The Last Guardian was believed by many people to be dead numerous times, and it's hard to blame those who thought so. Apparently it wasn't just fans who were skeptical; even some people at Sony were uncertain that the game would come out as planned.

Speaking with GameSpot at E3, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe CEO Jim Ryan discussed the arduous development of The Last Guardian. Asked for more details on what was happening during the long stretch where Sony didn't talk about the game, Ryan said, "Well, clearly, when a game has a gestation period as protracted as this one was, not all could have been well. If all had gone swimmingly the game would be out by now.

"So, it's fair to say that there were times when the publishing side of the business wondered if the game would ever happen. But the pedigree of the developer is such that we kept the faith."

Sony opened up its E3 press conference earlier this week with a gameplay demonstration of The Last Guardian for PS4 and a 2016 release date announcement.

As you can imagine, particularly in light of the response to the demo, Ryan thinks Sony made the right call in sticking it out.

"I think that faith was justified by the reaction we got," Ryan said. "When we showed the game on stage, I think it was one of my favourite moments in all the years I've been doing E3. It was wonderful."

As for recent reports that Mark Cerny, architect of the PS4, has gotten involved with the game's development, Ryan didn't have much to share. "Well, as you know, I'm not closely involved in the development side of the business," he said. "But, y'know, Mark gets active in all sorts of areas of PlayStation."

For more on the Last Guardian, check out some of our impressions from E3.