Everything currently in development at Team Ico has been pushed back.
Today is a sad day for Team Ico fans. Sony Computer Entertainment of America has announced that both the Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection and The Last Guardian have been delayed past their previously expected release dates.
SCEA Santa Monica producer Tsubasa Inaba officially confirmed the delays on the PlayStation Blog. He didn’t give any recalculated release windows, so we’re only left to wonder for now.
The Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection was originally scheduled to come out on the PS3 in spring 2011. The compilation includes both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, originally released on the PS2, in HD with stereoscopic 3D support, high resolution textures, and trophies.
The PS3’s Last Guardian is Team Ico’s next effort at making a game that everyone will probably cite in “games as art” arguments. Players take on the role of a boy trying to escape from a massive structure of ruins with the help of a giant animal named Trico that looks like a cross between a griffin and a chihuahua. Its visual style is reminiscent of both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, while the game is also said to include thematic similarities. It was scheduled for release in the holiday season of 2011, and has likely been pushed into 2012 with this delay.
Team Ico game director Fumito Ueda said that his development team is working hard, but that Last Guardian was delayed “to provide more challenging and better quality of content to users.” He adds: “I sincerely apologize to all the customers who have been waiting for The Last Guardian for so long, but I beg for your patience. I will also announce the new release timing at a later time.”
Last Guardian is one of those titles that fans wanted the instant they heard about it. The delay is especially heartbreaking when combined with the fact that we won’t have the Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection to tide us over as soon either.
Source: PS Blog
