LBP sequel would be "counterproductive"

By Tom Bramwell Published 6 November, 2009

Would split community, says Mm man.

Media Molecule has apparently dismissed the notion of doing a sequel to its PS3 platformer LittleBigPlanet.

"We'd never want to do that," level designer Danny Leaver told Critical Gamer (thanks Kotaku).

"That'd be the most counterproductive thing you could do I think."

Elsewhere, producer Martin Lynagh said that the strategy of downloadable updates for the existing game would probably be "the way it's going to continue".

They've certainly released a lot of it, as you can see from the LittleBigPlanet news archive. Water is coming soon, too.

Check out our LittleBigPlanet review from a billion years ago if you've lost track of what's going on.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (28) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Negotiator #1 2 years ago

    Yeah the first one sold like 3 worldwide, so Sony wouldn't give us money to make a second one, glad I've cleared that up.

  • DrDamn #2 2 years ago

    It's actually a refreshing and sensible approach and more games should do it.

  • Eraysor #3 2 years ago

    /agrees with Negotiator

  • Wyrm #4 2 years ago

    Haha, you reading this, Valve?

  • Doctor_What #5 2 years ago

    The last I heard it had shifted over a million (quite a while ago) and it's still selling steadily, a real long-tail hit. Not spectacular to begin with, but very successful in the long run.

    So Negotiator, I think it's safe to say that it's sold more than 3 copies.

  • altitude2k #6 2 years ago

    This makes sense with this sort of game. The whole thing is driven on user content - and you can continuously add more and more building blocks to extend this, as well as more levels to unlock these items.The graphics are great, but even when they are a little bit dated it just isn't the sort of game that is going to suffer from the lack of a graphical update, unlike L4D or any other shooter or racer.

  • menage #7 2 years ago

    /Disagrees with Eraysor

    Just give me the freakin wetness already MM

  • FooAtari #8 2 years ago

    Wow, how refreshing.

    If only more devs did the same.

  • M_of_the_sys #9 2 years ago

    Picked this up a couple of weeks ago and can't believe I've left it so long. The differentness (my word!!) of this game didn't appeal to me but having played it I think I'm hooked. It's great!! I would definitely like to see more titles do something different like this. A second title however? Don't think it needs one. Maybe years down the line but not anytime soon.

  • Negotiator #10 2 years ago

    "So Negotiator, I think it's safe to say that it's sold more than 3 copies."

    But clearly not enough.

  • menage #11 2 years ago

    Somebody can't read or refuses to before posting that's for sure.

  • Eighthours #12 2 years ago

    I agree with the concept of no sequel and simply expanding the main game (though there is the problem of splitting the userbase ever further), but sadly the basic platforming has been so flawed for so long that I wonder whether it's impossible to patch in far tighter controls (the "floaty jump" has to go, for example). If it is, then a sequel is surely necessary to fix the issue. If it isn't, then why hasn't it been done yet?

    It's a real shame because LBP is this close to being the best game ever, but without really good, tight platforming controls, it's always going to be a frustratingly shallow experience no matter how amazing the creation tools are, and will never reach its potential.

    I worry that the same mistake is about to be made with ModNation Racers, actually - the creation stuff being superb, with the racing being a poor man's Mario Kart.
    Edited by 1 at 06/11/09 @ 10:19

  • DrDamn #13 2 years ago

    @Eighthours
    If you change the controls as you suggest then you risk disconnecting the player from the physics that affects the rest of the world. I watched one of the NSMB Wii vids this morning and my initial thought was how unnaturally Mario stuck to a rotating round platform. It's part of what LBP is.

    You could however add game elements to alter that interaction. For example sticky/suction boots which stick you to the ground until you jump, anti/low/increased gravity areas etc.

  • Mayernator87 #14 2 years ago

    Now that's a good idea. Why don't Rockband and Guitar Hero do the same? Just release DLC instead of a new game.

  • Fletche #15 2 years ago

    @Negotiator

    What you talking about? LBP went past the 1mill mark last December. The fact that the online community is so huge means it makes sense not to do a sequel but rather carry on with online content and maybe later, new story levels we can buy and download, keeps the community together and means they will still be making money on new content.

  • Eighthours #16 2 years ago

    If you change the controls as you suggest then you risk disconnecting the player from the physics that affects the rest of the world. I watched one of the NSMB Wii vids this morning and my initial thought was how unnaturally Mario stuck to a rotating round platform. It's part of what LBP is.

