10 reasons The Last of Us shouldn’t be ported to the PS4

I'll admit that I didn't want anything to do with The Last of Us when I watched the very first reveal trailer. The game certainly looked like a potentially great offering from Naughty Dog, but I just wasn't buying the whole “this zombie game isn't a zombie game” thing. I finally caved and decided to play it, because my interest grew considerably following launch. After having played it, I'd have to rank The Last of Us as one of my personal favorite games of its console generation. So it makes sense that people would clamor for a PlayStation 4 port. However, that's not really something we need.

Here are 10 reasons why The Last of Us should remain a PlayStation 3 exclusive.

The graphics already look great! What more do you people want?!

This skyline is already gorgeous enough. Stopping wanting everything.

The Last of Us is one of the best-looking games on the PlayStation 3, and it may very well be the best-looking game of the entire generation from a technical standpoint. So seriously, what more do you want? The game looks incredible as it is, and there's really no point in bringing it to the PlayStation 4 because the visual quality is already absolutely remarkable.

It probably won't look that much better anyway

Joel and Ellie are looking for better graphics.

Okay, so let's just say that The Last of Us does get a PlayStation 4 port. Is it really going to look that much better? It'll look great, sure, but it won't be the graphical leap that most people are expecting and hoping for. In order for something like that to happen, Naughty Dog would have to rebuild the entire game from the ground up. Let's be realistic: That's not how ports get made.

The animations aren't going to get much better, either

How pissed would you be if this is how The Last of Us looked on PS4?

Aside from looking great, The Last of Us sports some of the most fluid, realistic animations seen in a video game. Joel, Ellie, and the rest of the cast all move around in ways that make you feel as if you're watching a live action movie at times. The animations are so good that they probably won't look better on the PlayStation 4. This is especially true considering that, as I previously stated, the entire thing isn't going to be rebuilt.

Oh, you want better hair physics?

Maybe this will help you appreciate hair in The Last of Us.

Still suffering from those last-gen stiff hair woes, eh? Well, even though hair in The Last of Us doesn't look all TressFX-y, it's still not as bad as a lot of other games. As a longtime fan of WWE games, I can honestly tell you that you don't really know what sh*tty hair physics are until you've played a wrestling game.

It's the perfect swan song for the PS3

These angry dudes really want The Last of Us on PS4.

Even though Sony plans on continuing to support the PlayStation 3 for years to come, I'd like to think that The Last of Us is the perfect swan song for the console. The system deserves one last great exclusive, and that last great exclusive should be Naughty Dog's latest incredible effort. There's really no need for Sony to one-up itself by releasing the same game on its more powerful platform.

You can play it on PS4 soon enough through PlayStation Now

Ellie hates you.

Fun fact that everyone already knows: The PlayStation 4 can run PlayStation 3 games. Well, at least as far as the PlayStation Now closed beta, which launched on January 28, is concerned. (The rest of us will have to wait a few months.) Unfortunately, while that fact does indeed meet the whole “I wanna play The Last of Us on my PlayStation 4” thing in the most literal sense, obviously it's not what that particular audience wants. No, what said individuals want is to play a PlayStation 4 version of The Last of Us on their PlayStation 4 systems. Geez. Picky much?

Two multiplayer servers? Get the heck outta here!

Anyone else find this image hilarious?

The multiplayer component in The Last of Us provides a surprisingly strong and unique experience. That's great, especially when you consider how so many games offer tacked-on multiplayer modes. Instead, the one on hand here is a nice alternative to the cinematic campaign. If Naughty Dog was to take the whole game and redevelop it, that would entail redeveloping the multiplayer, as well. With a whole new blueprint and architecture, you'd have two groups of players on two different servers, which borders on overkill. Don't believe me? Just look at Battlefield 4.

Naughty Dog can focus its efforts on other projects

New Jak and Daxter, anyone? Okay, okay, and a new Uncharted, too!

We can't accuse the folks over at Naughty Dog of being lazy. After launching The Last of Us, the developer quickly began working on its next project, which is already looking like a new installment in the famed Uncharted series. Sure, you could maybe get a different team to focus on porting the game to the PlayStation 4, but that's still kind of a waste of resources. Naughty Dog can create magic. Let's just let the studio do that collectively.

If there are noticeable bugs, you'll probably die or explode or something

Pictured above: a different kind of noticeable bug.

I can see it already: “Holy crap! I can't wait to play this PlayStation 4 version of The Last of Us! Aarrgghh! Okay, let's go! Wait a minute … What the heck is happening?! Why is Ellie stuck there? Aww, fu—” Yeah, people will rage and then proceed to melt into puddles of hatred and sadness.

Tomb Raider

Worth another purchase? Nah!

Have you seen Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition? Yeah, it doesn't look especially incredible compared to the last-gen versions. I mean, it looks better, but hey, so does the PC version. There would be absolutely no reason to buy The Last of Us again if all it's going to offer are slightly better hair physics and slightly altered facial features.

Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.