630°

LittleBigPlanet has Failed Its Main Goal

While LittleBigPlanet has been well received critically and has sold respectively, six months after its release as it actually achieved what it set out to? This gameplayer article explores the notion that the utopian online community of avid level designers LittleBigPlanet hoped to harbour does not exist and that ultimately, it has failed to achieve its prime objective.

"Simply put, LittleBigPlanet isn't really the Everlasting Gobstopper we expected it would become, and at this stage it might be impossible to rescue from the precipice. It was Media Molecule's intention to rebrand LittleBigPlanet as platform, as opposed to a videogame, but at this stage it's pretty easy to argue that movement has been a failure."

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gameplayer.com.au
Sucks2BU5481d ago

I know the fanboys will probably leap at the headline without actually reading the article, but I think the guy has a point. He clearly loves the game (there is a link to his 10/10 review), but like him I find myself never having the time to actually go in and make use of the editor and the custom levels.

I remember originally Media Molecule did not even want to put in their own maps - so glad they did, otherwise I never would have played it!

HowarthsNJ5481d ago

about the LBP community. It's going as strong as ever.

Sucks2BU5481d ago

But if you are in that community, then you probably cannot see how it is perceived from outside of it.

Genesis55481d ago

This is a great game for adult gamers to play with children. I still play mine at least once a week with my 8 year old daughter. We just like to go online and check out and play some new created levels.

Trust me this game will be around for along time.

HighDefinition5481d ago

Shows what`s wrong w/ gaming. People are getting away from having fun w/ games, only wanting violence. Don`t get me wrong, I enjoy FRAGGING as much as the next guy but I always go back to games like this, and absolutely love them.

morganfell5481d ago

Actually gameplayer.au has failed it's main goal.

Also gameplayer acts as if they know the goal Sony had in mind. They do not.

TheTwelve5481d ago

Facts prove otherwise:

http://www.vg247.com/2009/0...

Again, I wish there was more news on this site than bullcrap.

12

Baka-akaB5481d ago

What's your point then ? That you dont find the time to go in the editor ? How is that the game's fault .

Not grilling you , i dont have time neither , i bought it , and looking at my list of trophies and how i havent finished the main campaign yet , i know i made a mistake buying it .

But it's my mistake , i didnt think it through a i'm busy with already too many others ps3 games (right now , demon souls , sf4 , killzone 2 , rockband , guitar hero, PES ) and knowing a few other games i expect are coming .

Killjoy30005481d ago (Edited 5481d ago )

Well as far as I'm concerned the game has sold more than 1 million copies, stands at a metacritic score of 95, and has some of the most creative user created content I've ever seen.

I'd say it has met its goal, and then some.

And morganfell is absolutely correct. Since when has Sony come out and explained their goal for LBP?

I think this guy believes that internet hype is just as impactful as a press conference or keynote.

TheExecutive5481d ago

So because this one random journalist lost interest in the game the entire system has failed? Narcissism at its best.

Killjoy30005481d ago

Well said. I find it funny when these "Journalists," take pride in overgenralizing an entire group of people. More than 1 million people at that.

anh_duong5481d ago (Edited 5481d ago )

the title "LBP has failed"

does he know that lbp is still selling 100k copies a month worldwide?? does he know that lbp sales in japan have increased week in week out for the last six weeks in the row?? does he know that the game has sole more than 2.15mio copies thus far - one of the most successful new ip launch this generation?? does he know that there are more than 3/4 million use levels created?? does he know that new dlc to be released will make lbp levels even more creative (and you don't even need to pay to take advantage of this dlc)?

shakes head at how journalist this generation resort to sensationalists headlines to whorehits

and then they complain about fanboys...

it's like george bush blowing the heck out of iraq and then complaining why muslims don't like him..

they just don't get it: antagonistic sensationalist headline =/= does not make good journalism

wonder when the games journalism will extricate itself from the excrement it rubs itself with day in day out.

another case of a million monkeys with a million keyboard. why are there so many monkeys in the video games journalism industry???

anh_duong5481d ago (Edited 5481d ago )

and don't forget that everything media molecule achieved with lbp was done on the back of a studio with only 25 permanant employees!!

http://littlebigplanet.wiki...

