LittleBigPlanet has sold 1.3m units

By Tom Bramwell Published 9 January, 2009

Now has 300,000 user-created levels.

LittleBigPlanet has sold 1.3 million units around the world according to Sony Computer Entertainment boss Kaz Hirai.

He also revealed that gamers have created around 300,000 levels since launch, and that the free PlayStation Network now has 17 million users.

Hirai was speaking during a section of Sir Howard Stringer's CES keynote in Vegas yesterday, as watched by GameSpot.

Sony's current dad was reportedly upbeat about the LBP sales figures, issuing his customary reminder that you can only play the game on PS3.

The game currently sits at 30th in the UK All-Formats charts, and had been selling consistently albeit not spectacularly in the run-up to Christmas.

Sony will no doubt be hoping the ongoing support of level creators - and the firm's own DLC, which is becoming increasingly extravagant - helps sustain that in 2009.

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.

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Comments (121) Latest comment 3 years ago

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

  • Vice.Destroyer #1 3 years ago

    I know the article said sold, but I would still like it 100% confirmed that that figure IS sold, not shipped.

    But I do wish LBP every bit of success it can generate.

  • bad09 #2 3 years ago

    "He also revealed that gamers have created around 300,000 levels since launch, and that the free PlayStation Network now has 17 million users."

    Yeah Kaz, right. Hands up who has two or three accounts...

    Oh, and well done LBP. Might dust it off in celebration tonight not played for ages.

  • bioreit #3 3 years ago

    From another comments thread on this site, courtesy of Dr Damn:

    Gears 2 - 4.2m
    CoDWaW - 4.2m (360) / 2.5m (PS3)
    Fable 2 - 2.3m
    Madden NFL 09 - 2m (360) / 1.4m (PS3)
    LBP - 1.8m
    Fallout 3 - 1.8m (360) / 1.1m (PS3)

    I'm not disputing anyone's figures here, but a 500,000 units sold discrepancy is rather large, especially as the figure quoted by Sony is the lower! I guess the source for your figures, Dr Damn, needs a ridiculously unhealthy dose of salt to be taken.... ;-)

  • PiranhaUK #4 3 years ago

    My prediction for 2009 is that LBP will stay in the charts for many months to come... Always thought it would sell modestly but consistently for a long period. After seeing the game changing MGS DLC pack I'm even more convinced that over time this game will sell extremely well over a longer period than most games. It deserves to succeed in my opinion. Well done MM and Sony for supporting such an innovative game!

  • OnlyMe #5 3 years ago

    I think it's safe to say that only the most nerdy ones have more than one account. And I don't think the number of families with more than one player is in the majority. So 17 million is pretty good ratio regardless.

  • bad09 #6 3 years ago

    You calling me a nerd, OnlyMe?

    Bloody cheek! Anyone who owns every episode of every Star Trek (and the films!) IS NOT a nerd....I'm a geek!

    As Millhouse said (geek again!) "nerds are smart"

  • Widge #7 3 years ago

    I have 2 accounts. NERD ME UP.

  • CaptianScarlet #8 3 years ago

    @PiranhaUK

    I hope you are right on that but my gut instinct is that it will be another forgotten "system seller" in 6 months and only those that have already bought it will still be plugging away at it and getting DLC.

    On a similar note, anyone seen the trailer for the Tim Burton produced CGI movie 9? So reminds me of sack boy but infinitely cooler looking :)

    [link url=http: //www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/9/
    ]http://ww w.apple.com/trailers/focus_feat...[/link]
    Edited by 5 at 09/01/09 @ 09:13

  • Zomoniac #9 3 years ago

    I have 5 accounts (my main one, USA one, Japanese one, my girlfriend's one and a guest one). I'd imagine most people here have 2 or 3 at least.

  • the_dudefather #10 3 years ago

    some people have multiple XBL accounts too (I have 2 I think), and apparently some people just get a new one every month to play online

  • DrDamn #11 3 years ago

    @bioreit
    I did say the figures needed some salt in the other thread, and in fact pointed out the Sony figures in that thread last night before this article appeared. In mitigation Sony don't say when the figures they quote are up to and the source I used has a more than 400k of that number in the last 3 weeks.

    One other final point, the discussion in the other thread was partly about relative success, so in that context all the figures were from the same source and therefore associated with the same bucket of salt required. :)

  • DrDamn #12 3 years ago

    @bioreit
    Oh and to be pwned by Kaz Hirai ... oh my god how incredibly embarrassing ;)

  • Rash' #13 3 years ago

    i still jump on to LBP, just to see what's new. it's the beauty of the game. servers however are still useless. shockingly inconsistent. i hope it sells much more the game deserves all the success it gets.

  • The_vorlon_man #14 3 years ago

    I suppose this is 'shit sales' - and that it has 'flopped' eh?

    It's sold 1.3 million on the back of virtually no marketing, and it's almost certainly going to continue to sel well beyond it's release date.

    Considering the heavily marketed, popular Lara Croft franchise shifted just 200k more for a cross platform game, this is absolutely brilliant.

    I predict 3 million by the middle of the year.


  • clean515 #15 3 years ago

    Well not bad sales considering the userbase but not good either, wish LBP would be one of the games that really sold... One of the few that deserved it last year.

  • DrDamn #16 3 years ago

    @The_Vorlon_Man
    It's had lots of marketing of a sort - certainly a lot of press coverage. I don't think it's had the TV advertising spend some think though. Apparently there was cinema advertising too.

  • Wyrm #17 3 years ago

    300,000 user created levels? So less than a third of the people that bought it have created something? :/

    I've recently given in myself, all the creations I have in my mind, I simply cannot be arsed to actually make. The lack of precision in the platform gameplay (due to the physics) frustrates me too. I'd rather give my time to Valkyria Chronicles and Left 4 Dead at the moment, and although I do admire what LBP has aimed to do, I think I'll just absorb any genius levels through Youtube.

  • Raz76 #18 3 years ago

    @ The Vorlon Man

    I don't know where you live but in Copenhagen they had plastered a giant LBP poster on the main square and in cinemas there were usually two individual commercials for it during December.

  • StooMonster #19 3 years ago

    'virtually no marketing'? More like blanket tv advertising, on most of the programmes I Sky+ (no live tv watching here) I could see LBP in every ad-break as I fast-forwarded through the ads in the lead up to Xmas.

  • Dizzy #20 3 years ago

    >free PlayStation Network now has 17 million users

    Are there even 17M PS3s?

  • Grom #21 3 years ago

    Sony counts people who happen to have connected once to PSN using their PSP as a 'PSN User'. Although there are supposedly about that many PS3s sold and the rich people who are likely to have bought one are likely to have connected it to the internet, so it's not too outlandish.

  • samk #22 3 years ago

    "He also revealed that gamers have created around 300,000 levels since launch"

    Most of those are doubtless complete bobbins, certainly 9 out of 10 that I've tried haven't been worth bothering with.

