LBP out in UK on 5th November

By Robert Purchese Published 20 October, 2008

Sony probably not enjoying today.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Sony has clarified that LittleBigPlanet will be released in the UK on 5th November.

This follows a statement issued earlier claiming the delayed title would launch in Europe no later than the week beginning 3rd November.

LittleBigPlanet had been scheduled to launch this Friday, 24th October, but was called back because testers found references to the Qur'an in one of the background tracks.

Developer Media Molecule has admitted being "shellshocked and gutted" by the discovery and subsequent code call-back.

Copies already in the hands of punters are said to be selling for an arm and a leg on eBay. That's about a hundred quid.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (43) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #1 4 years ago

    a definate date finally

  • autogunner #2 4 years ago

    nothing ever goes right for sony...oh well I am seeing loads of articles about it in the national press so it might raise the profile of the game more. they could have just released a patch.

  • deathdealer619 #3 4 years ago

    OOPS

  • Joppers #4 4 years ago

    They had planned to release a patch!

    I guess that would still have left the music in question "out there" though.

  • lennon #5 4 years ago

    Err the ones I saw on ebay were 39.99 on a buy now basis.

  • SeanLB #6 4 years ago

    I'm hoping this means that the bundle is released on the same date rather than a week later as was the plan.

  • SirDespard #7 4 years ago

    At least now noone will be burning it on a bonfire (Sorry, couldn't resist)

  • dr_faulk #8 4 years ago

    I'd pay a lot more than £100 for an arm and a leg!

  • dazrichards #9 4 years ago

    @dr_faulk

    I would feel ripped off if I paid £100 for Jeremy Beadle and Heather Mills' respectively.

  • Gurgeh #10 4 years ago

    Possibly related (see the first and last paragraph) : Sony's terms of service updated in the USA

    "SCEA reserves the right to monitor and record any online activity and communication throughout PSN and you give SCEA your express consent to monitor and record your activities... Any data collected in this way, including the content of your communications, the time and location of your activities, your Online ID and IP address and other related information may be used by us to enforce this Agreement or protect the interests of SCEA, its users, or licensors...

    "You bear all risk of loss for completing the download of any content and for any loss of content you have downloaded, including any loss due to a file corruption or hard drive crash.You are solely responsible for the storage and safekeeping of your content. SCEA is not responsible for providing you with replacement copies for any reason...

    "No warranty is given about the quality, functionality, availability or performance of PSN, or any content offered on or through PSN... SCEA assumes no liability for any inability to purchase access to or use any content"

    "To the extent permitted by law, You authorize and license SCEA a royalty free and perpetual right to use, distribute, copy, modify, display, and publish your User Material for any reason without any restrictions or payments to you or any third parties...
    You further agree that SCEA may sublicense its rights to any third party, including its affiliates and subsidiaries. You hereby waive all claims, including any moral rights, against SCEA, its affiliates and subsidiaries for SCEA or any other third party's use of User Material to the extent permitted by applicable law."

    [link url=http://www.us.playstation.com/support/useragreements/15
    ]http://www.us.playstation.com/support/us...[/link]
    Edited by Gurgeh at 20/10/08 @ 17:46

  • GamesConnoisseur #11 4 years ago

    Patch is not good as not everyone online, I know people commented on 'extreme' reaction of pulling out the game for one religion and not another religion for similar storm last year with another PS3 game.

    Not a fair comparasion I think, we need to go past this and I congratulate Sony for making decision quickly.

    Yes more press coverage on this, even on BBC website and any free publicity could be good, especially when a company is making 'corrective' action for the positive benefit or to prevent negativity.

    Glad in a way so can have more time with other game that got shocking 10/10 score and I wont mention here as may get a backlash from those with more sensitivity but be assured this will enable me to give LBP 100 percent of my attention come the release of the game!!

  • tonynibbles #12 4 years ago

    The buy now auctions at 39.99 are all pre order ones, duh.

  • Artemus #13 4 years ago

    I was hoping for the 31st Oct (even though that date is packed). I had a taste of the beta and I want more!

  • tinyspark #14 4 years ago

    Is it possible that these controversies are engineered on purpose? This is, after all, not the first time Sony has managed to get the BBC and all the other media outlets to cover its software for free. And what better way to create a controversy than to poke a stick at sensitive religous types.
    Edited by tinyspark at 20/10/08 @ 19:26

  • Grogmonkey #15 4 years ago

    I'll be honest. I was actually glad when this got pushed back. Otherwise it would have been competing for my time against Far Cry 2 (I really want to play this a lot) and Fable 2 (I really, really, really want to play this a lot). And Dead Space. As it is, it falls neatly amongst Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm and Gears 2 (coincidence?), which I'm not fantastically interested in anyway.

    So, 5th of November gives me a good shot at playing through Far Cry 2, Fable, Dead Space, Fallout 3, Red Alert 3, and also gives some LBP time before Rock Band Night is turned into Guitar Hero World Tour Night.

    So, win for me, as far as I'm concerned.

  • lennon #16 4 years ago

    @Tony - Jesus Christ how old are you?

    /wonders if the use of religious reference will result in this post being recalled.

  • bonker #17 4 years ago

    "Patch is not good as not everyone online, I know people commented on 'extreme' reaction of pulling out the game for one religion and not another religion for similar storm last year with another PS3 game.

    Not a fair comparasion I think, we need to go past this and I congratulate Sony for making decision quickly. "

    Too right, it's not a fair comparison.

    I still can't believe that there are people who think that last year's storm that got raised at Prime Minister's question time and made front page headlines with absolutely no effect can be compared with this row where a single guy saying that *he* was offended on a forum resulted in an instant worldwide recall.

