littleBIG Planet Megathread

Jan 29, 2009
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LittleBigPlanet, abbreviated to LBP and developed under the title The Next Big Thing, is a puzzle platformer and user-generated content video game for the PlayStation 3, first announced on 7 March 2007, by Phil Harrison at the 2007 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California. It is developed by Media Molecule, a British company founded in part by Rag Doll Kung Fu creator Mark Healey, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

The game revolves around the player's control of small avatars, known as Sackboys or Sackgirls owing to their appearance, in a variety of platforming scenarios. Though the game features a set of pre-built levels for players to explore, of equal importance is the game's customisable nature, from altering the player's character and personal space, to building entirely new objects and levels, and then sharing and playing them online as part of the LittleBigPlanet community.

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Originally intended for a release in mid-to-late October, a last-minute delay involving a licensed song in the game's soundtrack delayed the game's release worldwide. It was released in North America and Japan at the end of October 2008, and in Europe at the beginning of November 2008. Seen as an important title for Sony and the PlayStation 3, the game received an overwhelmingly positive reaction from critics, who praised the game's presentation including its graphics, physics and audio, as well as its gameplay and large array of customisable and online features, including its scope and future potential based on user-created content; minor criticism was reserved for some specific elements of the gameplay mechanics and level creation facilities.
 

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Friday, January 30, 2009

LittleBigPlanet is now 2 million times on the counter gone. The game (or Sackboy) has become the image of the PlayStation 3. But because of the planned release wrong, the game is not sold as expected. But 2 million is not nothing, and the people at Media Molecule are certainly very happy!
The following figures are not yet LittleBigPlanet Bundles added. The sales may even be higher!

Source: VGChartz
Region Japan America Others Total
Total Sales 0.14m 0.86m 0.99m 1.99m
Week 1 49.839 119,457 176,050 345,346
Week 2 16.163 167,218 95,408 278,789
Week 3 8,598 55,293 70,812 134,703
Week 4 7,036 34,095 69,251 110,382
Week 5 5,671 32,712 84,393 122,776
Week 6 4,743 49,646 118,196 172,585
Week 7 5,717 42,588 138,997 187,302
Week 8 8,437 58,932 109,108 176,477
Week 9 10,838 90,607 49,582 151,027
Week 10 13,405 98,005 30,306 141,716
 
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Community Team Lead MusterBuster has today confirmed that LittleBigPlanet DLC will resume on January 26th. New content was expected tomorrow (January 22nd), but unknown circumstances have forced a one week delay.

To make up for the delay, a whole slew of updates have been unveiled, and it’s all very impressive!

January 26th

LBP_ChineseNY_Costume.png


◦Chinese New Year Costumes (free) - available for 10 days only.

January 29th

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LBP_Groundhog_Costume.png


◦God of War mini pack ($2.99)
◦Kratos costume ($1.99)
◦Groundhog Day costume (free) - available for 1 week only.

February 5th

LBP_VALENTINE_Theme_Group.png


◦Valentines Day mini pack ($2.99) - available for 2 weeks only.

February 12th

LBP_Toro_Costume.png
dlc-apeescape.jpg


◦Ape Escape Costume ($1.99)
◦Mainichi Issho Toro Costume ($1.99)


February TBA

LBP_wipeout_Thumb_Costume.png


◦WipEout Costume Kit ($2.99)

We’re also expecting that late February might well see the arrival of a Killzone 2 pack of some sort, and February 27th has already been hinted at by the PlayStation Blog.

Sources: Littlebigplanetoid.com

EU Playstation Forums
 
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While we gamers only care about quality, the rest of the world has to focus on sales, and unfortunately, excellent landmark titles like LittleBigPlanet haven't performed up to expectations. The good news? They're not doing too badly, either, and it appears as if Killzone 2 ought to be absolutely giant.