  • The_vorlon_man #23 3 years ago

    DrDamn:

    Compared to Gears, Halo 3, Tomb Raider Underworld, Wii Music, Wii Fit, etc, it has had virtually nothing.
    Gears 2 had full page spreads in mens mags, newspapers, and the like.

    LBP saw very little TV advertising, virtually no billboards, and the only full page spreads in newspapers I saw was in the Londonpaper about 2 months before it was released as a front cover advertorial.

    On launch there was nothing at all to say 'it's here', and no TV advertising at all in the Uk.

    There may have been a spot of advertising here and there accross Europe and the US, but nothing like what you'd expect of a major release.

    Where was the midnight openings? Where were the TV adverts leading up to and on release?
    Where were the Sackboys wandering around shopping malls? the PS3 demo pods in shopping centres with a team of PR people? The wall to wall LBP coverage in newspapers?

    Apart from the arabic song news coverage about a month before release, there has been hardly anything mentioned about it.

    Then there is the quality of the advertising. Does anyone know it's actually a game too? The adverts that I have seen are very much focussed on 'Look, I made this!" - but nobody seems to know what it is that LBP is.

    Sorry, but that is atrocious marketing.

  • Dan234 #24 3 years ago

    Don't know about elsewhere but here in Spain LBP is sold with the PS3... That's if they're counting sales and not boxes in the supply chain.

  • The_vorlon_man #25 3 years ago

    "'virtually no marketing'? More like blanket tv advertising, on most of the programmes I Sky+ (no live tv watching here) I could see LBP in every ad-break as I fast-forwarded through the ads in the lead up to Xmas.:"

    The game was released in, what, October in the US and November in the UK?

    I also have Sky +, and have yet to see a single LBP advert on broadcast TV.

    I've seen loads of XBOX adverts, lots of Wii adverts, and about 3 Playstation adverts.

    LBP has had SOMe marketing, but you apparently have to have been there at the right moment and quite lucky to see it.



  • Rash' #26 3 years ago

    "are there even 17 million PS3s"

    be gone troll.

  • alpha-0ne #27 3 years ago

    LBP has been on sale at £16.99 or £19.99 for at least 80% of its released life

  • Dizzy #28 3 years ago

    >"are there even 17 million PS3s"

    >be gone troll

    Rash... always good for a laugh in the morning. You made me spill my coffee.

  • Beano #29 3 years ago

    Sad that LBP doesn't sell more... so sad for the industry and consumers :(

    My GOTY by far. Having a blast designing my own levels and playing others.

  • DrDamn #30 3 years ago

    @Wyrm
    "300,000 user created levels? So less than a third of the people that bought it have created something? :/"

    I think that will be levels which have been published. It's a misconception that the create side of things has to be something publishable or even fun for others to play to be of value. You can get a hell of a lot of fun out of just messing around in create mode - making something which is fun for you but not necessarily everyone else.

    @The_Vorlon_Man
    "On launch there was nothing at all to say 'it's here', and no TV advertising at all in the Uk."

    Well that's possibly because on launch it wasn't ;). TV advertising anecdotally seems to be a bit regional / focused. Some say they saw loads and others - like me and you saw very little. In my experience it was as for you - nothing like the seeming blanket coverage of the Wii and 360 advertising.


  • DrDamn #31 3 years ago

    @alpha-One
    That's all across the world is it? Or just at Shopto.net? So you think maybe Shopto sold all of those copies?

  • MoFo #32 3 years ago

    Well I for one will be grabbing LBP just as soon as I can get a PS3. I'd reckon there's a fair few people like myself that can't get a PS3 just yet but will be doing so over the next year or so and a fair whack of them will be wanting to pick up LBP. Hey and by then it'll be £10 on Play!

  • anomagnus #33 3 years ago

    i was lucky enought to receive an 160 gig PS3 over the holidays as a gift, and included was LBP

    I will admit, that it is a charming little game, but at no point could i shake the feeling that this game was aimed at children.

    I found it to be a solid platformer, but very very dull. i'll pick it up once in a while as a counter point, when i'm soaking in violence to the point i need to calm down, but as a gamer, i just feel i've left games like this behind

  • penhalion #34 3 years ago

    @The_vorlon_man

    Actually LBP had lots of adverts towards christmas. The problem was that the adverts only served to show how goalless the levels were. You had adverts about a guy making a stage level, where you end up trying to rock your sack person out on a stage. Some guy making a level for his kids etc. etc.

    The one thing that came through from it all was that the levels were only relevant to the person making them. No-one else would have got the jokes or eve cared for them. Basically LBP came across as not being a game at all.

  • Rash' #35 3 years ago

    Dizzy, as are you, my friend, as are you. ;o)

  • Petulant_Radish #36 3 years ago

    There were a load of adverts in the run up to Christmas across the multi-channel universe. Perhaps if you didn’t spot any you were watching the BBC channels…

    It has also been discounted in almost all of the major (and not so major) online retailers, I picked it up for my brother for Christmas for £25, and then a week later most places had dropped it even further. It’s only really high street retailers that have kept the price up. Though obviously these discounts were more of an indicator of the UK economy going down the pan rather than LBP being a bad game.

  • MasterNameless #37 3 years ago

    4 accounts here, and it was one of the very first thing I did when I got my PS3. Well 3 of them anyway, the 4th for my main account when I thought of a better PSN name. Guess I'm a geek too. ^_^

  • Beano #38 3 years ago

    "CoDWaW - 4.2m (360) / 2.5m (PS3) "

    This just makes me more sad... POS game.

  • Les #39 3 years ago

    The problem with LBP is that it's way too difficult for the Wii public it tries to appeal to. No matter how good it looks, if gameplay frustrates newcomers even a little bit most of them will put down the controller and return to Wii Sports instead.

    Personally I think it's a great game, enjoyed it very much. Haven't played it for a while (been addicted to MLB The Show again the past few weeks and before that on R2 online multiplayer) but am curious to see what kind of user generated content is up by now.

  • Beano #40 3 years ago

    Good point, Les... but most consumers never bought the game in the first place.

  • The_vorlon_man #41 3 years ago

    "The one thing that came through from it all was that the levels were only relevant to the person making them. No-one else would have got the jokes or eve cared for them. Basically LBP came across as not being a game at all."

    My wife's comment was "But the adverts I saw made it look rubbish, what youre playing is MUCH better!'..

    It's a real shame.

    Sony need to hire the Wii advertising guys and get some blanket wall to wall coverage and sponsorship.

    I suspect LBP will be sold mainly through word of mouth.


  • MattyD #42 3 years ago

    And just how many of these '300,000' levels are RRoD / MGS jokes I wonder?

  • The_vorlon_man #43 3 years ago

    "The problem with LBP is that it's way too difficult for the Wii public it tries to appeal to. No matter how good it looks, if gameplay frustrates newcomers even a little bit most of them will put down the controller and return to Wii Sports instead. "

    How many 'Wii' customers have you met?