    Never mind not seeing equality there, the gulf between the outcomes of those two issues is fucking enormous!

  • rare_uk #18 4 years ago

    Lennon "Jesus Christ how old are you?"
    About 2008 years old...

  • lennon #19 4 years ago

    :)

  • Stu #20 4 years ago

    LBP was the third item on the 6pm BBC news tonight ... so every cloud, ay Sony?

  • Gnort #21 4 years ago

    Despite all the PS3lols, this isn't such a bad thing for Sony. It's not like the people who were going to buy this are going to buy something else instead, as there isn't anything else like it on the market, and the massive publicity surrounding this will help raise awareness of the game in the non-core market.

  • sco0504 #22 4 years ago

    Oh well, I'll just play Dead Space and Far Cry 2 during my week off.

  • woodnotes #23 4 years ago

    "Sony not enjoying today?" They got free publicity on the BBC news and everything.

  • Emth #24 4 years ago

    If only the 'community member' who discovered this had kept his fecking mouth shut.

  • Triggerhappytel #25 4 years ago

    To everyone suggesting they release a patch: it's not a definitive way of ensuring the music gets changed though, as you have to rely on every owner to go online. It's more secure doing it this way, but also far more costly for them. I feel kinda sorry for 'em, to be honest. What a fuck up for one of their biggest releases of the year.

  • 3william56 #26 4 years ago

    They don't have to make it a change/patch for everyone, just the sad PC killjoys who immediately assume any Muslim in the world has no sense of humour and will be offended by a completely no context no insult quote from the Koran, and will be strapping on the semtex waistcoat and heading to SCEE HQ or Media Molecule.

    Offer the patch to anyone possibly offended, then p*ss off and let the rest of us play.

    Sackboy Mohammed costume - fair enough, might get the effigy burners upset. A couple of obscure lines in a song is actually spreading Arab culture, and is actually positive.

    Any Muslims here upset? Really?

  • SeanLB #27 4 years ago

    To further Woodnotes comment, they've also got a LBP advert hiding behind the disguise of a news item on the crudfest that is GMTV too.

  • aniki Verified Web Developer, YoYo Games Ltd #28 4 years ago

    @3william56
    the sad PC killjoys who immediately assume any Muslim in the world has no sense of humour and will be offended by a completely no context no insult quote from the Koran
    The word of the Qur'an is so holy, it's considered idolatry to take any of it and set it to music (or include it in art). It's not "no-insult" to Islamics, it's blasphemy.

  • PsychoPingu #29 4 years ago

    Removing perfectly workable copies of the game from the shelves and wasting all that plastic is environmental blasphemy :p

  • moggsy #30 4 years ago

    @lennon

    Here's a recent £100 one on Ebay.

  • Beano #31 4 years ago

    "where did the BBC get their info that it's cost Sony billions though?"

    They claimed that?

    That's of course nonsense - sure, it will cost them some millions to manufacture new copies, get them out and recalled copies back, etc.
    But it could have been MUCH more expensive NOT to do a recall if the story got out of hand and consumers in the middle east stopped buying Sony products.

    On the other hand, the recall will get LBP mentioned in the mainstream press a lot more - so not nessesarily a bad thing in the end.

    But the recall delay still sucks for us who are looking forward to play the game ;)

  • Beano #32 4 years ago

    "Despite all the PS3lols, this isn't such a bad thing for Sony. It's not like the people who were going to buy this are going to buy something else instead..."

    True but I ordered Fable 2 as a "filler" since LBP is not out this week... so in some regard, MS benefitted from the delay :)

  • jonsaan #33 4 years ago

    Given all the media attention this previously unadvertised game (on TV) is now getting, you have to wonder if this wasn't all done deliberately.

  • Beano #34 4 years ago

    I think you are giving the Sony marketing people way to much credit :)

  • TheRook21 #35 4 years ago

    I guess people will remember remember the fifth of november... not for its gunpowder, treason and plot... but because LBP is out then...

    /does a dance

  • Bleh #36 4 years ago

    Is there any date know when the complete bundle (PS3 and LBP) being released?

  • beckyh #37 4 years ago

    A Wednesday release, how refreshing :-)

  • captainrentboy #38 4 years ago

    I liked Sony more when they were killing Goats a few years back. This shit is tame.

  • el_pollo_diablo #39 4 years ago

    There are going to be some fun user generated levels based on this little episode I'll wager.

    Well, either fun or grossly offensive.

  • Krun #40 4 years ago

    I wonder if this kind of over-sensitivity does more harm than good, leading some people to blame ALL Muslims for being so easily offended, when I imagine it's only a minority who would really be bothered, and even less who'd complain, and even less who'd blow themselves up.

    But I guess Sony are worried that even if it's only one extremists they don't need that.

    Sort of worrying that we allow our culture to be altered by so few people.

    I wonder if I managed to organise a religion that worshipped the Colour Red as sacred, and had billions of members. Maybe they got really offended if anyone used the colour Red. And Maybe a minority of those who worshipped the colour red sometimes get so upset they kill anyone who used it. Would people actually stop using Red? Maybe they would.

  • Razorus #41 4 years ago

    That's my birthday! Yippeee!!

  • BobsUncle #42 4 years ago

    @aniki

    If it's that bad why havn't they strung up the Muslim guy that sung it in the first place?

  • monkey500 #43 4 years ago

    Does anyone think they'll be the same problems re high street stock shortages on "launch" date as there were with GTAIV?

    Have miserable recollections of wandering the length of Oxford Street in the rain.....