25 freaking employees went to create a new ip that sold 2.15 million copies and won more awards then some studios ten time their size have achieved in their whole lifetime.

the return on capital of media molecule on the back of lbp must be absolutely incredible.

yes lbp is a failure /sarcasm

the only thing that is a failure is the author of the gameplayer article

in credit crunch times like these i wonder why people like the author still have a job..

t-dizzle5481d ago

Last time I checked, Super Mario Galaxy and Wii Sports have sold an almost insurmountable amount of games. I think people still like to have fun outside of first person shooters. Just because people did not accept this game, does not mean they are not accepting others. Fun still rules this generation!

robertspangler5481d ago

Failure is relative to the goals. One can aruge one way or the other, but never reach a consensus.

Stubacca5481d ago

I too don't get a lot of time to make levels. Killzone 2 has me playing Warzone till the early hours.

But I went back on it last night and really enjoyed all the new levels that have been made such as Metal Gear Rex vs Ray. And was also delighted to see my Empire Strikes Sack level has well over 1000 plays: http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Little Big Planet is a gem. It succeeded in being an addictive, creative game that will be around for years!

Montrealien5481d ago (Edited 5481d ago )

shame on you gameplayer! 40 people here on N4G dissagree!

I enjoyed the game, I bring in a rental every now and then to check out the new stuff, but nothing more. It is a great game, is that not enough? Who cares if gameplayer thinks it failed, or that only thousands, and not millions play it every week, as long as you enjoy it, that is all that matters.

Look at mega man powered up, to this day there are new lvls being made every week, and I expect little big planet to have a community years from now. However if anyone was expecting this to be a world wide phenom where everyone makes new lvls all the time was wrong. creative games like this are a niche market, always have been, always will be imho.

theKiller5481d ago

LBP sales is at 2,000,000
Levels created and available is at 750,000

every day there is new levels and this guys saying it havent met its goals??? so what?? i wish every game doesnt meet its goal and make something creative and fun as this!!

the game is still evolving and still selling very well, i will buy is when i get the ps3 along with MGS4,uncharted,KZ2,MT:PR!!!

HighDefinition5481d ago (Edited 5481d ago )

Mario has the name, Wii sports is a gimmick, although it is fun for a few Hrs.

Saigon5480d ago

but as an April fools joke...seriously...if you think this game fails because you don't like to create things...whos fault is that...look at the community new designs and levels come out all the time...you can't get enough of this game...

Eddie201015480d ago

There is over 700 thousand user created levels, does Halo 3 have that many. Just because the person that wrote the article does not create levels for the game does not mean that there are not many others who are.

Thats the problem, many people write articles or comments like there the only one who's opinion counts or there the only one who is playing the game or not playing the game, as the case may be.

Freak of Nature5480d ago (Edited 5480d ago )

Speaking of fragging and LBP....Lets see....

I frag to my hearts content in Horde mode of Gears 2 and with killzone....Love them both! But LBP is my favorite,stylish,unique,creati ve,fun.

I want more from Media molecule,more LBP content and a new full blown new IP action/platformer from them.

Hear me MM,get on it....

LBP = Fantastic....

Dark General5480d ago

Isn't the main goal making sure the game is fun to play so that people will come back and play it?

But really i think the game does a great job at doing what it does. Now i don't play LBP daily or bi-weekly but when i do hop on i can easily find a few 4 or 5 star rated levels that's been played by a few thousand people. And those levels usually end up being pretty good. Same way i can go into someones first time level and see what they tried to do and their "angle" of how they wanted their level to flow etc.

Nike5480d ago

http://www.split-screen.com...

"LittleBigPlanet needs to be seen for what it is: A platformer with a phenomenal physics engine and a powerful design tool that emulates anything from Mario to Gradius. The art style is lovable without being too cutesy; levels can be built and shared at the drop of a hat. There’s no denying that most mods have only scratched the surface of what the tools are truly capable of. The most important thing, however, is LBP’s quality. It’s fun, fresh, innovative and at the same time, easy to pick up, accessible to all ages. It must also be seen for what it isn’t: A means for measuring one consoles’ superiority over the other, next to games several genres apart from it.

"Failures in the game industry happen all the time, and happen to the best of titles. However, as long as one can enjoy it without any fan-boy prejudices, as a gamer who’s always looking for an excellent title, one that eats up the time usually spent on schoolwork, family and friends, then no matter what the numbers, Sackboy and the very essence of gaming he stands for, will never die."

Sucks2BU5480d ago

The n4g crowd has completely misinterpreted the article. You guys are damn good at that. Not sure which of the above points is more worthy of chastising (for all the good it will do me).