    It may not be as pick up and play as Wii Music or Wii Fit, but then few games are.

    The game is not nearly as 'frustrating and difficult' as some would suggest, nor is it as 'hardcore only'.


  • Les #44 3 years ago

    "Good point, Les... but most consumers never bought the game in the first place."

    Might have been a bit different if their first experience with it at a PS3 owning friend's place had been better... Positive hands-on experiences have been a huge contributor to Wii's success.

  • samk #45 3 years ago

    "The game is not nearly as 'frustrating and difficult' as some would suggest"

    It bloody well is. I entirely agree with Les - it's too difficult for the type of market it would otherwise appeal to.

    I gave up at a big rotating wheel in the Bunker level - it's stupidly hard and very frustrating due to the jumping physics. My missus and son (who both adore the TT Lego games) didn't even get beyond the Wild West levels. I also know 3 other guys who packed it in mid-game too due to the difficulty.

  • Les #46 3 years ago

    "How many 'Wii' customers have you met?

    It may not be as pick up and play as Wii Music or Wii Fit, but then few games are.

    The game is not nearly as 'frustrating and difficult' as some would suggest, nor is it as 'hardcore only'."

    I've shown, and played, the game with quite some friends and familiy members. They all love the aesthetics but the ones that already played single player games liked the gameplay while the people that basically started gaming with the Wii found it too cumbersome to bother with it for long. When people come over they ask to play Buzz or Wii Sports again but not LBP. Of course it's just anecdotal evidence and no scientific proof. But I just don't buy it that the only reason that LBP is not a huge success is lack of marketing effort. It just doesn't appeal to a broad enough (or specific enough) public.

  • Beano #47 3 years ago

    @Les: That doesn't make sense. You argument suggest that Wii sold pooly (or just less than great) at day one, which it didn't - it sold through from day one.
    Of course there a chance that a LBP buzz will rise when/if more people get a chance to actually try it out (it's still a fairly new game) especielly if Sony market is more/better, but I doubt it at this point. I blame Sony's marketing and not the difficulty.

    EDIT: My post was a reply to your previous post :)
    Edited by 1 at 09/01/09 @ 11:34

  • Beano #48 3 years ago

    @farticusmaximus: Claiming 19 out of 20 gamers think that LBP is unplayable is ridiculous. Maybe 19 out of 20 xbots.

  • Beano #49 3 years ago

    LBP is very popular among my real-life PS3 owning (and non-hardcore) friends, but I'm the only one who's making levels.

  • Beano #50 3 years ago

    ...but I agree LBP is not commmenly known by most casual gamers ... it's a new and unknown brand and may sound a bit obscure to many. But this is due to marketing (and style?) and not the difficulty.

  • StooMonster #51 3 years ago

    @ The_vorlon_man

    Sounds like you do not record the shows that Sony think are the LBP demographic, and therefore spend their advertising cash on.

    One example, "Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles" on Virgin 1, for the weeks leading up to Xmas it has a 30-second LBP advert every break; GoW2 was also heavily advertised around this particular show; also saw LBP on December evenings on Channel 4, Five, and Sky One.

    In regard to television advertising, David Wilson, Sony’s head of U.K. PR, speaking to GamesIndustry.biz said "The bulk of our marketing including our six figure TV advertising campaign doesn’t roll out until December".

    Of course, because you didn't see it ... it didn't happen. Right?

  • The_vorlon_man #52 3 years ago

    I have 1058575683938 game playing freinds, of those, only 1.5 say that LBP is unplayably tough.

    Only 1.5

    /see what I did there?

  • Widge #53 3 years ago

    Yeah I saw loads of LBP adverts eventually. I wouldn't say its a difficult game either. Take the apparent evilest level "The Bunker", that took my 4 goes to get past maximum. I had to adapt to the controls to take inertia into account, but barring that transition period, I can pretty much sift through it fluently now.

    Has to be said, I'm not making any levels at the moment, but this is mainly due to mass backlog of games!

  • DrDamn #54 3 years ago

    @Farticus
    "It seems to me the more you have vested in the Playstation brand the more appealing LBP is, or the more tolerance of the terrible controls you accquire.."

    You could say the opposite based on you 20 sample of which only 3 own the machine. You could also say that the more time you spend with the game and the more you see then the better appreciation you have for it.

    Bottom line, massive review scores and heaps of GOTY awards do no go to a game where 95% of gamers think it's unplayable.

    Edited by 1 at 09/01/09 @ 12:10

  • Widge #55 3 years ago

    M'boss got a PS3 this christmas, loved LBP and has already bested the main levels too. I wouldn't lump him in the hardcore bracket.

    Certainly benefits from being a bundled game to hook people into it though. Some people just won't give stuff a chance unless they're forced to, deciding to plump for stuff like Sonic, Tomb Raider, Fifa, Call Of Duty etc ... anything thats seen as a "safe" brand title.

  • Widge #56 3 years ago

    Control issues being blown out proportion, if you can't get to grips with this, you shouldn't pick up a control pad. It would be harder to get used to twin stick FPS controls than this.

  • The_vorlon_man #57 3 years ago

    StooMonster:
    Virgin 1? are you serious?

    I watch, record, and casually leave the TV on in the background - I watch most evenings on Sky 1, I watch 5, I even watch ITV, and I've seen a handful of Sony adverts, and the Mrs has seen a couple of LBP adverts in December, but that was it.
    I watch Stargate Atlantis, 24 Redemption, Prison Break, The Simpsons, Futurama, Bones, Cold Case, Fringe, CSI:Miami, The Gadget show, 5 News, The IT Crowd, The Simpsons (on C4), X-Factor, ITV News, amongst numerous others.


    By contrast, I've seen dozens of Wii Music, Wii Fit, DS, etc adverts, a few less XBOX adverts, and only a handful of Spny specific adverts, of which none were LBP.

    "The bulk of our marketing including our six figure TV advertising campaign doesn’t roll out until December". "

    That includes PSP, PS2, PS3, and every game therein, across several multichannel commercial stations.

    6 figures could mean anything £100,000 to £999,999, which really isnt a lot for so many platforms and so many stations.

    "Of course, because you didn't see it ... it didn't happen. Right?"

    That's not what I said is it. I said that there has been pitifully little of it, and what there was, wasn't very good at telling the masses what the game was.

    A few 30 second adverts on a specific show on Virgin 1 and a few spots here and there that are blink-it-and-miss-it are not the same as a all out media blitz that a top teir 1st party exclusive would normally have, is it.

    Just ask yourself this, if you wanted to push a game as a system seller, and wanted people to know what it was that you were selling, then would you opt for some rather crappy 30 second spots on minor multichannel TV channels at the sort of time peple who play FPSs would be watching?


  • Beano #58 3 years ago

    "You could say the opposite based on you 20 sample of which only 3 own the machine. You could also say that the more time you spend with the game and the more you see then the better appreciation you have for it."

