Is The Last Guardian set to become vaporware?
According to an update filed on the website of the US Trademark Office, and spotted by our friends at NeoGAF, Sony’s trademark for its much-hyped seldom-seen upcoming Team Ico title The Last Guardian has lapsed. The report states that the trademark expired because the company failed to request an extension for its use.
However, this does not necessarily mean that the game has been cancelled. You may remember that back in 2012, the trademark was also abandoned, and later revived, with Sony assuring us that the title had not been cancelled. Furthermore, as recent as June last year, Sony told us that The Last Guardian was in full development.
So what does this lapsed trademark mean? Well, apart from the dreaded “the game has been cancelled” scenario, it could simply mean that Sony plans to re-reveal the game under a new title. After all, it has been over five years since it was first announced, initially as a PS3 title. It would not be too surprising for Sony to change it to a PS4 game and give it a fresh start with a new name.
It could also simply be a case of someone at Sony forgetting to request an extension, but considering this exact situation had already happened before, we would assume that the “trademark extension guy” would be more on the ball.
You had one job, trademark extension guy!
Source: Video Gamer
