Editorial: LittleBigPlanet Was A LittleBig-Flop Because Of Beta

CinemaBlend:

"Editorial: LittleBigPlanet Was A LittleBig-Flop Because Of Beta LittleBigPlanet would probably be considered the biggest, most anticipated game of the year for the PS3. Fans were estatic about the game; gaming blogs and publications were already hailing Sackboy and Sackgirl as the next Mario and Luigi; and Sony seemed to put enough interest into the game to promote it as the next mascot-based title for the PlayStation brand. However, things didn't seem to look quite as grand when the NPD results were released, and LittleBigPlanet looked more like a single-A title rather than a triple-A system seller.

I wonder if Sony is secretly resenting the "stress test" for which the beta was intended? What's funny, though, is that despite the moderate sales of LBP, Sony was apparently pleased with the results, according to VideoGamer.com. Maybe someone should tell the execs at SCE that software sales usually decline on a title as time goes on, they don't increase. Then again, they seem to be aiming the PS3 to exit the world backwards, because these are the same folks who are not planning on cutting the PS3's price during the holidays or soon after the holidays, so says PCMag.com. So I guess Sony is just running their entertainment division butt-backwards from here on out, which is not too surprising given that they thought people would be thrilled to pay $700 for the PS3 back in 2006, when the economy was already showing signs of edging toward disaster."

[EvilCackle]

Civilized discussion of the strengths and faults of the game incoming.

(yes, that was snark)

[sackboy says hi]

Yes i admit..i FLOP in SALES....

I can never be the new mario.......... :'(

[LightningPS3]

"Then again, they seem to be aiming the PS3 to exit the world backwards, because these are the same folks who are not planning on cutting the PS3's price during the holidays or soon after the holidays, so says PCMag.com. So I guess Sony is just running their entertainment division butt-backwards from here on out, which is not too surprising given that they thought people would be thrilled to pay $700 for the PS3 back in 2006"

The PS3 is in a lot of trouble.

[jaysquared]

From the start we all knew(except PS3 fans)LBP was going to be a flop because it was a console for hardcore gamers and on the most expensive console out!! So lets stop beatin a dead horse please... We don't want to make our PS3 fans who makes up 90% of the population on this site cry or do we?

@lightning- I would be very surprise if resistance 2 didn't sell at least a million this month. If it doesn't it really wont spell doom for Sony. I mean hopefully not. M$ needs the competition to keep improving the 360!

[Fallen_Angel]

"We don't want to make our PS3 fans who makes up 90% of the population on this site cry or do we?"

After months of hearing them talk about how great this game was goin to be and how it was going to single handed put the ps3 on top again ........... yeah actually I think we do.

*goes and beats the dead horse some more*

[LightningPS3]

Just wait till you see what Resistance 2 did. I would like to say that the PS3 is on life support. But it might not even be that good.

[ericnellie]

As high as the reviews were and as much hype as the game got, it's sad that it's not selling faster. If you're a Sony fanboy - get off this website and go out and buy the game instead of hitting the disagree button with everyone!!!

[jwatt]

First off I don't think the game floped and 2nd when Sony released the beta the game moved up fast on amazon's top 100. If it wasn't for the beta it would have sold less.

[WANNA GET HIGH]

U dont understand.Why people were saying this game is a flop is because the amount of hyped it got and near perfect reviews people tought it will sell like 1-2million in its first week,but it did not so people are saying it floped.I still think all this flop throw sales is dumb,i have played games that did have a huge first week like gears2,mgs4..e.t.c got and i still enjoyed it.

I did not buy LBP because its not my type of game,i like shoot em up more.U can call me narrow minded or what ever but i dont care, i buy what i have fun with and when i played LBP i did not have fun with it,i dont find creating levels fun and i did not fall for hype and a cute puppet like most people did.That dose not mean LBP is crap, i still think the game is a breth of fresh air in the gaming industry but its just not for me.Not every one like tittles that innovate,look at mirros edge it was backed with innovation and most people tought it would be one of the best FPS games but looked how it turned out.Most gamers like playing what they know they can have fun with and do not have time to adjust to something new.All i need is R2,KZ2,god of war3,halo4,gears3,uncharted2 and mgs5 and i will be a very happy gamer.

[HighDefinition]

Too Human and Haze were 'FLOPS', LittleBigPlanet is a f**kin masterpiece.