    My though also. Fair enoght that farticusmaximus don't like LBP, but claiming it's unplayable (and have crappy controle) is simply not serious. Sound more bitter denying from a group of Xbox-only owners. Sorry.

  • The_vorlon_man #59 3 years ago

    farticusmaximus:

    Your opinion of anything PS3 related, or any statistics you proffer, are as valuable as a Zimdollar.
    Why do you even bother?
    No, wait, you think people actually take notice of you beyond refuting your ridiculous , biased claims.

    FACT: You do not represent the 'real world' in any way, shape, or form when offering opinions about high profile PS3 exclusives, and nobody even remotely believes your '20 friends' sample is representative of anything other than your cirlcle of XBOX owning friends.
    .





    Edited by 1 at 09/01/09 @ 12:23

  • Les #60 3 years ago

    "@Les: That doesn't make sense. You argument suggest that Wii sold pooly (or just less than great) at day one, which it didn't - it sold through from day one."

    No, it doesn't. It claims that a large part of Wii's continued success has been due to positive hands-on experience. Not that it's responsible for all of its success. Its low price and the fact that it could play the latest Zelda were responsible for its day-one success. The fact that Wii Sports was bundled here in the West contributed to pretty much everything after that (and I'm aware that that's an exaggeration but I hope you get my point ;) ).

  • Les #61 3 years ago

    "/see what I did there?"

    Yeah, and it's completely different from what I did.

  • DrDamn #62 3 years ago

    @Farticus
    "I don't get it."

    Then just accept it's not the game for you or that there is something you are missing and move on.


  • The_vorlon_man #63 3 years ago

    LES:
    " Of course it's just anecdotal evidence and no scientific proof. But I just don't buy it that the only reason that LBP is not a huge success is lack of marketing effort. It just doesn't appeal to a broad enough (or specific enough) public."

    Then the same is true of any game, Wii, PS3, XBOX 360, or any platform, that involves controls any more complicated than the waggle or button mashing.

    LBP requires the use of dexterity and skill, as is the case with any platform, shooter, racing and strategy game.

    Buzz,Sing Star, Wii Fit, Wii Sports, Wii Play, Guitar Hero etc, are as pick up and play as they get, and naturally will appeal to just about anyone who has a pair of hands.

    The other difference is that those games dont require any investment of time into them. LBP is good if you can sit down and actually spend time with it, but if you are at a mates house, it's not the most social of experiences.

    For example, Would one suggest Chess was an unpopular, crappy game, just because people you know would rather play a quick game of kick-about with a ball in your garden instead?



  • Les #64 3 years ago

    "Control issues being blown out proportion, if you can't get to grips with this, you shouldn't pick up a control pad. It would be harder to get used to twin stick FPS controls than this."

    Which is why approximately 99% of the people that enjoy movies, music, books and/or theatre don't pick up a control pad but only 97% doesn't pick up a Wii-mote. Controls are gaming's most limiting factor.

  • Widge #65 3 years ago

    I tell you what, there is a market of people who do get it and want it. As I've said before, I sat down and was demo-ing GoW2 to the finacees family at xmas who had got an Elite and the actual comment I got from one of them was that "I found it a bit boring... I used to like those simple game like Sonic & Wonderboy3. Where you just run along and jump." That is the market. Much as I think something like Fallout 3 is wonderful, slap them down in front of that and it would be disinterest.

  • The_vorlon_man #66 3 years ago

    "Which is why approximately 99% of the people that enjoy movies, music, books and/or theatre don't pick up a control pad but only 97% doesn't pick up a Wii-mote. Controls are gaming's most limiting factor."

    Mario better hang up his hat then, as Les has just told the world that nobody wants to play his games as they are to complicated, by implication.

  • The_vorlon_man #67 3 years ago

    Widge:

    Thats precisely my experience too.
    GoW2, RFOM, KZ2 - they are fantastic to the boys who love FPSs and Shooters, but there are millions of people that love Mario, Sonic, Crash, Banjo, Ratchet, Daxter, etc, that would love LBP had they known exactly what it is all about.

    The marketing simply didn't impart that it is a very fun game underneath the level editing stuff too.

    Criticising LBP for poor, inaccessible controls is like saying the entire gaming industry should just give up ad make party games instead.



  • Les #68 3 years ago

    "Then the same is true of any game, Wii, PS3, XBOX 360, or any platform, that involves controls any more complicated than the waggle or button mashing."

    No, it depends on the public a game is targeted at. If they enjoy (or at least put up with, whether consciously or not) complex controls than complex controls are not an issue.

    "For example, Would one suggest Chess was an unpopular, crappy game, just because people you know would rather play a quick game of kick-about with a ball in your garden instead?"

    I certainly never would (or did).

  • Widge #69 3 years ago

    Yeah the marketing for the game wasn't what it could be. Kooky and fun, yes, advertising the product, no.

    Basically the game needs to sit in a bundle with every PS3 from now on to establish in the minds of people.

  • The_vorlon_man #70 3 years ago

    Les:

    "No, it depends on the public a game is targeted at. If they enjoy (or at least put up with, whether consciously or not) complex controls than complex controls are not an issue. "

    This is the problem the game had, there was no apparent target - hence my comment about it having crappy marrketing.
    It clearly is a game that can be enjoyed by a larger number of people than currently do, but those that might have been interested dont really know what it's all about.

    Not all 'casual gamers' are just interested in Wii Sports and nothing else, just as not all movie watchers just want to watch cheesy popcorn flicks all the time. Occasionally something deeper and more well thought out is in order.

    What you have been suggesting is that because the controls are more complicated than the average party game, that nobody wants to play it.

    Since you dont know who Sony were targeting it at, (which is precisely nobody as they dont seem to have targeted it at all- one of their key marketing problems), you cant categorically claim that their target audience ar dissinterestd because of Xy and Z.

  • Triggerhappytel #71 3 years ago

    Not bad really, for a new IP console exclusive. Sony could have easily bolstered that number with better marketing, but still, it's a decent score and not the 'failure' everyone was claiming. However, I wonder if it has been selling for half RRP in other countries, like it has here in Blighty for more than a month now.

    I hope it has the legs to break the 2 million boundary at some point. And I'm certain there will be a sequel. I think LBP is fantastic and wish it every ounce of success.

    PS - also, given that it has picked up at least a few GotY awards from big websites, perhaps Sony should re-release it soon with more fanfare as a GotY edition (perhaps with the best user-generated levels included?).

  • Widge #72 3 years ago

    If they stuck up loads of quick fire clips of:

    Four people bounding through a level on a skateboard, pushing shite about
    Close ups of them customing their costumes
    Quickly making a tank out of wood and making it move

    that would have been much better. Oh wait a sec, that was the first vid they did on PSN wasn't it? The vid that sold it to me. WHY on earth not use that?

  • Les #73 3 years ago

    "Mario better hang up his hat then, as Les has just told the world that nobody wants to play his games as they are to complicated, by implication."