1.)Waving around sales figues is stupid since the article is not calling its sales a failure
2.) Saying that one journos point of view means nothing, but then waving around your own expereince like it is a counter-point that proves him wrong is just hypocrtical drosh.

And @ morganoff. I think a games site that had amble face-to-face interviews and meetings with Media Molecule would have a pretty decent idea of what their goal was. Not to mention that in every interview I read with them they went to great lengths to point out that they WERE trying to achieve the goal that this article suggests they failed.

Dark General5480d ago

I wasn't trying to discount the writers opinion from the article. I was just saying for ME, my experience is that they meet that goal. Using the game as a platform for both creators and players. Just look at some of the points he makes in the article. Time consumption, level quality and rating system. You can generally tell which levels are great by looking at their star rating and how many people rated it. Not to mention the heart level/author tool. If you like certain levels made by one person why not heart them and play some of their other levels? Or use the "find similar level" button? Not to mention you can take a look at what quality levels people on your friends list hearted that you never played through. That's why i don't think it's hard to find good level quality and why the rating system works in my opinion.

As for Time, that i can agree with. I tried creating a level but i just couldn't sink as much time into it. I invited a few people from my friends list over to play the unfinished version and they liked what they played but the fact was i just couldn't sink 3+ hours a day into creating my level and working at level design flaws. That i can agree with. NOW with that being said is it perfect? No not at all. It can definitely use more touchups to the rating system and maybe have different level tiers of popularity so you can wane out the crowd favorites and search for hidden gems if you want. Also they could give us a few more tools a bit more often such as the paint gun.

Electricear5480d ago

is the ability to check multiple search options for some form of a Boolean search. I want the ability to look for platformers AND also ones rated with the most stars AND also ones with the most hearts. I just don't understand why the search system can't locate just the best of a user specified kind of level.

It would also be nice if they had options to pick a range of star ratings. For example what if some ones level only averaged 3 stars, perhaps that individual may only want to see other 3 star levels for comparison. With between .75 and 1 million user made levels out there, giving people more tools to locate specific kinds of content can only benefit the game.

Nike5480d ago (Edited 5480d ago )

"(b) Saying that one journos point of view means nothing, but then waving around your own expereince like it is a counter-point that proves him wrong is just hypocrtical drosh."

Using points is fun! Let me try it:

1. Never said it's wrong or means nothing.
2. The counter-point i posted is from an article from my colleague's site. Found those particular two paragraphs relevant in describing my stance on the matter.
3. Counter-points have existed in popular media for decades now, be it TV, radio or newspapers. They're not going anywhere and they won't stop appearing on the net.
4. Calling some one a hypocrite if he actually DOES prove another wrong is entirely misleading. It only means that the original person's opinion wasn't that strong to begin with.

The whole thing is very relative in terms of what LBP set out to do. On one hand, there are a large number of community users. On the other, many of them (as evidenced from above statements) just couldn't sink in the time and patience required or demanded from them. If MM were to take a series of surveys of customers across different demographics and post the results, you may get a wider view as to what the game HAS achieved since it's release.

As such, games can be whatever we want them to be. When the debate is going on about how games can be art because they require craft and skill to make, as well because anything could be art, then who's to say they can't fulfill whatever we want them to fulfill? For some, a game like FF7 could be a love story. For others, it could be a solid RPG. For still others, an adventure epic. For another group of others, the best means to rear Chocobos.

Even if MM has stated that the game hasn't achieved what they wanted, well, a writer or painter or film-maker's desire is often irrelevant when they net either financial success or failure. It doesn't matter what they wanted - so long as their paying customers got what they wanted. Have the paying customers got what they wanted out of LBP? Some of them here say, "Yes". :)

+ Show (25) more repliesLast reply 5480d ago
commodore645481d ago

"a mere five months after I fell in love with the game, getting motivated to plough through what may or may not be a plethora of ill-designed and weakly implemented user-created levels hardly gets my heartbeat racing."

That speaks volumes!

earwax5480d ago

And so has KZ2,Uncharted,Lair,HAZE,MGS4 ect.... ect..... and the DEFEATS keep on coming. NONE of these were "system sellers"

commodore645480d ago

Wow look!

I got 14+ disagrees just for quoting the article.
Grow up, Children.
:(

rekonizakilla5480d ago

That's because we're more than capable of reading the article ourselves.

commodore645479d ago

would it be, perhaps, that you didn't like the quote?