As I`ve always said, LBP will have a snowball effect in sales, 3 people I know personally are getting it next week. It`s not some brainless ultra violent shooter that only needs a commercial to sell the game, don`t treat it like one. LBP needs to be witnessed first hand before you get actually understand what kind of game it is.

Sales or NO sales, it`s the best game ever made IMO.

[HighDefinition]

All great games no doubt, but try something w/o a number at the end every once and a while.

[Mr.Mister]

is it a little flop or a big flop!!!!:D

[jaysquared]

Its both! Its LITTLE BIG FLOP!

[BlackCountryBob]

Perhaps LBP will have a long life, the creative side of the game means that the reasons to play it will only become more numerous as time goes on. Games like WiiPlay have long lives so LBP can too so long as Sony are able to use particularly the internet and YouTube to build a community and get the viral marketing going, YouTube made the Daily Show big so it happens.

Either way, why the hell should you me or anyone outside of Sony HQ give a flying **** about sales. If you bought the game and enjoyed it then great, if you didn't then thats fine too but don't think that liking games means you are some kind of demi expert in media sales and marketing.

And if the beta had such an effect on sales, explain why so many other games which received betas have not had this problem. Demos too you would think have the same issue but if I remember correctly game that have a free demo sell much better, why has every game with a demo not also experienced a big hit on sales.

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

Apparently games flop based on sales now.

Do you fanboys ever quit?

Last I checked, games flopped based on score, not sales numbers. So does that mean that every game that didn't sell 1million the first day flopped?

If so, that means that are a lot of games out there that really really suck.

@blackcountrybob

Apparently we should give a crap about sales because all fanboys do, and if a game doesn't sell good, it's an auto flop.

[Edge Maverick]

Stop being a fool. Sony is happy with the numbers, fine, their business. Resistance is a flop? Maybe in a crowded FPS market unoriginality hurt its sales. PS3 on life support. Funny, the 360 had similar....actually less consoles sold by the 2 year mark than the PS3, imagine that? And software isn't selling, is that why it's on life support? COD:WaW sold nearly a million according to VGChartz, compared to the shooter hyper 360 at 1.3 million with at least 6 million more trigger happy console gamers jumped in. Tomb Raider selling better on PS3. That means that PSgamers only watch blu-ray, right?

Idiots, I swear. Change the name to Lightning360 and go troll in the openzone.

[jaysquared]

A game can be flop in both sales or scores. LBP had great reviews but flopped in sales. Too Human got bad reviews but still was able to sell a million plus. Now if you were a developer and a publisher which would you rather have? Which will make you more money? Of course how many units you sell and the more that you sell the more money you can make to develop your next game. You can have a great game but if nobody buys it how are you going to pay your workers and feed your family?

edit- and to all those who say LBP will have a "SNOWBALL EFFCT" you guys were the same people who said LBP will sell 2 million in its first day and take the PS3 over the top! Didn't happen eh?

[solidsnakus]

i think it floped in sales because it just looks too kiddy. most ps3 owners are an older crowd. if you arent into video game websites you dont know its one of the best games ever so you dont really care about it.

[Doppy]

I think something is really fishy about the sells of Little Big Planet. I live in San Francisco, and it's impossible to find a copy of the game on shelves. So I went back home to Missouri over the break, and it's still impossible to find a copy of the game.

[ultimolu]

Wow, you guys haven't really seen flops, have you? This game is FAR from a flop. Love how you people misuse the word. A flop is a terrible game?

Is Little Big Planet a terrible game?

Answer that.

[Killjoy3000]

You know what the funniest part is? It's the highest rated exclusive on any system, and it's now being considered a flop. How in the f*ck is it a flop? Trolls are just mad because it beat Gears 2 to tha title.

[yesah]

played the beta, by no means a flop but i didnt buy it. I dunno it was OK better then other games i bought but i just dont wanna.....pay for it.

[ultimolu]

And once again you slam disagrees and run away like cowards.

Can't even answer the question, right?

[jammy_70]

if this game was a flop, the olny reason is lack of advertising!
sony dont do it enough! there f**king idiots!

