LittleBigPlanet – a killer app for the PS3 at last?
LittleBigPlanet, or LBP as it is referred to by lazy people, is a game that blew everyone away when it was first demoed by Phil Harrison at GDC 2007. It has since been delayed a couple of times, but now that an October release date has all but been confirmed, it’s time to take a serious look at the game and its chances of being a killer app for the Sony PS3.
LBP (I’m lazy) was announced in March 2007, at a time when the PS3 had wholly failed to live up to its billing as the most advanced games console ever made. The situation has got better, with some great games having been released in the last 18 months, but I still feel the Playstation 3 needs a massive, exclusive, killer game to finally make people want to buy the console over its main rivals the Xbox 360 and Wii.
LittleBigPlanet could be that game. It’s like a cross between Super Mario and Line Rider, only with more customisation options and a whole lot more fun. It also looks absolutely divine, being probably the best looking game I have ever seen on any platform. The graphics are what first grab you, and are what made most people fawn over the game when they first saw footage of it. But is there more to it than good looks?
At it’s heart, the game is a platformer, with your Sackboy character running, jumping, pushing, and generally manipulating the background objects to get through the level. But it’s also so much more than that. It all feels very open ended, with numerous customisation option meaning the gameplay is almost unlimited. And that’s before you even venture online and start playing with the user-created content and multiplayer options.
So can this long-awaited game be the killer app that the PS3 is crying out for? At the moment, no-one is really winning the console war, with all 3 consoles doing well in their own right. The Wii has the casual market seemingly sewn up, the Xbox 360 has all the hardcore FPS fans loyal to the last, and the PS3 is trying to straddle the whole entertainment hub gamut.
What LittleBigPlanet could do, and it’s a big ask, is unite all sets of gamers and entice them all to the PS3. It’s a game you can only get on the Playstation 3, it’s innovative, it will appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers, of all age groups, and more than that it’s fun. This game could become the standard for this generation when it is released.
An open beta of the game begins in September, with the full release pencilled in for October. This one should be worth waiting for.
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26 Responses to “LittleBigPlanet – a killer app for the PS3 at last?”
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August 9th, 2008
RUN SACKBOY RUN!!!
it would be a shame.. it would be a DAMN SHAME!! if this game pushed more PS3 sales than MGS4.. and that would be really really funny…
saw a footage of INfamous the other day.. the gameplay looked awfully dark sector-ish…
come on Sony… lets release some good games… remember to discount them IMMEDIATELY.. so I can afford some food this month…
August 10th, 2008
Looks like a kids game to me. It can stay on the shelf with Viva Pinata and Banjo Kazooie. Not interested.
August 10th, 2008
“Looks like a kids game to me. It can stay on the shelf with Viva Pinata and Banjo Kazooie. Not interested.”
Cry more Xbot,cry more.
August 10th, 2008
Only an idiot would say this is a kids game.
August 10th, 2008
i fucking hate this website and dont plan on coming again. could we please get game journalist to go to college? learn to not be biased? this website hates the ps3 real bad.
August 10th, 2008
Kids Game? I know most people who first see the trailer think it’s a kids game. But when you actually figure out what all you can do you figure out its an every age game. I especially want this game because of all the great physics and levels you can create.
August 10th, 2008
Yeah it’s a kids game, like the wii… thats for kids too isn’t it? Wait a second, what’re we talking about again, oh yeah, video games, well… video games as a whole are for kids too aren’t they?
What makes it a kids game? The fact that thousands of people (yes… adults too) are hyped up for it… o…k….
I think it looks like it could be something special, but so do alot of games before they’re released.
August 10th, 2008
harry – dont make that mistake with viva pinata. Its a great game
I would class a kids game something like Kung Fu Panda. Just because this has colourful graphics and a little sackboy does not make it a kids game. I bet I’ll struggle with building something, I doubt a kid would be able to do it.
As for the game, cant wait. October, come forth!!
August 10th, 2008
I won’t buy this game not because is bad just because is looks too complicated and well i hate co-op. Way different audience, i don’t know why this game can move more PS3 just too damn weird.
August 10th, 2008
I’m pretty excited about LBP to be honest. Though admittedly a little worried it will flop. User-made stuff is something I’m really into, I used to love making skateparks on Tony Hawk’s and levels on Timesplitters.
Off topic, I played Motorstorm 2 (Beta) yesterday on 2 player at Newquay Boardmasters Festival. Doesn’t look radically different from the first one, but it was pretty damn good, especially having offline multiplayer. I think what shocked me the most was the fact it was there in the first place (the moshpit for the Gallows was filled with people wearing Motorstorm trucker caps).
August 10th, 2008
motorstorm 2 good then? glad to hear it. was a little worried about that one
gallows are excellent
August 10th, 2008
This looks like a wonderful game. I would love to play it, but Sony still needs to give me a few more reasons to get a PS3 before I would spend so much on it.
This, I would call reason #2. At least Sony has given me one more reason than MS…but MS doesn’t need as much with a cheaper console.
I doubt LBP will move many consoles, but it WILL be a great game for people that own it to get, and it could be one reason to push some closer to buying a PS3.
August 10th, 2008
Hey DAVE PARRACK go to your local game store, and look for a little game called Metal Gear Solid 4! You just might learn a thing or two.
August 10th, 2008
I like to think so.
August 10th, 2008
I’m calling Kids game to. Since day one I have never seen the hype about this game. It’s in the Vivia Piniata pile for me to.
August 10th, 2008
I’m calling Kids game to. Since day one I have never seen the hype about this game. It’s in the Vivia Piniata pile for me to.
August 10th, 2008
Wait, why did BURNING NUTS call me an Xbot? I could have sworn that I included 2 360 games in the ‘kids game’ list, opposed to the one PS3 game.
August 10th, 2008
Harry, for the same reason that I am called a Wii, PS3 and Xbox fanboy… often all in relation to the same article (though not this one)
August 11th, 2008
if mgs4 couldn’t vault the ps3 over the 360 in total sales, LBP won’t either.
bah…according to sony, ALL their games are “console sellers”… someone just forgot to tell the gamers…
August 11th, 2008
There are always haters. When are people going to learn that when 99% of gaming media is excited about a title there is usually a REASON for the excitement? Usually.
-Arvis
August 11th, 2008
99%? wow…that’s a lot…
August 11th, 2008
seriously CAD, Harry, do not make the mistake of not playing Viva Pinata because its childish. If you’ve played it, fair do’s, but if not, give it a fair go, you will be very surprised
August 12th, 2008
Kev,
Sorry, I meant to say “a BILLION percent.”
-Arvis
August 12th, 2008
wow kev, since when was MGS4 supposed to “vault ps3 sales over 360″?
It was supposed to be a hardware seller and looking at May to June sales it most certainly did.
But you’re good at spin right? how bout you tell me what game in history has sold 5-6 million units of hardware in it’s first month.(the estimated gap between the ps3 and 360)
Oh and you might want to look up hyperbole in the….. ah nevermind, you still wouldn’t get Arvis’s comment.
I hope you know that LBP won best console game from the….ahhh forget it. I’m sure the game critic awards are all Sony fanboys right;)
August 15th, 2008
sk8man – since the first showing of hideo’s mgs4 video at e3. it was supposed to make everyone stop, run to the nearest store and buy a ps3 JUST FOR mgs4 as stated by Tretton and his legion of moronic fanboys….
just like psn was supposed to be “just like jacking into the matrix” – Ken Kuturagi 2002.
October 14th, 2008
fanboy war has spread. im sick of these fanboyish comments, perhaps i’ll steer clear next article