    Man, you're a drama queen... ;)

    Of course Mario shouldn't hang up his hat. As LBP shows, there's still 1.3m people/households that do enjoy a slightly complex game. But if MM wanted to reach a significantly larger public, it should have made the game less complex. How hard is it to acknowledge that complexity limits sales opportunities? I personally don't 'blame' MM for making LBP as it is. I really, really enjoy it. At the same time I can detach myself from my own experience and see why other people might have issues with it.

  • ebony69 #74 3 years ago

    If a patch fixes the controls I'll get back in.

    As for creating a level - thats what I paid the devs £40 for. I aint fecking doing that.

  • The_vorlon_man #75 3 years ago


    "Basically the game needs to sit in a bundle with every PS3 from now on to establish in the minds of people."

    If the game was as good as people profess then 2 things would be apparent:

    "1) It wouldnt take a long and steep learning curve to be able to play the game at it's most basic level. You should'nt have to spend long amounts of time with a goddamn platformer just to be able to get the stupid character to land on a platform! "

    It isnt nearly this difficult, and you dont, this is you and only you and your ficticious 19 friends.

    "2) It would sell of it's own accord, just like so many games did at christmas, games with a far lower profile than the excessively whored LBP. "

    It was only whored in the specialist press, and mostly dismissed by the likes of you and those who traditionally choose shooters as their preferred gaming genre.

    The outside world largely doesnt know of it's existence, and has been marketed rather poorly - and I'm not the only one to state this.

    Considering both these factors, it's done remarkably well to sell 1.3 million, and much higher profile games like Tomb-Raider , which have an inbuilt fan-base, had 6 platforms to sell to, have only done 200k more sales.

    It's widely known that this was a very crowded period for gaming too - with games of decent quality coming out virtually every week. Fallout 3, Gears 2, RFOM 2, LBP, Fable II, to name but a few - all vying for gaming time and christmas preasent buying.

    "You are basically saying the game is worth nothing and needs to be given away free for it stand any chance of making sales figures. Unfortunately, giving it away free isn't going to help the game turn a profit, and if it ain't profitable then it won't get continued support..... oh, no my mistake. I forgot that Sony is now in the business of bankrupting itself by foisting products onto a market that has no interest in them."

    LBP has almost certainly turned a profit already. It was cheap to make, as MM are a very small team by modern standards, and it didnt require the level of preproduction that a game like MGS4, Gears 2, or Halo 3 would require.

    Bundling it would also open up the possibility of DLC sales, level packs and the like to be sold later.

    After all, bundling didnt hurt early Mario games establish themselves :-)

    But then again, you are willfully refusing to see beyond your own nose with regards to this game.

    Farticus hates = everyone else idiots.


  • The_vorlon_man #76 3 years ago

    LES:
    " At the same time I can detach myself from my own experience and see why other people might have issues with it."

    The difference is, you are exaggerating the 'pronlem' - as far as complexity goes.

    This is no Metal Gear Solid, it's Jump and Run and Grab.

    There are no complex camera controls, no complex button combinations. It is as simple as a platform game can be.
    The only 2 things to remember are:

    1.The slightly confusing 3 layer background that you have to negotiate occasionally.
    2. The use of real world physics means that you occasionally falloff objects with slightly less flat surfaces.

    The number of people this will confuse is rather less significant than you have been suggesting.

    No less complicated than any other platformer of recent times, and far less complicated than any 3d platformer as you only have 2.5 planes of movement.


  • StooMonster #77 3 years ago

    @ The_vorlon_man

    Virgin 1? are you serious?

    You don't agree that 'Terminator' was the right place for Sony to spend their money? As I said, it was full of GoW2 and Lara Croft adverts, some market research must show the show's demographic is games product fodder.

    "The bulk of our marketing including our six figure TV advertising campaign doesn’t roll out until December".

    That includes PSP, PS2, PS3, and every game therein, across several multichannel commercial stations.

    I knew I should've edited my message as I spotted that I didn't include the point that it was budget for LBP television advertising that David Wilson was talking about; it does not include PSP, PS2, PS3 it was LBP's only.

    Still, I saw plenty of television advertising for LBP in December, and I only watch an hour or two a day; Mrs StooMonster asked me about it a couple of times -- she saw the Godzilla advert and the Heavy Metal Mullet ones and said "Just what is that game about?"

    Although I never watch or record ITV so can't comment about that channel; as I said, it looks like you don't watch the programmes that Sony's UK marketing targeted with their television advertising budget for LBP.

  • iago71 #78 3 years ago

    I have to agree that the difficulty is really pretty steep at points and not in an enjoyable way.

    I would recommend it to people as a multiplayer sandboxy experience but to be honest the controls really spoil it as a true platforming experience (for me at least). Im not sure that it really is a 'casual' gamers type of game though, was it ever intended to be? Just because its cute doesnt mean that its targeted towards people who arent really gamers.

  • Les #79 3 years ago

    "The difference is, you are exaggerating the 'pronlem' - as far as complexity goes."

    I don't see it's complexity as a problem when reaching out to people that have been gaming for a while. Anyone capable enough to play Halo or any GTA will get through 95% of LBP with few problems. The controls aren't broken or anything. In no way did I exaggerate the complexity as the tool did that you quote (and who's part of my ignore list for a reason). It's just that it's more complex than e.g. Wii Sports and that limits its potential as a game to draw in the casual crowd while its 2D gameplay and the fact that you don't really shoot things in it puts off a lot of the less open minded established gamers.

  • DrDamn #80 3 years ago

    I really don't see how you had so much trouble with the controls, Farticus. You couldn't even switch planes in the tutorial level. I think it was a case of problem between sofa and console or maybe something affecting your mind ... nah couldn't have been that ;). Maybe one of my controllers is duff?

  • The_vorlon_man #81 3 years ago

    "Although I never watch or record ITV so can't comment about that channel; as I said, it looks like you don't watch the programmes that Sony's UK marketing targeted with their television advertising budget for LBP.:

    Virgin1, not the programme, is the problem. It's a very minor channel. It brings in less than 100k viewers on even a big name show like Terminator.

    Sky 1, despite being high profile, is still only a million or so per high profile show.

    C5, again, is a minor player, shows rarely getting above 2-3 million.

    C4, despite BB, is still a minor player.

    Also, 6 figures is PEANUTS for a supposed system seler.

    Worldwide, MS spent $40 million JUST on Halo3!

    [link url=htt p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_for_Halo_3
    ]http://en .wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_f...[/link]


    So sorry, you just need to realise that you are wrong on this one.


    ITV commands huge fees for adverts around shows like Coronation street and the like.

    For a game like LBP, which is supposed to appeal outside the hardcore gaming market you would have expected a braoder range of shows and channels to advertise around. Minor multichannel channels around shows that are likely to appeal to ahrdcore gamers is not a smart move if you want the broader public to be aware of the game.

    I'm sorry, but even 6 figures is peanuts for a big name game, when games like Halo have marketing budgets in the millions.