Yes, that seems more likely.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5479d ago
moose49875481d ago

It didn't fail in the respect that it is a hugely entertaining game that i can play with my friends, or my little brothers. It may not have sold as many copies as they would have liked, but it's still an extremely fun game. So maybe it failed in sales, but the game itself is a win for sure.

Baka-akaB5481d ago (Edited 5481d ago )

No failure at all rather .

I know it was a much advertised game yet , but let's be honest with ourselves guys .

Platform games dont sells in bigger quantities currently , unless it's from nintendo .

Every genre have or had a period to shine , and right now the time isnt ripe for platform games . Fighting only barely made it back to the top , thanks to SC4 and street fighter's success . Those few last years , outside of 3d fighting sims such as tekken and VF , the fighting games genre was pretty much a niche , and it's games like sc4 and mostly SF4 that made it mainstream again .
And it probably wont last .. blaz blue and kof are as niche as it can be , and tekken 6 is still far away .

So back to the point .
I dont see how is everyone expecting huge sales or any better from non Nintendo platformers in this era . Braid made some breakthrough via online stores , and Ratchet sold pretty well . And so did so far LBP .

I'm baffled everyday to see people act as if a million unit wasnt a lot , especially at today's prices for games .

myothercar5481d ago

The problem with gamers today- they want to play the exact same game/maps/modes 24/7/365. LBP is too fresh and dynamic for the masses (idiots)

Nuclearfish5481d ago

If the game had 'failed', there would only be a few people still playing it, it definately wouldn't have sold over 1 million copies, and all of the levels would be rubbish.

Just because one journalist doesn't have the time to make a good level doesn't mean the game has 'failed'.

Droid Smasha5481d ago

Has it changed it yet? I blinked and might of missed it

GayStation35481d ago

Anything associated with the Turdstation is automatically a failure.

deathray5480d ago

this article is pure flame-bait. fail.

theEnemy5481d ago

LBP's main goal was to entertain, let the gamers be some sort of a developer, let the user-created levels be enjoyed by everyone playing online, and most of all, make these gamers have fun as much as they want.

And LBP has delivered all that.

Show all comments (153)
320°

Most Offensive Video Games That Would Never Cut It Today

Times are changing, and these games would have never been made in today's climate.

Read Full Story >>
wealthofgeeks.com
thorstein28d ago (Edited 28d ago )

Every single time someone uses this phrase whether it's music, movies, books, comics, video games, etc it's always the same claim.

The ubiquitous "they" won't allow it to be made. And every decade these claims are made the claimant completely ignores all the "offensive" material that is published when the claim is made.

In ten years, you can write a new article about how you can't make games like Helldivers 2, Resident Evil VIII, Mortal Kombat I, Dragon's Dogma 2, Alan Wake 2 etc etc etc any more.

MrBaskerville27d ago

Yeah, people wouldn't be constantly outraged if there weren't games that people found enraging. The whole SBI discourse shit wouldn't be a thing if all games were inoffensive. A game like Starfield can make a guy froth at his mouth, so there will always be room for a list like this.

0hMyGandhi27d ago

Normally, I'd be inclined to agree with you, but there are massive caveats.
TV shows like Venture Bros, Ren and Stimpy, and Aqua Team wouldn't/couldn't be made today. Hell, Ren and Stimpy was a *children's* show, same thing with Rocko's Modern Life.

It's not for some arbitrary reason, either. It's branding and IP alignment. Companies are far more risk-averse than they were when I was kid in the 90's. Of course, you have companies coming out of the woodwork to hell spur on similar content, but remember: Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon and some incredibly provocative material.

And for movies? it's pretty obvious. American Pie/Wedding Crashers/Eurotrip among many other "raunch coms" have fallen out of style, and are absolutely outside what the modern day film industry is willing to stand by.
Ace Ventura 1 and 2, Dumb and Dumber, Freddy Got Fingered, Rat Race, Harold and Kumar, and Van Wilder follow suit.

Remember: I am not explicitly talking about films put onto streamers. I am talking wide-releases in actual theaters. Same thing goes for games: Carmageddon, Duke Nukem, Manhunt, Six Days In Fallujah (with their original concept), Hatred, and so on and so forth. Of course, I'd be inclined to mention most tactical shooters like Rainbow Six and Joint Ops as well, due to cultural sensitivity regarding *who* you are shooting and why.