    The problem is that the platforming isn't precise enough - I don't think believe that the floaty jump has anything to do with the physics. That being said, changing the controls could break some of the levels if done wrongly, so that might explain why it hasn't been implemented. The issue with LBP is that it's a fabulous creation tool, but a mediocre platformer. Anything that could fix that without breaking the rest of the game would be a godsend.
    Edited by 1 at 06/11/09 @ 10:24

  • menage #17 2 years ago

    I have no problem with the controls. Works fine for me. It even adds to the hilarity at times.

  • SeesThroughAll #18 2 years ago

    So, when is the water add-on coming out?

  • chrisjm #19 2 years ago

    some good ps3 offers on at the moment with this in, must say im tempted

  • Cappy #20 2 years ago

    I'd rather see them make a sequel and start with a clean slate.

    The frequency of updates and the amount of time it takes to download and install them (which doesn't happen in the background don't forget) made LittleBigPlanet near unusable for somebody like myself who only boots the game maybe once every month or two.

    Every time they add something to LittleBigPlanet, be it a costume, a few stickers or anything, absolutely everybody has to update if they want to to use the game online whether they are buying this new content or not. As a not so frequent user I spend more time updating the game than playing it, that really needs to be sorted out with background downloads implemented at the very least.

    As I said, a sequel would give them an opportunity to fix a lot of problems once and for all, as for the community you could easily allow people to import levels from the first game, you wouldn't be killing off the LittleBigPlanet community just seeing it slowly transition to a new version of the game and there are so many things they need to fix with the editor. For instance why am I using the same level building tools on the same scale to make characters to populate my levels? A separate character editor is really needed allowing you to either use smaller block sizes or selected parts to build up characters.
    Edited by 2 at 06/11/09 @ 12:41

  • riz23 #21 2 years ago

    The word 'refreshing' has been used in various comments and it is so true. Sequelitis can ruin the focus and power of a game. Look for example at the apathy that seems to be directed towards Skate 3 on the front page of EG today. Just because a game is great, doesn't mean it should be flogged to death. In some cases this can work, I'm happy to play Mass Effects or Fallouts until the cows come home, but that is more about new narrative than the same old game in a different wrapper.

    I'd like to see a top class dev who makes a hit, move on and make a brand new game that is a hit too. Show me what you can do Media Molecule!

  • M_of_the_sys #22 2 years ago

    @captain_HATE080208
    Welcome back Donnie.

  • menage #23 2 years ago

    @Cappy

    I don't think they will release a brand new title for people who only fire it up once every 2 months. ;D

    And as far as I know updating only takes 5 minutes tops, and certainly not for a freaking costume, they just added more functionality and such as well.

    I fire it up every week, play for 2 hours with the GF to check out new user generated content. I'm having a hoot every time. Until the server starts acting up. That's my only gripe with game. Can be shaky as fuck online.
    Edited by 2 at 06/11/09 @ 14:24

  • El-Dev #24 2 years ago

    Did Donnie get banned? Most likely some sort of automatic response when you're total negatives are at about -10,000.


    LBP is awesome, maybe we might see a big whack of DLC at one point. Like new levels for the story mode would be good.

  • Cappy #25 2 years ago

    Perhaps my connection is especially rubbish (1MB Broadband) but a month or two of LittleBigPlanet updates normally takes between forty-five minutes and an hour and a half. Not surprisingly with no background download option, not even allowing use of the offline component of the game I haven't updated since February.

    *edit*
    I would have played LittleBigPlanet more if it wasn't for all the forced updates and the bugs in the editor such as things exploding for no reason that never got fixed in the retail version, even after all these updates.
    Edited by 1 at 06/11/09 @ 15:07

  • zedzee #26 2 years ago

    The reason they won't make another is because there's nothing to make, in order to extend the game, that cannot be done through a download.

    It's just a sideways platformer, for crying out loud, with the added bonus of a level and character editor - what more do you want?!

  • M_of_the_sys #27 2 years ago

    @zedzee

    How about:

    LittleBigPlanet 2
    LittleBigPlanet Spinball
    LittleBigPlanets Mean Bean Machine
    LittleBigPlanet 3
    LittleBigPlanet 3D
    LittleBigPlanet Compilation
    LittleBigPlanet All Star Racing

    To name a few?

  • Adam128 #28 2 years ago

    Does anyone know how much you'd have spent if you had bought all the levels and costumes they’ve released? I bet it add’s up....