  • Eraysor #82 3 years ago

    Even Spore has sold more than that.

  • Triggerhappytel #83 3 years ago

    I have to agree with Vorlon that I don't think LBP received particularly good marketing for a supposed system seller. We all know about it and the whole muslim music fiasco did get it into the mainstream press, but I don't think the casual Wii masses will be particularly aware or particularly interested in it.

    As I said, they should re-release it as a GotY edition and really push it this time. Give it a few months, and perhaps include some of the DLC as well. After most of the raw sales have dried up, perhaps it would be a good idea to include it with the console, to really try to embed it in the PS3 consciousness.

  • Vanmunt #84 3 years ago

    I don't get it. I dont see where the love for this lacklustre game comes from

    must resist the xbox ravings of the biggest xbot a**wipe on this site............... can't resist........ nope.

    state LBP is crap and Surf's Up is good...... MUG.

  • Petulant_Radish #85 3 years ago

    Vorlon-Man, are you in all seriousness calling Five and Channel Four minor channels in the UK marketplace?

    Also, not sure where you get your ratings figures from but you are again incorrect, the first series of Terminator on V1 averaged around 540k, the second series faired less well as expected but still averages around the 250k mark.

    Sky One very rarely does over 1million for it’s shows, they did with Lost soon after they bought it from under Channel Four’s nose, but since then they have also had a large drop off.

    Bones is a series that will see around 500k on a good day, whereas Fringe will only get about 250-300k.

    Your understanding of the TV market is way off, so I wouldn’t go spouting off about that.
    Edited by 1 at 09/01/09 @ 13:35

  • The_vorlon_man #86 3 years ago

    Farticus:
    "Yet it's frustratingy inconsistent and difficult to do the most basic things. There is no other way that can be described but plain ol' bad controls."

    Except it's none of those things in reality. It's you, only you and nobody else that calls tjhemt this.

    If I press the Jump button quickly, sackboy jumps a little. If I press longer, he jumps higher. If I press left on the joystick, he goes left, ditto for right. Push up and down, he moves in and out of the planes on the level. I press the trigger button to grab.

    That's it.

    This is not massively different nor radical to any other platform game on any other system, and if you have any major difficulties with LBP, then you would with mario, Sonic, or any other 2d platformer for that matter.

    As I said, as long as you bear in mind that there are 3 planes that Sackboy can move into along the 2d axis, and that everything reacts as it would in reality, then there really are no surprises.

    I suspect the problem is you, though.

    You are so bloody mindedly determined to hate the game that this is the most you can come up with, as it is unproveable and subjective.


    However, if you can provide specific examples of where LBP is 'inconsistent and difficult' then we can discuss those specifics, cant we.

  • Rash' #87 3 years ago

    "It seems to me the more you have vested in the Playstation brand the more appealing LBP is..."

    Tell that to Edge who gave it their only 10 last year and awarded it their game of the year.

    Personally, I think it may have something to do with spacial dexterity. My ex girlfriend said guys have better spacial dexterity than gals, which leads me to believe maybe that's why it doesn't gel well with all girls. The guys on the other hand that I have shown the game to are able to pick up and play the game pretty quickly. It's just a theory, but there's definitely something about translating spacial movement into a pad that doesn't sit well with the ladies me thinks. Having said that my ex didn't have a problem with playing LBP and she wasn't much into games (how many are???), so it's definitely not black and white.
    Edited by 4 at 09/01/09 @ 13:41

  • The_vorlon_man #88 3 years ago

    Triggerhappytel:

    It sold considerably better as a £20-30 game, which absolutely point to people choosing to buy it once the price was more reasonable.

    People wont pay £40 for a game they dont know, or are unsure about, and dipping into LBP was almost certainly a risk as hardly anything outside of the specialist press was known about it.

    heck, even on here people continually still said 'I just dont get it' on a regular basis!


  • StooMonster #89 3 years ago

    @ The_vorlon_man

    Also, 6 figures is PEANUTS for a supposed system seler.

    Worldwide, MS spent $40 million JUST on Halo3!

    You are comparing LBP's budget in UK for a single communications channel (i.e. television) versus Microsoft's global budget for all communication channels (e.g. televisions, print, billboard, etc.)

    Advertising around X-Factor obviously costs a fortune, the other end of the scale the smallest music channels can charge a mere £20 per minute (yep, those chat line ads are not expensive to run). Rather than blow the whole lot in one advert in Coronation Street it appears that Sony's advertising strategy was obviously highly focused around particular programmes. Whether this is different to others I don't know, did you see adverts for Halo 3 on peak ITV?

    At Christmas I would say that I saw most GoW2 adverts, then LBP, then Fallout 3 and Tomb Raider. Maybe others saw different ones? Do they advertise FIFA on television, because I've never seen an advert for it.

    I'm pretty sure that I saw print advertising for LBP in the broadsheets too, but who knows how much their print budget was? Either way, the point is you don't think it was enough ... versus Sony who had a budget driven by cost/return benefit case.

  • The_vorlon_man #90 3 years ago

    Petulant_Radish:

    [link url=http://www.barb.co.uk/report/monthlyViewingSummary?_s=4
    ]    http://ww w.barb.co.uk/report/monthlyView...[/link]

    Virgin 1 reaches 0.5% of the viewing public.

    C4 reaches 6.3%

    C5 reaches 4.6

    Sky 1 reaches 1.2%

    By contrast, ITV reaches 18.0

    Specifc nightly viewing figures may peak on Terminator on Virgin1, but on average, they are tiny compared to larger channels., and this is the most high profile of all their shows.


    "Your understanding of the TV market is way off, so I wouldn’t go spouting off about that. "

    Pot, kettle, black.


  • MasterNameless #91 3 years ago

    Why would they market LBP to people who watch ITV? Don't only old people and housewives watch Noel Edmonds and Heartbeat(well, that may have been a while ago) on that channel? Doubt they'll be interested in LBP. I saw plenty of ad's for LBP on Channel 4 though, I loved the one with Murray from Flight of the Conchords doing the voiceover. XD

  • The_vorlon_man #92 3 years ago

    StooMonster:

    "You are comparing LBP's budget in UK for a single communications channel (i.e. television) versus Microsoft's global budget for all communication channels (e.g. televisions, print, billboard, etc.) "

    So if MS had spent a '6 figure sum' on TV advertising on Halo 3 in the Uk, that would potentially represent between 1/30th and 1/300th of the total budget.
    Are you seriously suggesting they'd spend so little on that?

    Furthermore, you are correct in suggesting it was 'highly focussed'. Clearly that was the case, as it really is random who got to see it. Perhaps you were lucky, but nevertheless, I and many others have yet to see more than one or two here and there, but it's nowhere near the sort of coverage it needed to establish itself as a new brand.

    "Do they advertise FIFA on television, because I've never seen an advert for it. "

    It's an established brand, and automatically sells itself, as evidenced by Fifa being in the top 10 every year since it began as a franchise.