And not all of it is bad (obviously). Tastes change, and perspectives change to fit the demographic.
I should add that I'm a lefty, living in L.A. Working in film.

thorstein27d ago

The Boys, Invincible, Jojo Rabbit, Deadpool, Gen V, Last of Us, Banshee... There are plenty of media being made today that people will claim "can't be made today".

Profchaos27d ago

Yeah but if you consider manhunt which was basically a snuff film could you seriously make that game with high than PS2 era graphics.

thorstein27d ago

The Outlast Trials just came out.

But the storyline of Manhunt was that you were executed. But then lived. And if you didn't do as you were told, you'd die. And the people you killed were not innocents.

It was all filmed by a psychopath.

As we speak GTA VI is being finished up for a release. You get to play a Bonnie and Clyde type of protagonist who run up against the law.

Bodycam looks so real.

People are making those games. Articles like this will always exist no matter how incorrect they are, no matter how many times they blame "them" for whatever it is "they" do to prevent "those" games from being made.

Number1TailzFan27d ago

The UK is the biggest junk country pandering to that nonsense as well, with laws against free speech and expression to match. It got so bad even Rowan Atkinson made a video on free speech about it.

Now the UK raises the age rating on harmless films like Mary Poppins, it's just a load of pansy weak ass nonsense.

MrDead27d ago (Edited 27d ago )

The right wing Tories have been in power in the UK for the 14 years you know the ones that are "anti-woke", blame them for your perceptions.

Killer2020UK27d ago (Edited 27d ago )

Are these snowflakes in the room with us now?

This is more faux outrage designed to get hits. The consequences are unfortunately creating hysteria amongst those willing to buy into it and blame "them" or "the left" or "liberals" meanwhile the left are kicking off about genocide, actual real world abhorrent acts. Nobody is campaigning to censor this shit.

Huey_My_D_Long27d ago

Not too mention the fact that some of these game are controversial for you know, underage porn and encouraging rape.

So either the guy just came in to comment snowflakes without reading anything, or he is calling people snowflakes for having a problem with said titles. Crazy how much brain rot someone can have.

banger8828d ago

Dead Island: "The early PC version of the zombie game swapped the playable character Purna’s Gender Wars skill with a prototype name, which shouldn’t be mentioned directly. The skill name made fun of both Purna as a character and feminists."

"Feminist Whore" lmao

gold_drake28d ago

ill add one more to the list.
drakengard 1.

its ridiculous tho, especially since they'd still be able to find their place in alot of places in the world. except america of course ha. and maybe Australia.

ppl are so sensitive these days. ha. but it is what it is.

Barlos28d ago (Edited 28d ago )

They're not offensive.

And we need another Fat Princess. Fantastic little game!

Some people just have no sense of humour if this sort of thing offends them. They need to lighten up and stop taking themselves so seriously.

Deeeeznuuuts28d ago

Would love a new fat princess game 🤟

CantThinkOfAUsername27d ago

Games literally about sexual assault, mass genocide, bombing civilians, and school shooting. None of which is satirical.

isarai27d ago

Actually it's about fat princesses

Huey_My_D_Long27d ago (Edited 27d ago )

Its crazy that people are fixated on Fat princess when clearly the list is going over controversies, and not all of them are equal. Like way worse examples but pretend the entire list is like that.

Show all comments (37)
120°

Dead Space Isaac Clarke: Every Cameo in Other Games

Isaac Clarke of Dead Space fame has appeared in many games, both as a playable character and an Easter Egg. Have you played them all?

70°

Top 20 Best PlayStation 3 Games (20-11)

Alex DS. from Link Cable Gaming writes: "Is the PlayStation 3 retro? This is a surprisingly hard question to answer as the system definitely has the age to be considered retro, having launched in 2006, over 15 years ago now. But with it being home to so many massive games, many of which still hold up today and in fact were released for the PlayStation 4 when that console was released, make the PS3 a retro console that doesn’t feel retro."

Read Full Story >>
linkcablegaming.com
shinoff2183714d ago

No ps3 is not retro. I dont even consider ps2 era retro. All imo.

shinoff2183714d ago

Typically, the term retro is given to items which are at least 20 years old (but not yet 40 years old).

Quick google search

badz149714d ago

No the PS3 is not yet a retro console. But if you're gonna put 1 game from a series in this list, then LBP2 should be there instead of the original, Motorstorm PR is also an overall better game than the 1st game and to put Tools of Destruction over A Crack in Time is a blasphemy when ACiT is the best game in the series.