According to European site PS3Hype, Media Molecule's tremendous platformer has finally managed to top 2 million in total sales, with around 860,000 in the U.S., just under 1 million in Europe, and a mere 140,000 in Japan. For whatever reason, that game just isn't catching on over there, and we're not going to try to analyze why. As for Killzone 2, it has come to our attention that the hotly anticipated FPS has just hit #1 on Amazon's Bestseller list, which means a whole lot of people have been pre-ordering the game. Couple this with the fact that Sony will be dumping a lot of advertising dollars into both the PS3 and Killzone 2, and that should translate to some huge sales. Sony could certainly use the boost, too, as the clamoring for a price drop and relative concern over the economy wouldn't result in high PS3 sales without big software releases. KZ2 is going to kick off 2009 in high style, and after that, it's up to other exclusives to continue to push the system.

And although LBP isn't the massive sales success it should've been, the good news is that 2 million sold isn't terrible, and the game should continue to sell. That's one title that won't start to show its age for a very long time.
 
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I was perusing Media Molecule’s Flickr feed when I stumbled upon some very small dry erase marker in the background of one of the pictures. Using our proprietary PSLS decoding software (uh, looking closely at the picture) combined with our knowledge of the cheese-based naming of upcoming patches for LittleBigPlanet, we will attempt to shed some light on what you can expect for the game in the coming months.

We know Media Molecule has already delivered some cheese (patches), such as Roquefort, the 1.07 patch. From the image, we can see patch 1.08 at the top of the image (slightly cut off). That was already delivered most recently and it added in textures and other content for upcoming DLC/costumes.

Next on the list is Jarlsberg, with what appears to say “2000 AD” next to it, listed as TBC (to be confirmed). It looks like Media Molecule has teams working on multiple patches at the same time, with some listed as “to be confirmed” before they get a patch number, and are submitted to Sony QA Testing. In addition, Jarlsberg seems to consist primarily of data for the game, or content, and is currently held up in “legal” - could this be a feature that was cut out due to legal concerns (e.g., photo importing)?

Next on the list we see the sequential follow-up to the current 1.08 version of LittleBigPlanet, which is version 1.09, the Edam patch. This chart confirms that Edam contains “priority bug fixes” for the game’s code and is currently in testing. Media Molecule has mentioned that they’d like to get the Edam patch out by mid-february, and it fixes the “user profile full” issue, object capture bug, failed to load profile error, slow rewind due to moderation check, save file corruption, and the text chat window not displaying properly.

Next on the list is the Cornish Yarg patch, which Media Molecule teased us with saying it contains “new creative capabilities” which may require extensive testing and should be out in 6-8 weeks. We can now confirm by looking at this image, that the new creative capabilities include new tutorials and ONLINE CREATE! Media Molecule made it seem like they would have some sort of closed beta for selected users to test it out in some of their previous blog posts, so we’re having trouble interpreting the dates on this leaked schedule. Maybe it was submitted 28/29 January and they hope to announce it by “END JAN?” … that would be today. What do you guys think those lines mean?

Next we see the Leerdammer update, which we can now tell includes code fixes, specifically networking (TCP/IP) fixes. This should help with those gamers experiencing packet loss and online lag. “Amy” at Media Molecule is working on it and we can expect announcements throughout February.

Now, the most exciting exclusive PlayStation LifeStyle news is that another cheese is in the works! The Stinking Bishop patch! Unannounced as of yet from Media Molecule, all we know is that this patch includes the Arcade Pack. Rarely does a piece of DLC require a new patch, so we’re hoping this will be another game-changing piece of DLC, like the MGS4 pack. I am willing to bet this cheese won’t stink.

By the way, if you want to help Media Molecule get these patches out, they just posted 2 new job openings: Senior QA Technician and Gameplay Programmer. One rule, if you get the job, you must tell them to send PlayStation LifeStyle a copy of their next game!
 
Without further ado, Edam goes live tonight (9pm UK time). This is a little earlier than expected thanks to the Molecules & the testing team who gave it their extra special attention. It contains the following bug fixes:

* Failed to save profile’ message not being displayed when a users profile is full.
* Object Capture Bug: switch connectors being deleted when an object is captured.
* Failed to load profile issue :where the user is thrown out to the XMB due to a texture that is not registered in their profile being present in their pod.
* Text not displaying in the text chat window.
* Slow rewind due to moderation check.
* Save file corruption which caused the game to crash when placing any object in an emitter in any level.

Hurrah!! I will post with a full cheese board update at the end of this week. Until then enjoy a nice bite of Edam on us!!
 
Sackboy is one of the most recognizable video game icons out right now. No wonder that Sony wants to capitalize on the LittleBig-love by releasing new 4" action figures this Spring. In addition to the regular 4" action figures, toy developer and manufacturer, Mezco Toyz, will also release limited-edition Sackboys throughout the year, ranging between 2″ and 18″ large.

The PlayStation.Blog also notes that official Sackboy plushes are also in the works, but more time is needed before they're officially unveiled.

sackboyaksunfigyur580.jpg
 
Where can you get those? I check play-asia.com a while ago but they were all sold out of them. If they want to make money off of them they need to be releasing more LOL
 
Where can you get those? I check play-asia.com a while ago but they were all sold out of them. If they want to make money off of them they need to be releasing more LOL

The very first LittleBigPlanet merchandise makes its ‘littlebig’ debut this week with a brand new action-figure line featuring an assortment of 4″ scale Sackboys in all his textured and stitched glory, displaying various characters, poses, and costumes. Those attending the 2009 International Toy Fair in New York will be among the few who will catch the very first glimpse of the action-figures that will be available at select mass market, specialty and online stores across North America beginning this Spring.

Toy developer and manufacturer, Mezco Toyz, will also release retailer exclusives, variants and limited-edition Sackboys throughout the year, which will range between 2″ and 18″ scale figurines.

If you happen to be attending the 2009 International Toy Fair, feel free to drop by the Mezco Toyz booth at the Jacob Javits Center (#4823) for your sneak peek at the new action-figures. However, if Toy Fair isn’t on the list of your destinations this year, plan on coming by their booth at the 2009 Comic-Con International Show this summer in sunny San Diego.

Stuff’d SackBoys (and SackGirls)
You’ll be glad to know that the highly sought after, officially licensed SackBoy plushies are on their way. Unfortunately, we still need some time to knit, stitch, and stuff a few loose ends before we reveal more…
 
We’ve had a news tip come in from a Canadian reader who says that on February 23rd’s episode of the Canadian show EP Daily on G4 Tech TV (G4TechTv.ca), YouTube video uploading is hinted at coming to LittleBigPlanet.

Media Molecule’s Kareem Ettouney begins talking about how users of LittleBigPlanet want to share their level creating ideas:

A lot of people in the LittleBigPlanet World are really keen on showing off how they made their creations.

It’s an obvious need. You go on YouTube and see all those videos. Let’s give the users a tool that can stream the content and put it on YouTube.

Yes, let’s.

Unfortunately there is no way we can verify this information as we cannot watch the video (without being in Canada), so if anyone wants to YouTube it for us, feel free!
You can watch the video here!

Other games that utilise the PS3’s access to the YouTube API include PixelJunk Eden, PixelJunk Monsters and the recent (and frankly awesome) Noby Noby Boy. YouTube API integration for PlayStation 3 titles was first announced last May. The ability to upload game play videos to YouTube has proved popular with players, allowing them to share techniques in completing the most difficult of levels. It would be a very fitting and welcome addition to LittleBigPlanet.

Thanks to the dubiously titled Mark Mailhot, aka ‘mmm11105’ for sending this in, even if we can’t watch the original video
 
It's that time again! Here are the scheduled release dates of additional LittleBigPlanet content for the rest of this month and the start of May.

Those of you who keep an eye on these updates will notice that the Heavenly Sword mini-pack has moved back by two weeks, however in its place is the extremely cool Rag Doll Kung Fu costume pack which now launches on the same day as the game comes to the PlayStation Network Store.

The big news for April however is that the 1.12 "Cornish Yarg" update is being released which provides some new features along with some fixes to problems reported by the community. Also included in this update is Creator Pack 1 which contains some very cool new devices, gizmos and tools to help you build your levels. Should the date for the release of the Cornish Yarg update change we'll inform you ahead of time, but right now it's looking good to go on April 16th and 23rd respectively!

