Taking to the official PlayStation blog, Naughty Dog Creative Director Neil Druckmann has confirmed that the anxiously awaited survival-action game The Last of Us is indeed delayed, as earlier retail listings had suggested. The reason being the PS3 exclusive apparently needs a bit more polish. In his own words, here is what Druckmann has to say about the delay:
“The Last of Us is an ambitious project. In many ways it may be Naughty Dog’s most ambitious project to date – brand new universe and cast of characters, brand new tech, brand new genre, not to mention it’s easily the longest campaign Naughty Dog has ever made.
As we entered the final phase of development for The Last of Us, we came to realize just how massive Joel and Ellie’s journey is. But instead of cutting corners or compromising our vision, we came to the tough decision that the game deserved a few extra weeks to ensure every detail of The Last of Us was up to Naughty Dog’s internal high standards.
As a team we pride ourselves on setting a very high quality bar for every aspect of our games – gameplay, story, art, design, technology and more. We want to make sure The Last of Us raises that bar even further – for ourselves, and most importantly, for you, our fans.
The extra wait will be very short and your patience will be rewarded. Update your calendars. You won’t even have to change seasons. The Last of Us will be available June 14th, 2013. Until then, know that we will be working extremely hard to deliver an experience that matches your high expectations.”
Well, there you have it. The Last of Us was originally scheduled for release on May 7, so the delay is really only for a few weeks. Perhaps the team truly is only giving the game a bit more polish, making this delay unworthy of any legitimate concern. I certainly hope this doesn’t lead to a series of small delays because the game is suffering some critical developmental snags. I’m only concerned because Naughty Dog games rarely suffer delays, so it’s a bit out of character for the Uncharted vets to need extra time to finish things up. From what I expect, they’re just fine tuning in order to deliver the quality experience that’s become synonymous with Naughty Dog.
Are you looking forward to The Last of Us? Does the delay conflict with the time you’ve already asked off from work so you could fully commit to Naughty Dog’s latest thrilling adventure? Let us know in the comments below.
For any unfamiliar with the game, here is the latest “Story Trailer” for The Last of Us, featuring the voice talents of my not-so-secret crush, Ashley Johnson:
