LittleBigPlanet: Sony's "biggest" 08 game

By Oli Welsh Published 25 February, 2008

"This isn't WarHawk or Tekken."

A Sony spokesperson has told Eurogamer he believes that LittleBigPlanet is "potentially our biggest Blu-ray release of 2008".

Asked about Sony's plans for the Media Molecule game, marketing man Nick Robinson - a senior product manager at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe - confirmed the title will be released in September on Blu-ray disc only.

He left no doubt that Sony is giving the unusual, innovative mix of platform game and content creator the full blockbuster-release treatment. "This isn't a Warhawk or a Tekken: Dark Resurrection," he said, mentioning two games Sony has made available for download on the PlayStation Network. "This is a triple-A Blu-ray title."

Robinson felt that Sony's confidence in LittleBigPlanet was backed up by the overwhelmingly positive reception it's met with so far. He also confirmed the game will have a very substantial offline Story mode to justify the price for those less interested in its community and content-creation aspects.

Certainly, today's demonstration hasn't dimmed our own (massive) enthusiasm for LittleBigPlanet. Check back soon for full hands-on impressions.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (44) Latest comment 4 years ago

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

  • MrChuckles #1 4 years ago

    God forbid that Mark Healey's head can get any bigger!

    Good luck to the rest of the company though, some decent guys there. :-)

  • Saladin #2 4 years ago

    There's a story? I must've missed that part in the vids I've watched. Anyone know details?

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #3 4 years ago

    This is literally the only PS3 game that has me the least bit excited, and if I could afford it, I'd buy the console just to play it.

    Therefore I hope it turns out shit ;-)

    Seriously, tho, this looks fab.

  • T4RG4 #4 4 years ago

    "Blu Ray Games"

    Whatever.

    LBP looks lovely art wise, really sexy style (good on those that made this happen).

  • Vic #5 4 years ago

    /Awaits Xbots response.

    Teh Planet will be shite!!

  • Psychotext #6 4 years ago

    September. =(

  • Darkedge #7 4 years ago

    wasn't it originally a PSN title? thats why this is news.

  • Carlo #8 4 years ago

    Hands-on impressions?

    /starts looking.

    And WTF is the release date?

  • paulf #9 4 years ago

    surely now the hd war is won they dont need to keep spouting on about it

  • penhalion #10 4 years ago

    Anyone who has been riding on the hype of this is in for a long fall I can tell you. The stuff hey showed recently (oriental level) and the replacement of sponge with some generic balls to collect was underwhelming to say the least. Let me give you an example of what you can expect while playing with friends.

    1. Shouting for everyone to run forward because otherwise you get stuck at the edge of the screen waiting for everyone.
    2. The only point of the levels is to collect balls to use as currency to buy scenery for your own level construction and costumes.
    3. No story or reason to be running across the levels i.e. no mario style back story to at least give you some reason to be trying to get from a to b.

    This game looks great but, graphics aren't everything. I can see some people creating world s and releasing them. I don't know who would play them though and to be honest I don't know why you'd want to. There are only so many times you can ride a skateboard down a hill or admire how using in game physics can move a wooden ship slowly across a paper ocean.

    I'll be looking for Drakes 2, metal gear along with a few others but, this isn't on my must have list of PS3 titles.

  • laur #11 4 years ago

    With regards to the story, I think the Mario comparison is a bad one to make your point. I have no idea what the plot significance of each stage of Super Mario Galaxy was, and this wasn't at all detrimental to the experience.
    Edited by 1 at 25/02/08 @ 18:21

  • GamesConnoisseur #12 4 years ago

    Erm, are they now pushing PS3 as Blu Ray Game Player?

    All PS3 games came on Blu Ray aside from available via PSN, so making it as Blu Ray disc only seem to be a renewed attempt to sell the benefits of Blu Ray Movies, Blu Ray Games, Blu Ray Blu Movies and so on?!

  • rhinoxious #13 4 years ago

    So Sony don't feel that downloads have a big enough fanfare for this product,

    Doesn't seem that Valve have that problem, why not release lbp on both download and disc?

    Maybe PSN isn't doing the numbers they hoped? I wonder what perentage of owners are using it?

  • Cannibal #14 4 years ago

    Did he just belittle a long established franchise in Tekken as not a "Triple A title". Note to self, this is the company line if you want to sell "All our games are triple A"

  • ShiftyGeezer #15 4 years ago

    @ Saladin : The story announcement is new and not shown so far. It's called LittleBigStory and consists of 50 premade levels.

    @ Penhalion : What was the point to collecting rings in Sonic or stars in Mario? What's the point in shooting Flood or Chimera if not to get from one end of the level to the other? At least LBP's collectables affect the game later on! I also think you miss some of the prospects for creating puzzles, platforming challenges, and 'goofing off'.

    Regards it being a BluRay game, this is relevant as originally there was talk of it being a download title in addition to a disc title. This announcement tells us the download option isn't there and the purchase will be a full game with a significant online component but which isn't dependent on online - you could buy the game and play it at home with your kids without ever sharing stuff online.

  • JediMasterMalik #16 4 years ago

    LBP was ALWAYS meant to be both a PSN and a disc release, at least in some form. (i.e. the PSn version may not be the full version)

    @penhalion - You are, quite simply, wrong. Firstly, you do not have to play with friends, and indeed I'm sure there will be plenty of 1 player levels. Secondly, what you stated was actually a secondary objectives, you don't HAVE to collect the sponge balls, but it helps for when you make stuff. They have confirmed a number of different objectives to the game, though like most 2D platformers, the main objective is to get to the end of level, I don't see that as a problem frankly.

    They've not shown all the aspects of the game either, so you're just assuming it's as limiting as they have shown, which it clearly won't be. If you don't want to be excited about it, then fine, but that doesn't mean you're not wrong. ;)

  • penhalion #17 4 years ago

    @jedimastermalik

    I'm going by what I've seen and played in person at the GDC and other shows. They didn't reveal a single objective to anyone there as far as I heard so you'll have to enlighten me on that one. They did say that collecting the balls would allow you to unlock stuff to build your levels and also confirmed it's meant to be played as a multiplayer game.

    I'm going to defer to your knowledge of the game so that you can explain to me what the objectives are and about these single player levels (which have never been shown as far as I'm aware).

    Over to you.

    Edit: I'm not trying to be sarcastic here. I've met the developers on a number of occasions and they simply didn't have anything to say when it came to the objectives or point questions. As a result, the playthroughs we were allowed just seemed hollow and pointless.
    Edited by 1 at 25/02/08 @ 18:51

  • ShiftyGeezer #18 4 years ago

    JediMasterMalik wrote : @penhalion - You are, quite simply, wrong. Firstly, you do not have to play with friends, and indeed I'm sure there will be plenty of 1 player levels.

    The 50 levels provided in LittleBigStory are 1-4 coop with local and online players., as I understand it mixed, so you and a friend could play on your PS3 with two other mates online.
    Edited by 1 at 25/02/08 @ 18:49

  • George-Roper #19 4 years ago

    @Jedi

    "They've not shown all the aspects of the game either, so you're just assuming it's as limiting as they have shown, which it clearly won't be. If you don't want to be excited about it, then fine, but that doesn't mean you're not wrong. ;)"

    Don't want to nit-pick here but aren't you also making an assumption that there will be more than what they're showing? What is that assumption based on?

    Also, to date, all we've heard and seen about this has been multiplayer-based gaming so i'm interested to know...

    1) What will be in the final product, above any beyond what we've seen so far and
    2) What the single player content will be
    Edited by 1 at 25/02/08 @ 19:25

  • JediMasterMalik #20 4 years ago

    Like I said, most 2D platformers are simply there to get through the level, what's the problem with that? The whole fun in a platformer is how you get through the stage. I'm sure the confirmed there would be enemies, but may later have retracted that, either way i don't see why a limited objective list is a bad thing. Break down any game to it's core, and the objectives are very limited regardless, it's the nature of games. If you have a problem with the aim of a game being getting to the end, then really the game's not for you is it? Nor is Mario, or Sonic, unless for some inexplicable reason you really got into those stories.

    @Roper

    1) They already confirmed that there's a lot more to the game which they haven't shown.
    2) There are 50 single player "story" levels, pre made by the game designers.
    Edited by 1 at 25/02/08 @ 19:27

  • George-Roper #21 4 years ago

    Well, it's certainly going to be interesting to see how it pans out, one way or the other.

    I reckon it will end up as a kids platformer/sandbox-type game, which is fine, but not my cup of tea. No longevity.

  • dsmx #22 4 years ago

    Kind of ironic calling it the biggest blu-ray release this year when most of the content will be downloaded off the internet.

  • ShiftyGeezer #23 4 years ago

    @ penhalion
    Edit: I'm not trying to be sarcastic here. I've met the developers on a number of occasions and they simply didn't have anything to say when it came to the objectives or point questions. As a result, the playthroughs we were allowed just seemed hollow and pointless.

    As mentioned though, how does it differ to other 2D platformers in that respect? Waht was the point of GeometryWars? To get a big score. Why is that a suitable objective for GeometryWars but not LBP?

    I don't understand exactly what it is in terms of objectives you're after. Can you give some examples of what you'd like to see?

    @dsmx :
    Well biggest can mean 'most important' as well as 'largest in size'. Form the interviewees POV, perhaps he regards LBP as the most important game with the largest reach that'll come on disk, as opposed to say Home which he might think could be the largest download application? Also LBP could be the biggest game in terms of content. If they put in bucketloads of unique content on the disc, they could do...I dunno, 30 GBs of stuff, and then downloads will be mostly using that stuff. I do consider that unlikely though as that'd be a lot of assets. Its unlikely the game will come with 50 unique backdrops!
    Edited by 2 at 25/02/08 @ 19:53

  • George-Roper #24 4 years ago

    @ShiftyGeezer

    That's a good point but surely means that the Sony marketing machine has a lot of people confused?

    Is it a sandbox?

    Is it a platformer?

    Are there multiplayer levels?

    Are there single player levels?

    It seems that some of the above can be answered but whether thats enough for all the gamers out there to make an informed decision on, I don't know.

    IMO, from what ive seen so far, its primarily a co-op platformer using pre-generated level content from Sony but also has the ability to download/use player created content.

    I guess the biggest issue most see, based on the above, is that exactly how different can the player created content be, compared to the pre-generated? If there's only a finite amount of art assets to work with, at what point will it get to before 'youve seen it all before'

    Regular platformers have a 'plan' and have art assets to see that plan through to completion, drawing the player in to want to see bigger bosses and more interesting platform elements. Maybe its this point that people cant really see being emulated and still retain that pre-generated content charm?

  • ShiftyGeezer #25 4 years ago

    @George Rope r

    That's a good point but surely means that the Sony marketing machine has a lot of people confused?
    Yes! Like Home. Some of Sony's latest titles don't fit conventional labelling.

    Is it a sandbox?
    If by sandbox you mean do what you want when you want, mostly yes with limits set by level designers.

    Is it a platformer?
    Yes

    Are there multiplayer levels?
    All included level are for 1-4 player coop, so you can solo if you want.

    Are there single player levels?
    As above ;)

    Regards the assets, that's very open. We know you'll be able to provide custom textures for your levels, and you can sculpt a lot with the ingame tools, which means creating diversity is definitely an option. It was also suggested that users would be able to provide their own models - in the mexican demo they mentioned the Hat was a model they had won in a challenge, and by all accounts the ability to offer rewards isn't limited to disc-based levels. Thus if you want to model, texture and import an...X-wing, or a Space Hopper, that should be an option.

    NextGen.biz has a good bit of info in a preview
    <a>http://ww w.next-gen.biz/index.php?option...</a>
    Edited by 1 at 25/02/08 @ 20:30

  • Freek #26 4 years ago

    The medium the game comes on does not reflect it's quality.
    If it was a downlaod game it would still be just as good (or crap, we don't know yet) as a disc release.