    Furthermore, I've seen plenty of Fifa adverts for the Wii version over the last year.


    " Either way, the point is you don't think it was enough ... versus Sony who had a budget driven by cost/return benefit case."

    Clearly I am the one in the right, as the game didn't sell out immediately, and is a unknown quantity to many people.


  • Petulant_Radish #93 3 years ago

    Ahaha, I think before you say things like that you should think about it properly.

    So what you’re doing is using the BARB panel in all TV homes in relation to a multichannel TV station, the terrestrials (which are the BBC, ITV, C4 & Five) will obviously have the largest share as they reach all homes.

    What you actually need to do is break that down into things that really matter, like Freeview, PayTV & Cable homes, to get a much better indicator of what reach a channel has. There is no point in comparing either Sky one or Virgin 1 to the terrestrials.

    I also happen to work in the industry, so I have a feeling my understanding may be a litte better on this than yours.

  • Petulant_Radish #94 3 years ago

    Also, you clearly didn’t mention the information on ratings that I gave you while stating a channels reach across a three month period. Are you also insinuating that these are in some way incorrect compared to your previous statement of fact?

  • DrDamn #95 3 years ago

    @Farticus
    1) You need to take account of what you are stood on and how you are stood on it. I've tested this plenty of times and it is consistent for me.
    2) This is largely the same as any other platformer based on a 3d game engine. Has been there since Mario 64. Difference for me is that I was able to complete LBP because the 2.5D-ness compensates somewhat - never could get past some of the Mario 64 levels due to frustration with my skillz.

    I would also add that if they made the changes you suggest it would remove a lot more than it would add - you'd probably need to have played a lot more of the game and understand how it all works and hangs together to appreciate that sentiment.

    Maybe they should do an easy mode when you get stickier boots? Easy enough and just don't give out the level completion prizes.

  • samk #96 3 years ago

    "This is not massively different nor radical to any other platform game on any other system, and if you have any major difficulties with LBP, then you would with mario, Sonic, or any other 2d platformer for that matter."

    Other 2D platformers aren't physics based. Anyone posting on this website will have played a lot of games and likely be used to physics-based elements in games now, including yourself I'd suggest, and as such can accommodate the nuances of controlling sackboy.

    But this is exactly what my 9 year old lad and his little mates couldn't get their head around; they press Jump....yet nothing happens, resulting in sackboy falling to his death - purely because sackboy happened to be in a physics/animation-state that decreed he couldn't jump at that exact moment.

    Initially my lad and his mates had great fun messing around, pulling faces, changing clothes, dancing, etc - then they'd hit a brick wall with their progress, give up in frustration and move onto something else.

    imo it was simply too difficult for non-games savvy folk, and as such isn't being recommended through word of mouth amongst kids and mums. It's only 2 months since release and Amazon are selling it for £18. Clearly they have a metric fuckton of copies and can't shift them.

  • Widge #97 3 years ago

    I found Mario Sunshine harder to platform with than LBP... some of those floaty no waterpack levels were absolute fuckers.

  • Widge #98 3 years ago

    Fallout 3 is going for £18 - £20, WHAT A DISASTER

  • Petulant_Radish #99 3 years ago

    Oh and actually on topic, it took me a little while to get to grips with LBP, but when I did I found it enjoyable. My brother on the other hand picked it up immediately and thinks it’s the best thing ever.

    Not sure how much longer the sales will hold out though, but it would indeed be a shame to see if fade away.

  • StooMonster #100 3 years ago

    It's an established brand, and automatically sells itself

    That's why there are no adverts for toothpaste and soap powder on highest reach channels ... oh wait!

    it really is random who got to see it

    Nope, the marketing team at Sony UK would've chosen specifically which programmes they paid for their adverts to be broadcast in; so whether you got to see the adverts was due to your taste in programmes. Maybe they are so clever that they knew the programmes that people who were likely to have already bought LBP would watch, and didn't waste money placing adverts in those shows?

    " Either way, the point is you don't think it was enough ... versus Sony who had a budget driven by cost/return benefit case."

    Clearly I am the one in the right, as the game didn't sell out immediately, and is a unknown quantity to many people.

    You should write to Sony's management in UK and tell them this, I am sure they would value your input. :-)

  • DrDamn #101 3 years ago

    @samk
    You'd be hard pressed to find any big title which hasn't been available for < £30 this Christmas. I think Left4Dead is the only one I can think of. Metric Fukton of everything then eh?

  • samk #102 3 years ago

    @DrDamn: Aye, fair point I suppose on the prices. I still think it's too hard for kids etc though. :)

  • DrDamn #103 3 years ago

    @Farticus
    It has the same control peculiarities as every other 3d platformer. Like not being able to jump onto a crate floating in the water in Banjo Kazooie for example, and falling off it when trying to get back on due to inertia and floaty slidey physics. Sound familiar? 2d platformers are pixel and sprite based and therefore much easier to program tighter controls for.

    "No, it would remove absolutely nothing."

    It's an essential part of the game - seriously. You can't have physics applied to the game world but not your character.

  • DrDamn #104 3 years ago

    @samk
    I got it for my 11 year old nephew for Christmas I'll see how he got on with it. I got it as I think he'd enjoy the creation side mind. I also completely blew his main present from his parents as they hadn't given him the PS3 yet :D. Not my fault, they knew I was getting it for him and it was already boxing day ffs.

  • makeamazing #105 3 years ago

    I'm still loving it, its a fun game, controls can be a pain sometimes.

    The main problem with LBP is that people STILL dont know what it is, even with the advertising, the advertising has been too confusing for people to understand.

    Anyway I find it funny that people are arguing over a game that sold over 1.3 million, thats pretty good for a single platform game, and hopefully it will slowly edge up to 2 millon.

    What I would find more interesting is how some of the other Xmas game releases sold.

  • DrDamn #106 3 years ago

    Going back to the actual article here - having seen the presentation the headline is actually wrong. Kaz Hirai said LBP has had 1.3m unique users playing it on PSN - so actual sales should be greater than that. I think the original misquote came from Gamespot and everyone else has copied it. It also explains where Sony got the figure from (PSN stats not sales figures).

  • iago71 #107 3 years ago

    "This is not massively different nor radical to any other platform game on any other system, and if you have any major difficulties with LBP, then you would with mario, Sonic, or any other 2d platformer for that matter. "


    Sorry, but I have to say that is not the case. I have played all the way through all the Marios and consider myself to be pretty decent at it. LBP s control system, for me and quite a few others it seems, is what spoils it in terms of it being a great platformer.

    To say that if you have problems with it then youd have problems with all platform games is quite simply a pointless and untrue statement. LBPs controls are woolly and that has been a concern from day one amongst reviewers and players alike. This is not to say that I dont like it on the contrary, I love it. I've had great times with it particularly with friends online (which where it really shines) but the controls are a factor that frustrate many people.

