GameStop pulls The Last Guardian from its release schedule

By Fred Dutton Published 22 December, 2011

UPDATE: Retailer admits error, Last Guardian lives.

UPDATE 2: Breathe easy, seems it was all a mix up. GameSpot just issued the following statement:

"The Last Guardian has not been cancelled by Sony as we incorrectly stated in an automated call to reservation customers.

"Because the game did not have a specific release date, GameStop made the decision to remove the game from our system. The Last Guardian will be reinstated for pre-order when a firm launch date is known."

UPDATE 1: Sony communications chief Patrick Seybold has told Kotaku that GameStop's assertion that The Last Guardian has been canceled "is not true".

ORIGINAL STORY: US games retailer GameStop has pulled M.I.A. PlayStation 3 exclusive The Last Guardian from its release schedule and informed customers who've placed a pre-order that the game has been canceled.

According to a Joystiq report, a number of customers have received an automated phone message from the store stating that "we've been notified by the vendor that The Last Guardian has been canceled" and offering a refund.

There is currently no listing for the title on GameStop's website, though both Amazon and BestBuy still offer the game for pre-order.

We've contacted both Sony and GameStop to find out exactly what's going on here and will update when we hear back.

Last month Eurogamer learned that creator Fumito Ueda had left developer Team Ico and was reportedly completing the game on a freelance basis. Soon after, news broke that executive producer Yoshifusa Hayama had also left the company.

Team Ico's follow-up to Shadow of the Colossus was first announced back in 2009, though precious little new information regarding the title has emerged since.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 5 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • The-Jack-Burton #1 5 months ago

    Happy Holidays!
    Edited by The-Jack-Burton at 22/12/11 @ 21:07

  • PinktotheLast #2 5 months ago

    If there is a righteous God this will not be true.

    Don't fail me Jebus!!

  • Hellion83 #3 5 months ago

    Post deleted at 20:12:17 01-02-2012

  • Billy_Sastard #4 5 months ago

    :( :cry:

  • fenrirulfr #5 5 months ago

    i got that call earlier too... didn't like it

  • eviroboy #6 5 months ago

    Maybe this will make Sony actually give out some information on it, cos let's be honest, it may as well be cancelled, heard bugger all about it for ages.

  • inutaihanyou #7 5 months ago

    Hopefully its not true. BUT....but....Sony also immediately denied Ueda leaving before having to recant it so, who knows.

    And unless there is a major fuckup, the only way Gamestop would even know to send out calls like this is if their manufacturing vendor gave them word that the game would not be shipping to their stores so they know to tell customers.

    Its the same with gamestop getting word of games to be released before the public actually knows about it.
    Edited by inutaihanyou at 22/12/11 @ 21:19

  • metamorphic #8 5 months ago

    Hold your horses, guys, GameStop is the most asinine retailer in the US. So, first of all, bear that in mind before you grant anything they say a single grain of salt.

    I’m betting this was just a generic message GameStop sent since the game has been delayed for a while and the people who actually paid for their preorders (in this day and age, I find this amazing, considering Amazon and other companies’ no-charge policy on preorders) have had their orders in for a while.

    Expanding on Seybold’s statement, Fumito Ueda only recently confirmed the game was very much still in production. If it was canceled, surely Japan would have heard first, not GameStop!
    Edited by metamorphic at 22/12/11 @ 21:20

  • Hellion83 #9 5 months ago

    Post deleted at 20:12:17 01-02-2012

  • metamorphic #10 5 months ago

    Also, I've been following the conversation at NeoGAF, and it's been posted there by Kagari (one of the admins) that GameStop did the very same thing with the PS3 version of Child of Eden.
    Edited by metamorphic at 22/12/11 @ 21:27

  • trebellk #11 5 months ago

    Gutting but it seems likely this is doomed with all the departures.

    It makes the Ico collection i recently got all the more special.

  • Ryze #12 5 months ago

    Oh shit...

  • funkateer #13 5 months ago

    For the love of all that makes gaming so great, I hope "metamorphic" is right and that we'll see some official confirmation from Sony soon.

  • -cerberus- #14 5 months ago

    My heart literally skipped a beat. Don't ever do that to me again, EG. Ever.

  • Nevflinn #15 5 months ago

    Dear Santa,

    Please rescind the Christmas list I previously sent to you this year. In fact, feel welcome to come and take back all the toys I've asked for over the years as due compensation for what I am about to ask. I now have only one wish this Christmas - that you and your worker elves help sort out this disturbing news I hear about The Last Guardian, and help both Team Ico and Sony in completing the game for 2013*. We will all be very sad people if this magical vision the team had does not get fully realised into a beloved game for the ages.

    I only hope that GameStop is trying to be a Grinch that wants to ruin the holiday, but me and all the other good little boys and girls at Eurogamer believe in the true meaning of Christmas. Please help, Santa!

    Sincerely,
    Nevflinn.


    * = Naturally this means this takes up next year's Christmas List too, so please see this through for me.
    Edited by Nevflinn at 22/12/11 @ 21:51

  • Abdu@EG #16 5 months ago

    @-cerberus-
    LOL

  • metamorphic #17 5 months ago

    Turns out I was right: Gamestop have just come out and admitted it was a mistake from their horrible automated system.

    See: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/121/1215394p1.html?utm_campaign=twposts&utm_source=twitter

    I was quite sure it was all of a bunch of hoo-hah over a terrible company's terrible system, and that was the case after all.

    Next time, just don't pay any attention to them at all; they aren't even worth an inch of the trouble.
    Edited by metamorphic at 22/12/11 @ 22:54

  • inutaihanyou #18 5 months ago

    Well then its good that it was a major fuck up. All i say is that nothing is ever confirmed.

    *EDIT*

    "Update 2: GameStop sent Kotaku the following statement regarding the suggested cancellation of The Last Guardian: "The Last Guardian has not been cancelled by Sony as we incorrectly stated in an automated call to reservation customers. Because the game did not have a specific release date, GameStop made the decision to remove the game from our system. The Last Guardian will be reinstated for pre-order when a firm launch date is known."

    FUCK YOU GAMESTOP! How the fuck does that make any sense? How many games in your system do you have that don't have specific release dates? You've had Bioshock Infinite in your cache since the freaking day it was announced and you had no release date then! BUNCH OF INCOMPETENTS!



    ....Am i going to get fired from my job now? :/
    Edited by inutaihanyou at 22/12/11 @ 23:21

  • Quixz #19 5 months ago

    This game will either be cancelled next year or turn out really poor..

    Gamestop maybe a crappy ripoff company but lets be honest, they know a lot more about game release schedules than we do.

  • wattsn26 #20 5 months ago

    @Quixz Do they know more about game releases than Sony? Cause they're the publisher...

  • Phantom_Dynamite #21 5 months ago

    UPDATE 2: Breathe easy, seems it was all a mix up. GameSpot just issued the following statement:
    I think you mean GameStop I always get the two confused too.

  • Quixz #22 5 months ago

    @wattsn26

    I was taking about gamers that seem to think they know a lot more than GameStop.

    I still stand by my last post regarding the game not turning out as it should have.

  • Goodfella #23 5 months ago

    spacedelete = cunt

    The universe is in balance once again.

  • mukki #24 5 months ago

    Noooo alla darth vader...

  • Hellion83 #25 5 months ago

    Post deleted at 20:12:17 01-02-2012