April 9th : Rag Doll Kung Fu Costumes : $5.99/€5.99

To coincide with the release of Rag Doll Kung Fu on the PlayStation Network Store we've put together some great costumes and themed stickers. Contains :
- Hero costume : Hero hair, jacket, trousers, skin
- Master Hip costume : Master Hip trousers, shirt, hair, skin
- Master Sin costume : Master Sin hat, jacket, nails, trousers
- Master Tang costume : Master Tang hat, moustache, jacket, fish, trousers, skin
- Sung Ling costume : Sung Ling hair, top, trousers, skin
- 36 Rag Doll Kung Fu theme stickers


April 9th : Patapon Costume (Europe) : $1.99/€1.99

Patapon 2 has hit the streets so it's high time that Sackboy took up the challenge with this costume including a selection of weapon options. Contains :
- Patapon costume : Patapon skin and head-dress, Patapon Axe, Patapon Bow, Patapon Sword


April 16th : Monkey King Costume : FREE

The costume competition winning design from Asia - the Monkey King. Contains :
- Monkey King costume : Monkey King Crown, clothes, tail, staff, skin


April 16th (provisional) : 1.12 "Cornish Yarg" update : FREE

This update addresses several outstanding issues with the game :
- There is a new music player which lets players choose their own music from the XMB to play during create mode and in their Pod
- Improved decoration mode makes it easier to customise your Sackboy
- Option to delete all (unhearted) community objects and photos
- Option to select whether to automatically collect community prizes and photos
- A number of improvements have been made to make profiles more robust and to recover from certain errors
- We now support Japanese and Korean IME for text chat.
- Emitter prediction has been improved (this should help fast-moving projectiles e.g. in MGS levels)
- The player proximity switch now has a ‘require all’ option in it
- An option has been added to cycle between various level information when viewing community levels on the earth
- Various LittleBigStore improvements


April 23rd (provisional) : Creator Pack 1 : FREE

A collection of new tools and functions to help aspiring creators:
- Infinite lives checkpoint
- Visibility tweak option on certain joint objects (to hide these in Play mode)
- Global settings object (to trigger lighting changes)
- Tetherless jetpack
- Angle range proximity switch (additional functionality on proximity and magnetic key switches)


April 23rd : Heavenly Sword Mini-Pack : $2.99/€2.99

Contains :
- Nariko costume : Nariko sword, wig, dress
- Kai costume : Kai hat and hair, dress, gloves, boots, skin
- 27 Heavenly Sword theme stickers


April 30th : Egyptian Mythology Mini-Pack : $1.99/€1.99

Inspired by Egyptian mythology this pack has costumes for Anubis and Sekhmet along with 10 theme stickers to help you add some Egyptian flavour to your levels. Contains :
- Anubis costume : Anubis mask, Anubis robes
- Sekhmet costume : Sekhmet mask, Sekhmet robes
- 10 Egyptian theme stickers


May 7th : Norse Mythology Mini-Pack : $1.99/€1.99

Continuing our mythological theme this pack contains Thor and Valkyrie costumes and Norse themed stickers.
- Thor costume : Thor's helmet, beard, belt and wristguards, legs, Thor's Hammer
- Valkyrie costume : Valkyrie helmet and braids, Valkyrie jerkin and cape, Valkyrie boots
- 10 Norse theme stickers
 
So last week, I explained how I made a significant impact on a group of girls, all of which were business professionals between the ages of 27 and 32 and hadn't played a video game in their entire lives. ...you know, the typical women that tend to gravitate towards me, for whatever reason. I described them as women you might find in "Sex in the City," which I learned later is actually "Sex and and the City," which only goes to show how little I know of the show.

But anyway, it seems I'm obligated to provide y'all with a bit of an update. Unfortunately, while I will allow our precious readers (no sarcasm) a glimpse into certain aspects of my personal life to encourage a more community-like atmosphere, I really can't go into details. Let's just say it was a fairly standard date...with one bizarre exception. As some of you who keep up with us on Twitter already know, I've finally started playing LittleBigPlanet. Yes, I'm well aware I'm behind; as Arnold said, "welcome to 2008." It's true, and I do regret not playing it back in November; it really is quite amazing on just about every possible level. I'll leave more impressions for my Week in Review tomorrow night, and for now, I'll just focus on the immense effect it had on Courtney. For the sake of the lady's privacy, that's not her real name but for the record, she said she didn't mind if she was the star of one of my little editorials.

