Sony recently conducted an interview with Naughty Dog studio lead Neil Druckmann. The published article caused quite a stir when it attributed a quote to Druckmann that said Naughty Dog's next game "could redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming."
Shortly after that interview was published, Druckmann took to social media to share what he actually said. As it turns out, Druckmann's full response to Sony's question never included that controversial line at all. Druckmann's actual response said that he's "maybe the most excited" for Naughty Dog's next project and said that he is "very excited to see what the reaction for this thing will be." He did not, however, say it will "redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming."
While Total Gaming Network's reporting on that interview was updated with that new information shared by Druckmann, many other publications did not make any such update, nor was the interview itself immediatley updated to reflect what Druckmann really said.
As one could safely assume, a not insignificant number of people directed a bunch of hate towards Druckmann for something he did not actually say. Let's face it, a lot of these people find any reason to hate on Druckmann after some perceived slight with The Last of Us Part 2. Still, it's probably for the best to set the record straight on this one.
It took a little while, but Sony has finally decided to pull that interview with Druckmann. Sony, the parent company of Naughty Dog, issued a statement and removed the interview from their website.
In re-reviewing our recent interview with Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann, we have found several significant errors and inaccuracies that don't represent his perspective and values (including topics such as animation, writing, technology, AI, and future projects). We apologize to Neil for misrepresenting his words and for any negative impact this interview might have caused him and his team. In coordination with Naughty Dog and SIE, we have removed the interview.
