fane1024 on 12/13/2011 3:59:08 PM

3 up, 1 down

johnld
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 4:28:13 PM
Reply

doesnt seem like a good idea for the guy to leave sony. most of the people that love his games are playstation fans. i dont think most xbox fans would appreciate or enjoy his type of games. they are only gonna go crazy for COD, gears, or halo. might as well work on a masterpiece and use sony's money in the process. microsoft has deeper pockets but less diverse community.

3 up, 0 down

Karosso
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 4:55:42 PM

My feelings exactly, he might come to regret this move. I mean seriously, the generation is coming to a close and he hasn't finish a single game? worse yet, this one seems to be ways away from being completed.
I love both of his games but, if his reason for leaving, is that Sony is pressuring him to finish at least one game this generation, then I side with Sony. No free rides, everyone has to earn its keep. Good riddance Mr. Ueda.

3 up, 1 down

NoSmokingBandit
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 5:38:39 PM

I'm sure you'll get several thumbs down, Karosso, but i agree 100%. Sony isnt in the business to make art, they are in the business to make money. They can only pay Ueda and his crew for so long before they expect some kind of return on that investment. Ueda needs to prove that he is committed to this game and actual finish the damn game already. Smaller studios have finished bigger games in less time. There is really no excuse for TLG taking this long.

4 up, 1 down

Shams
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 6:44:02 PM

@Bandit

Some games are worth more than their own return. These are games that market and establish the Sony brand as a whole with diversity, and a strong sense of quality and artistic vision. So in the future, maybe a customer looking to buy a console to play COD may pick a ps3 so that he'll have the option to play something like Last Guardian, or if not that, maybe Uncharted, or LBP2, or inFamous 2, etc...

2 up, 0 down

LegendaryWolfeh
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 7:27:52 PM

Biggest difference between those games you've listed and Last Guardian...all those others have had at least 2 games to their series this gen. I loved SotC, but that doesn't instantly mean this dude deserves insane amounts of cash to seemingly play around with as an artist while returning nothing.

2 up, 0 down

NoSmokingBandit
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 9:28:35 PM

Shams,
Thats not how business works. There are tons of artistic games that earn nothing and end up being the downfall of their studio. The fact is, a studio cant keep spending money without making any, regardless of how artsy their game is.

1 up, 0 down

Rogueagent01
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 @ 4:13:07 AM

And to me Bandit this implies to me that you are not an artist. Look at the history of art especially painting. Many artists died without a penny to their name and they were still happy because they got to do what they loved. It is hard for a lot of people to understand, but money and success are not always the goals of artists. Some people can and do find enlightenment with the completion of such a project and don't mind if society or business isn't happy with them.

0 up, 1 down

Coffeya
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 7:40:03 PM
Reply

Some of you guys are acting like he is officially done forever... The only thing that is done is his exclusive relationship with sony.

1 up, 0 down

BigBoss4ever
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 8:13:10 PM
Reply

i think this is good for him as he is the perfectionist and does not like to be restrained by other business agenda which I perceive as a constraint to what he wants to do, a good game does not need top notch financial resources, but needs top and perfectionistic minds like Ueda. He is one of the two last perfectionist remaining in today's profit oriented industry, the other one being Kojima.

The last guardian remains as my single most wanted up coming games on the PS3 (after two others have been released Dark Souls and Uncharted 3), I will wait for you to complete it, no matter how long it takes, just take your time and do what you truly want to do with the game.

Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 12/13/2011 8:14:50 PM

1 up, 0 down

Rogueagent01
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 @ 4:03:24 AM

And by just reading your comment I'm going to make an assumption about you. You are an artist of some sort aren't you? Be it drawing. music, writing, building, or whatever. Many of the other posts here resemble that of people who have a business degree. And because of some of those comments I have lost a lot of respect for a few people.

I myself have played the drums for over 20 years and personally know how long it can take just to make one song, let alone a entire video game. Your comment gives me hope that artists can still have their freedom, and that business decisions have no place in these types of games.

To some of use that want these fast cycles and think that it has to be that way, I have just one game to name Starcraft II. I have several friends who play the game constantly and only a couple of them cared that it took as long as it did to make the game. And guess what they made money off of it, yeah what a shock a game that took I believe a little more than 10 years to develop and they made money and still have a ton of fans. I know it isn't a artistic title like TLG, but none the less developers can take a long time and still come out ahead. Art doesn't have a simple equation to work with like business's do and because of that you will always have developers that work with completely different time tables.

0 up, 1 down

OPHIDIAN
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 8:59:31 PM
Reply

I would really like to know why he left.

He hasn't (?) tried anything on ps3 yet to say he is not getting enough sales.

1 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 9:59:00 PM
Reply

I'll admit that he's a gaming genius, but I'm thinking that Sony finally got tired of pandering to his every whim without any results to show for it.

Anyway, I hope he keeps his word & delivers THG before the end of 2012.

2 up, 0 down

BigBoss4ever
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 @ 11:22:33 PM
Reply

genius games take time to make, games as artistic and unique as the last guardian require more time than what needs for a normal good game, 5-6 years to polish everything up and make an once in a life time game is necessary. when the game delivers, it will become a legend, in that sense, it worthies all.

Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 12/13/2011 11:24:08 PM

0 up, 0 down

___________
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 @ 3:56:02 AM
Reply

eh, why does this not surprise me?
when you spend 6 years making a game and have not a single piece of live gameplay you really know you in trouble!
what the ^%$# has he been doing the past 6 years!?
by the time this comes out, IF its out next year that would make it 7 years in development for crying out loud!
this aint DNF.........

that said though, why the ^%$# would you leave $ony jappan, one of the best studios out there, to go work on frigging face book games!?
no i wont go work for NASA, no id much rather work a single rocket team no one has ever heard of.
makes perfect sense!
talk about selling yourself short.........

1 up, 1 down

Robochic
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 @ 5:53:01 PM
Reply

I hate to agree with ____ but i do, i've been waiting for this game since they annouced it and always hearing great things about ICO and Colassus which i still need to pick up but what has he been doing for 6 years this game was suppose to be released early 2011 ? well that's past and gone.

0 up, 1 down

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