An operations manager with a large insurance firm. May have glimpsed Donkey Kong when she was a little girl. Makes the typical associations and stereotypes when she hears the label, "gamer." Well, the latter clarification came early when I first met her and her friends last week; I simply don't "qualify" as a gamer, so says my 55 and 65lb. weights and luxury-laden M35x. And yet, I promise you all - as if you needed any further evidence based on my Final Fantasy Tactics and RPG loving - I'm one of the biggest geeks on earth. I don't go in for the comic book or Star Trek stuff, but as far as that group was concerned, I should've been a pale, glasses-wearing virgin living in his parents' basement. This idea disappeared in a flash last week and this week, Ms. Courtney learned a bit more about me (and I about her, but that remains confidential). Anyway, as her little discovery had an intriguing impact on her, she wanted to see some of these games...you can imagine how much fun that was.

If you guys ever have the opportunity to show off games like Killzone 2, MGS4, GT5: Prologue, etc. to someone who hasn't seen a video game in several decades, don't miss the chance. Their jaws drop to the floor. It's hilarious. Then we got to LittleBigPlanet and although she had never held a PlayStation controller, she's not a spaz (women tend to have good reflexes and dexterity, anyway) and once she started toying around with SackBoy, I couldn't tear her away. We got together on some co-op fun and she was entranced. Let me try to paint the picture for you: a relatively tall, slender woman with brown, curly hair and a cute yet mature face, dressed in a professional pantsuit designed for a nice night out.......sitting cross-legged on the floor, bending over a PS3 controller held awkwardly in her hands with the finely lacquered nails, gazing intently at a TV screen and giggling like a schoolgirl every few minutes. It's difficult to sufficiently describe my feelings when watching this, but it was worthy of my rapt attention.

Will we see each other again? Yeah. I have a few issues with her but they're relatively minor and as any guy will tell you, "minor issues" aren't enough to override physical hotness. I have morals but they only stretch so far, especially considering the fact that I have no long-term/commitment intentions. But the best part? The next date has to involve LBP in some capacity.

...
......

WTF planet am I on?!?!?!?! ;)

Ben Dutka - PSXextreme
 
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The latest upcoming downloadable content for LittleBigPlanet was revealed this week as Judge Dredd. Now Media Molecule and Sony have revealed the release date and a poster for the game.

The poster (aboce) confirms that the Judge Dredd DLC pack will be releasing on 28th May and will have Judge Dredd costumes and stickers included.
 
The deadline for submitting your application is May 10th at 4:00 (GMT -7)!

Media Molecule is beginning a new beta test for their upcoming Online Create DLC, and they want LBPCentral to pick a few of the participants! Now, there are a very limited number of spaces offered to LBPCentral (the exact number is private), so we are going to accept applications instead of hand-picking. The names must be submitted by tomorrow night, which explains the tight deadline above.


Basic Application Requirements

* You must have an internet connection for your PS3.
* You must include your PSN.
* You must show us that you Create frequently in LittleBigPlanet. From links to levels/objects you've posted in the Showcase to screenshots of the levels/objects you haven't posted yet, we need to see that you are creating constantly. If you make it in, you'll be testing Online Create, so we need to know that you love to Create.
* You must show us that you are willing and able to submit constant feedback. This is a beta test, so Mm needs detailed information on things that blow up or otherwise break when they shouldn't. If you don't think you'd want to be doing so, don't apply.
* You must have a good chunk of free time to Create over the next couple of months. The beta test will begin sometime in May/June, and there will be multiple "rounds" of testing, so you'll need to be able to pop up and help whenever there's an active round of testing going on. You're basically helping Mm improve upcoming DLC, so keep that in mind while applying.


Application Rules

1. Submit your application by posting in this thread.
2. You may only post once. If you want to add more content to your application, edit it and add it in - don't post again.
3. This thread is not for discussion. If you have a question, PM me and ask, but do not ask me anything regarding your application.


Final Notes
If we pick you, we'll contact you, so don't PM us asking whether you made it in or not. Also, we will provide a private forum for discussion for the beta testers along with a list of the testers' PSN names, so you guys will be able to test the content together and discuss bugs/features privately.