  • JDub #27 4 years ago

    I think this will be a real family orientated killer app - A sleeper for sure.
    Not sure whether I'll like it, but eager to see... :)

  • DrDamn #28 4 years ago

    @Penhalion
    "I've met the developers on a number of occasions and they simply didn't have anything to say when it came to the objectives or point questions. As a result, the playthroughs we were allowed just seemed hollow and pointless."

    There is a crazy idea that joy from a game can be found in the actual playing of it. I can see your point to an extent, but some games just work on the mechanics of gameplay not objectives, achievements or completing with the best score/time.

    You point about shouting at people to head in the right direction is something you can see in demonstrations and a possible concern. The one about no Mario style back story just ... well, seriously??

  • JediMasterMalik #29 4 years ago

    Considering the pre-made levels are brought together in something called LittleBigStory kinda allays fears of a lack of story, though it's not really necessary.

  • ShiftyGeezer #30 4 years ago

    LittleBigStory could amount to as much as LocoRoco's. Story seems irrelevant to me. Unless you're in a story based game like Bioshock or Mass Effect, the stories are basically vague reasons to string together a series of different looks for the same game mechanic, with the gameplay kept fresh by gradually introducing extra stuff as you progress, such as new weapons, new music, new skills.

  • VMerken #31 4 years ago

    Well, there's still *plenty of time* to find out whether or not this title is worth the hassle.

  • Skywise #32 4 years ago

    This game looks real nice, it might be the 2nd best PS3 title to come!

    [Wipeout HD as a surefire nr 1]

  • Gaol #33 4 years ago

    Lack of 'objectives' is often a problem with sandbox stuff and can leave them very marmite - take Eve Online as an example, whats the objective? Whatever you want the devs would say. This stimulates some and bemuses others.

    Its all speculation at this stage, we won't know till after Home and LBP are released if Sony are back on form or still blowing hot air. Here's hoping they come good this year, its certainly their best chance after the blu ray 'win'.

  • Kiigan #34 4 years ago

    Really? The biggest release of 08? Really?

    Don't get me wrong, I'm totally sold on the visual style of LittleBigPlanet, and I can't wait to see what some dedicated lunatics with infinite amounts of free time create with it. But I don't really... ever need to play it myself. Making stuff looks like a hell of a lot of work, and playing it looks pretty dull. I hope it turns out great, but I wouldn't bet the bank on LBP just yet. Personally I think the likes of GTAIV and MGS4 are likely to sell PS3s in 2008.

  • Kenshin001 #35 4 years ago

    In terms of pulling in the casual market I can see why this would be the biggest game, it has a broad mainstream appeal something like Resistance or MGS4 or GT5 lack. Good to see they are going to market the hell out of it too. This is exactly the sort of thing Phil Harrison was lamenting Sony were behind on, casual games you can sit down with friends and family and play.

    ShiftyGeezer, thanks for setting the record straight too.

  • t8yman #36 4 years ago

    if this is their biggest game of the year it doesnt look too rosy for MGS, KZ2, RFOM2 etc then eh?

  • ShiftyGeezer #37 4 years ago

    If you take your average family of mum, dad and kids, and sit them in front of a console to see a game, which is likely to get the most excitement from all of them? GTA? KZ? MGS? SingStar? LBP? IMO it's LBP, as it offers something for everyone 'in the family unit'. Core gamers may not be particularly interested, used to more sophisticated games, but as a game you can play with everyone and have fun, cooperating or competing to your own level, I don't see LBP has any equal. If you have kids then you've probably played very simple kids games with them, and despite the simple mechanics had a lot of fun because what is of value is the interaction with your children.

    Thus it could be PS3's most important game this year because it's a game that'll attract attention farther and wider than the other big titles. If you look at what Sony are doing with Home, adding a fashion designer 'game', it's obvious that they aren't targeting the existing gamer with every move! Dress isn't being made to attract the Halo crowd away from XB360! They are casting the net wide to present PS3 as the only box you need under your TV. If they only developed mainstream games, they would only reach a small fraction of the possible market. Sony are well prepared to cater for serious gamers this year, but to reach the wide audience they need 'casual' titles and LBP and Home are big on casualness - LBP being the BluRay game and Home being a PSN download.