[pathetic fanboys]

i'm surprised you're not asking what you normally ask "who said it then? name them"

after months and months of sony fanboy/fangirls hyping this into the stratosphere, it did'nt do a fraction of what it was claimed to do. go back and look at some of your old juuken threads to see who was claiming what.

hitting the disagree and run..lol what every sony lover does on this pathetic web-site. lose a bubble coz you dont deserve them.

lbp did'nt sell millions of units and consoles because it wasn't a game that would appeal to many, and the lack of marketing did'nt help either.

the problem is, many sony fanboys go on about "outselling" "outsold", when it dont happen as they predicted, the stuff comes back and bites them in the ar$e.

me, i dont care either way. i make no money from any games or consoles sold.

[ultimolu]

And yet you're still attacking Sony fans instead of living up to your name.

"lbp did'nt sell millions of units and consoles because it wasn't a game that would appeal to many, and the lack of marketing did'nt help either."

Little Big Planet is back in the top ten on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/be...

Holy crap, did it just move to number five in the space of two hours?! o_o

Proved ya wrong. :)

"the problem is, many sony fanboys go on about "outselling" "outsold", when it dont happen as they predicted, the stuff comes back and bites them in the ar$e."

Look at the above comment. Obviously I mentioned Amazon as a major retailer. LBP fell all the way to around 50-75 now it jumped to the number five spot.

You might want to stop...because you have no evidence of PS3 fans claiming the game was gonna sell copies and consoles (except for Nasim because he was the one who hyped it).

Bubbles are lost because of comments. It depends on what was said and how the person interpreted it.

[SL1M DADDY]

LBP for me is nowhere near a flop. In fact, it is the best game I have played in years. I can't count the number of hours I have spent playing it and there are hours left to play. Sales do not make games and to say a game flopped due to only selling a million world wide is pretty silly.

[chasuk08]

Why dont you just f off. N4g doesnt need idiots like you talking crap.

Just remember that the xbox has been out twice as long as the PS3, therefore should be gaining twice the ground. The fact is its not.

No matter what crap you keep saying the PS3 is holding its ground very well against a console thats twice the price, and when the PS3 is 3 years in and drops in price, you will see whos in trouble then.

[Saint Sony]

The problem is that there's not really that much people who wants to buy PS3 just because there are more cheaper choices with pretty wide game collection and obviously current PS3 owners are not enough to get the sales high or they just want something else than LBP.

[jaysquared]

"Just remember that the xbox has been out twice as long as the PS3, therefore should be gaining twice the ground. The fact is its not. "

And Sony dominated and i mean DOMINATED the last two console wars and shouldn't bet getting OWNED by Nintendo and M$ this bad! LOL... So your logic don't make sense! Dreamcast came out first last gen and look what happened to it. Also please learn math. The 360 has been out for 3 years now whil the PS3 has been out for 2 years now. So the 360 has not be out twice as long.

PS3 fans made no big deal about the 360 being out first because last gen the Dreamcast came out first and look what happened to them. You guys though the 360 will go in the way of the Dreamcast. Before the PS3 launch every PS3 fan was telling the 360 fans to say goodbye to the 360 because it will be the end of M$ in the console industry. But they all forgot what this "$" stands for M$! Sega didn't have the money to compete with the PS2 and thats why the Dreamcast went that way. Now its Sony that doesn't have the $$$ to compete with M$!

"No matter what crap you keep saying the PS3 is holding its ground very well against a console thats twice the price, and when the PS3 is 3 years in and drops in price, you will see whos in trouble then. "

LOL! We've heard this before. Wait till ... then the PS3 will dominate. We've been waiting for 2 years now how long is it going to take? And what makes you think that in 3 years the PS3 will be cheaper than the 360? You dont think M$ won't drop the price of the 360 for the next 3 years?

[NewZealander]

well i thought the game looked OK, but after seeing my friend actually playing it i wasnt impressed.

[GrandTheftZamboni]

Don't worry, someone will create a level with muscular men soon enough...

[NewZealander]

muscular men lol i play heaps of different games, i actually love a good platformer or family game too, thats why i thought LBP looked OK, but i couldnt tell if i really thought it looked good or if i was buying into the hype and thought it looked good because thats what i was expected to think by the fans and media, either way actually spending some time with the game made me realise that its not my thing, but dont worry i didnt like banjo kazooie either!

shame theres not more true platformers this gen.

[WANNA GET HIGH]

I have,in fact i have played LBP and i did not like it....