    I think perhaps this is not an issue for people who have never really played Mario et al as they have nothing to compare it to but if you have played the classic platformers then I fail to see how you could think of the controls as being anything other than innacurate and irritaing.

    Ive got over this now as you learn to accomodate but it doesnt change that niggle underlying when on occasion again and again you cant perform the most basic of platforming tasks.

  • DrDamn #108 3 years ago

    @Farticus
    "Whether or not you have adapted to the controls is one thing ..."

    Surely adapting to unplayable controls is not possible? ;). There are plenty of cases in 3D platformers where jumps are failed due to exactly the problems you are talking about. It's not simply a case of camera it's to do with interaction of two 3D objects and how they react off each other. I've already noted that I find the game easier to control than 3D platformers due to the viewpoint - which is not always side on incidentally.

    As I've said before - the key aspects of the game appear not to tick the right boxes for you. That doesn't make it any less of a game. Gameplay is so much more than the controls and here the majority find them more than adequate. There is a hell of a lot more to enjoy than what you are focusing on. However if you can't get on with the controls I can see why that would be a sticking point. I never got on with the Metroid controls for the 3D games - to me they were an abomination never got past the first level on the GC, however I understand that plenty of people do get on with it and enjoy what is undeniably a great game.

  • The_vorlon_man #109 3 years ago

    Petulent, Stoomonster
    "What you actually need to do is break that down into things that really matter, like Freeview, PayTV & Cable homes, to get a much better indicator of what reach a channel has. There is no point in comparing either Sky one or Virgin 1 to the terrestrials. "

    When selling a product to the public, do you honestly think it matters wether a channel reaches 10% of all cable viewers, when calbe viewers represent x percentage of the viewing public as a whole?

    " Maybe they are so clever that they knew the programmes that people who were likely to have already bought LBP would watch, and didn't waste money placing adverts in those shows? "

    Spending marketing money to advertise broadly across all stations that have a broad demographic, for programmes that have a wide reach like X-Factor and Corrie works better for a product you wish to appeal to a broad range of people.

    Advertising Gears of War 2 to mums and dads during daytime telly would be far less effective than sticking it on during Terminator, and likewise, a game that is supposed to appeal to as many peple as possilble - families, core gamers, etc - you would want as broad a spread as possible.

    Clearly Sony focussed too heavily on one demographic and not enough on another.

    You both fail to see this and are determiend to nit-pick specifics, ignoring the greater picture.




  • The_vorlon_man #110 3 years ago

    "Sorry, but I have to say that is not the case. I have played all the way through all the Marios and consider myself to be pretty decent at it. LBP s control system, for me and quite a few others it seems, is what spoils it in terms of it being a great platformer. "

    I would say a vocal minority rather than 'quite a few', but that is nit picking. The fact is, it's applying physics and if you cant get used to that, without it being fully 3d, then you are at fault and not the game. Simple as.

    Plenty of critics, and gamers, have fallen bigtime for this game, and sales are proof of this.

    As has previously been stated in this thread, it's actually 1.3million unique people online with the game, not 1.3 million sales, so sales are probably a lot higher than that (Dr Damn posted 1.8m elsewhere, which is higher than many multplatform games, if true).

    That's far, far, far from a flop for a platform 8 million behind and with a much lower attach rate for games.



  • DrDamn #111 3 years ago

    @The_Vorlon_Man
    "The fact is, it's applying physics and if you cant get used to that, without it being fully 3d, then you are at fault and not the game. Simple as."

    I wouldn't say the gamer is at fault - it's just a design decision doesn't sit well with them and they don't enjoy the game so much - fair enough. The overall physics based approach does add lot more to the game than it takes away - maybe you have to be into the create side to appreciate that - I wouldn't have it changed though, even if it meant huge sales.

  • DrDamn #112 3 years ago

    Ok my last word. I don't think that the controls were perfect - or even the best they could be - they are absolutely not "unplayable" though. I also agree that the controls are game breaking for some people, I know of you and a couple of Geezers where it's been a problem. However to balance that I know of more Geezers for whom the game has been an absolute stand out title of the year than have had a problem with it.

  • Petulant_Radish #113 3 years ago

    Actually Vorlon Man, it is again you who have appeared to have missed the point, as I was never arguing with you about advertising for LittleBigPlanet to any extent, I once said I had seen quite a lot of it, that was all.

    What you are attempting to do is brush off was the ratings info I corrected you on, and are going to point blank refuse to recognise that even though, and I shall paraphrase you here, clearly I am the one in the right.

    And on your other point though, yes it does matter to advertisers if a channel reaches a percentage of anything, otherwise they wouldn’t advertise there, would they?

  • Machiavellian #114 3 years ago

    The problem with LBP for me is that I got bored of it quick not to mentioned that it was frustrating to play. I never got to the point where I wanted to continue to play the game to get the controls down because what I was doing wasn't fun. Maybe I have played to many platform games where just jumping and grabbing doesn't do it for me any more. I like complexity in my platfomers but only when i am giving a lot of different abilities. The jumping physics nature of LBP just did not appeal to me and because of the controls, I could not get with any of the custom levels created.

  • Burkey123 #115 3 years ago

    I hope Littlebigplanet sells more than this. Its a wonderful game and this game should sell 1:1 with each ps3 console.

  • iago71 #116 3 years ago

    Thats a fair point from both of you. Im not directly comparing it to Mario etc. either. Also I totally see your point about the physics and that is what makes the game what it is and if it were like Mario then it would spoil the game. BUT it still remains the same to me in terms of frustration.

    There are points in the game that are very tricky and I felt that it was down to luck and ball aching repetition that I got through as opposed to any skill, this to me was because of the control. For the record Im not dissing the game, Ive already stated that its a huge laff but I still feell that its appropriate to make critical observation based on personal experience.

  • ronuds #117 3 years ago

    @ DrDamn

    Were your numbers from VGChartz? If so, NOW can we please stop quoting them? They were so off it's ridiculous.

  • DrDamn #118 3 years ago

    @Ronuds
    See comments above - Hirai was talking about 1.3m online players, not copies sold. I always said my numbers were with salt and actually used as a point of comparison - so still valid in that context. This article is just as wrong and possibly moreso.
    Edited by 1 at 09/01/09 @ 18:13

  • ronuds #119 3 years ago

    Well, vgchartz still sucks! :p

  • autogunner #120 3 years ago

    so no PC launch for a while then...

  • bioreit #121 3 years ago

    @ The_vorlon_man

    Come on, man! At least have some bloody consistency to your ranting:

    "I also have Sky +, and have yet to see a single LBP advert on broadcast TV."

    "My wife's comment was "But the adverts I saw made it look rubbish, what youre playing is MUCH better!'.. "

    As mentioned previously, there were quite a few tv adverts before Christmas in the UK - I remember that one night of the week before Christmas week, every single ad-break on a film had a LBP advert as both the first and last one. 'Twas on ITV, but couldn't tell you what the film was...