Sony
has
publicly
apologised
to
Naughty
Dog’s
Neil
Druckmann
for
a
heavily
edited
version
of
his
comments
that
did
not
“represent
his
perspective
and
values”.

Last
week
Sony
held
a
corporate
strategy
meeting
where
it
discussed
its
future
plans.
including
where
it
wants
to
be
within
the
next
decade.
An
interview
with
Neil
Druckmann,
co-president
and
head
of
creative
at
Naughty
Dog,
the
team
responsible
for
The
Last
of
Us,
was
published
at
the
same
time.

In
the
interview,
Druckmann
appeared
to
discuss
his
studio’s
next
project,
saying
“I’m
eager
to
see
how
this
new
game
resonates,
especially
following
the
success
of
The
Last
of
Us,
as
it
could
redefine
mainstream
perceptions
of
gaming.”

It
reads
like
a
fairly
bold
claim,
albeit
one
that
could
be
brushed
aside
as
standard
PR
fluff.

However,
Neil
Druckmann
himself
took
to
social
media
shortly
afterward
to
assert
that
the
interview
didn’t
properly
quote
him.

“In
editing
my
rambling
answers
in
my
recent
interview
with
SONY,
some
of
my
words,
context,
and
intent
were
unfortunately
lost,”
Druckmann
wrote.
“Well,
here’s
the
full
long
rambling
answer
for
the
final
question
about
our
future
game”.

Druckmann
also
posted
the
full
transcript
of
what
he
said.
In
it,
the
quote
Sony
attributed
to
him
in
their
original
article
never
appears.
Its
very
common
for
interviews
to
be
edited
down
into
something
more
manageable,
but
in
that
process
the
intent
and
original
wording
of
the
speaker
must
always
be
maintained.
In
the
case
of
this
Sony
interview
though,
the
answer
provided
is
complete
fabricated.
Not
only
that,
it
doesn’t
even
capture
what
Druckmann
was
actually
saying.

In
response,
Sony
has
now
pulled
the
interview
entirely
and

the
page
on
which
it
was
posted
now
displays
an
apology
to
Druckmann.

“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.”
says
Sony.

Hats
off
to
Neil
Druckmann
for
posting
his
exact
words,
and
fair
play
to
Sony
for
pulling
it
down
and
apologising.