One thing that is genuinely missed, though, is the good old gaming mascot. Sega had one in Sonic the Hedgehog, Nintendo still has one in Mario, and even Microsoft could claim Master Chief to be its leading man. But Sony? That’s a tougher one to call.
There are contenders, of course. Lara Croft would once have been a consideration, though she’s never been platform specific, and in actual fact debuted on the Sega Saturn. WipEout is iconic but lacks a leading figure. Crash Bandicoot was once the bearer of the PlayStation flag, but now happily sells his wares to any and every platform under the sun. It’s time someone stepped up to the plate and championed the PlayStation brand in the way it deserves. Step forward, Sackboy, the lead character in Media Molecule’s unbelievably anticipated LittleBigPlanet.
“LittleBigPlanet is a game like no other you have ever played,” SCEE product manager Claire Backhouse tells MCV. “Think of it as a mix of social networking, gaming and LEGO. There are over 50 levels that come on the disc, so you could just play those, either alone or with up to four friends. But the game becomes even better when you start to make your own levels.
"You can create anything your imagination comes up with. For example, I could take a photo of my mum and make ‘The Mum Level’, or dedicate a level to my favourite band or TV show. Then I can share my levels by uploading them to the PSN so other LittleBigPlanet-ers can rate my level and play it.”
On first appearance LittleBigPlanet could be mistaken for just another 2D platformer, albeit a visually gorgeous one. However, the groundbreaking editing software included is the real star here. Never has a title allowed gamers to let their imagination run wild to quite the same extent – certainly not on console, at least. So buying the disc is just the start of it.
The game has undoubtedly caught the imagination of gamers, taking pride of place at the top of nearly all PS3 owner’s wish lists for well over a year. The frenzy to grab the recently released online beta access keys was enough to bring many leading consumer websites offline. Hype scares some publishers – but then not all publishers are as confident in their games as Sony.
“The hype is a really good thing for us, and I think when players actually get the chance to get to grips with LittleBigPlanet and experience how innovative it is, they’ll hopefully feel that the hype was justified,” Backhouse adds.
“Combine the scope and creativity of the game with the loveable Sackboy and you have a winning combination. It is also a game with a huge appeal; old and young alike – there is something for everyone in this game. I think this is the title the PlayStation 3 has been waiting for to take it out to a wider audience.
“LittleBigPlanet is definitely a groundbreaking game – the scope for what you can create is so vast. It really is all about creativity. There is no other game that really compares to being able to create your own levels, share them and, in essence, becomes a social network in itself.”
But more importantly for Sony, far from being just a groundbreaking piece of software, LittleBigPlanet is potentially a huge catalyst to strong hardware sales this Christmas.
“It’s definitely a system seller and it also is our biggest sell-in on the PS3 to date,” Backhouse concludes.
“This really shows the support of retail for the title. Feedback we are receiving from trade and consumers alike seems to be earmarking LittleBigPlanet as the must-have title for Christmas this year.”
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