  • Les #38 4 years ago

    This (and region free-ness) is what I got the machine for. If it lives up to its promises, I won't need to get any other game this year (and besides I still got a huge pile of PS2, GBA, DS and PSP games to finish...).


  • kangarootoo #39 4 years ago

    "A Sony spokesperson has told Eurogamer"

    Its just not the same :)


    ""This isn't a Warhawk or a Tekken: Dark Resurrection," he said"
    "This is a triple-A Blu-ray title."

    What happened to presenting Warhawk as a AAA title that was also available via download? All this ridiculous low public opinion of DLC and then he comes out with something like that? Muppet.

    @penhalion

    "Let me give you a purposely distorted example of what you can expect while playing with friends."

    FIXED

    As for you individual points.

    1. Shouting for everyone to run forward because otherwise you get stuck at the edge of the screen waiting for everyone.

    It never harmed Gauntlet, or Double Dragon, or any one of a host of cooperative games. That is cooperative gaming for you, it involves socialising. You may tag it as "shouting for everyone", but others might see it as speaking to their friends.

    2. The only point of the levels is to collect balls to use as currency to buy scenery for your own level construction and costumes.

    You forget the other key point, a point which applies to any game. IT IS FUN. Pacman was just collecting balls for no apparent reason, but he did ok.

    3. No story or reason to be running across the levels i.e. no mario style back story to at least give you some reason to be trying to get from a to b.

    Oh come on. The Mario stories are filler at best. I've played shed loads of Mario games and I couldn't give you story details for a single one. Jumping and fighting in Mario games is fun, that is why the games are successful. Just like collecting the balls, the a to b travel is FUN and that is all you need. Its not because of some feeble "go rescue the princess yet again" story line.

    Seriously, I can't believe you would use Mario as an example of a back story...
    Edited by 1 at 26/02/08 @ 09:21

  • kangarootoo #40 4 years ago

    @Arbiter

    "That said, having had the dire misfortune of dealing with (I believe) the Senior producer on the project"

    Surely that opinion isn't based just on seeing him demo the game? I have no idea either way, you got a link of his demo?

  • kangarootoo #41 4 years ago

    @Kiigan

    "Really? The biggest release of 08? Really?"

    "Personally I think the likes of GTAIV and MGS4 are likely to sell PS3s in 2008."

    The article says Sony's biggest game of 08, not THE biggest game of 08.

  • RexRunti #42 4 years ago

    I'm sorry this is not a casual game. This is the most hardcore game I've ever seen. The point of the game is to design cool stuff with a few examples bundled, it's exactly the sort of thing that get's game journolists and forumites extatic but has no bearing on Joe FIFA and his mates (or his girlfriend Jane Singstar). The reason Halo 3 got so many 10s was because of Forge (the real-time level editor you can do with your mates) however pretty much everyone just plays the campaign, co-op or multiplayer maps.

    Don't get me wrong I'm still hoping LBP will be great (though I can't help thinking of Black and White), but Okami was a great game too.

    PS. I think it's worth pointing out that a platform games haven't sold well on consoles since the PS1 was released so attacking penhalion's reservations by comparing LPB to Sonic or Mario isn't a particularly strong argument.

  • jglover4 #43 4 years ago

    Journalists and Developers should have to use their real names in threads like these, imo.

    Personally, given the quality of the game and the team behind it, I'd fully expect there to be an outstandingly fun story mode to back up the immense creative nature of the title.

  • Les #44 4 years ago

    "The reason Halo 3 got so many 10s was because of Forge (the real-time level editor you can do with your mates) however pretty much everyone just plays the campaign, co-op or multiplayer maps."

    Comparing the audience interested with shooters with the audience that would like LBP is stretching it a bit I think. I mean Master Chief vs. cute puppets, shooter vs. platformer?!

    As I understand it, LBP will allow you to create whole levels and share them with people whereas Forge is 'just' (glad to see innovation in this area however) another multi-player mode in which you can modify parts of a level with standard assets but not create new maps for everyone to play. That's a huge difference.

    But everything will stand or fall with the ease of creating LBP levels. If the non-hardcore have to put too much effort in, it will probably fail to reach a mass audience.