[WANNA GET HIGH]

U got it spot on. Have a bubble.

[GrandTheftZamboni]

I was judging based on your avatar:) I'm surprised that since you have sense of humour, you didn't like LBP. Fair enough, I guess it's not everyone's cup of tea. There's plenty of other good games...

[Marquis_de_Sade]

NewZealander, I think you meant to say

'LBP looked amazing, but after watching my friend play it, I was blown away by the sheer awesomness of it, GOTY AAA blaa blaa blaa'

However, you didn't, hence the mass of fanboys who disagreed. I own LBP but rarely play it in all honesty(Blame Resistance 2). Don't get me wrong its a solid game, just couldn't get into, I always check each week though to see how the levels are coming along and there are some impressive creations.

[SSCOOLCHEA]

not a success . wow people are fkn retarded

[sackboy says hi]

I suck......

LBP=EPIC FAIL

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA XD

[kwicksandz]

Sales are respectable but no where near the blockbuster it was hyped to be.

[Salta_nelas]

Despite weak sales LBP is the best rated game ths gen, to bad people didnt buy it, this happens quite a lot with PS3 exclusive, dont know why but consumers dont buy many games as they used to last gen.

Sorry for MM that made an amazing game and created an icon imo.

[miniduf1]

Actually LBP is not the highest next gen rated game i have no idea where you get your stats from. At gamerankings.com Super Mario Galaxy, GTA IV, Orange Box and Bioshock are all ranked heigher.

[Blademask]

just fyi.

[Cenobia]

I think he meant exclusive.

Either way, GTA was extremely over hyped, didn't deserve the scores it got and definitley isn't the best game so far this gen.

LBP is a great game, and I think it deserves the 9-10's.

As for the article, I was in the beta and I can't wait to get it. The economy is what is preventing me from doing so. If I could afford any games at the moment, that's the first one I'd get.

Also, I personally don't care about sales. My favorite games (Ico, SotC) weren't exactly blockbusters, but that doesn't make them any less awesome.

[miniduf1]

What does it matter if it is a PS3 exclusive or not, neither myself or the op brought up the issue of consoles. Exclusive or not it is still not the highest rated game of this generation.

[badkolo]

you mnean on the ps3 they dont buy games, the 360 has many many many million sellers and 360 people buygames.

[Raptors]

And this is in no way a mean to disrespect the ps3 as a gaming machine but I think you and a whole lot of other ppl do not realize the amount of people who bought there ps3 just for movie purposes.
I was on a couple of av forums and the most bought and sought after blu ray player was and still is the ps3. The majority of the posters who owned them showed VERY expensive set ups with the ps3 being at the heart of their systems. The problem is most of them commented and stated they never really use it for gaming.
Of course i can't use that reasoning to explain the attach rate, however, it is definitely a viable reason as to why software sales arent as high as the wii's and 360's.

[Surfman]

Flop and LittleBigPlanet are 2 words that doesnt fit in the same sentence.

[wicked]

They do, you just did it...

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

Why no story saying why the xBox 360 is a Flop for???
You know, it's cheaper than the Wii in the U.S.of.A and it still can't beat it??? (3 Months in a row now) + Only sold 20ish Million in 3 years??? WTF!!! THAT'S A FLOP!!! ;-D
(+Yeah i'll say that a Milllion of times on this to!!!) ;)

LBP IS NOT A FLOP!!! To all the haters on this Go F**K Yourselves to!!! Stupid internet people :-/

[dukadork]

we're having a ball playing the best games of this generation while xbollox morons count beans and try to divert the world's attention from their tiny penises

[earwax]

It looks like a Childs game and NOBODY who spends $400 bucks on a system wants "Sackman". The PS3 is in HUGE trouble and if you think it is not you are fooling yourself.

[Bangladesh]

LBP is casual sh*t on a $400-500 console, that's why it flopped. I hope to God, no one feels like a "hardcore" gamer for buying LBP. Actually, that would be f*cking hilarious, so if you did please tell everyone about how hardcore you are while playing LBP. lol

@ duka
lol you are a brainwashed fool.

[littleBIGfail]

lOLzzzz!211one!!!!11

[SONYSLAVE]

.

[razorbladelight]

that would be a Sony Slave

[eliasg]

Sir_Ken_Kutaragi you are the biggest fanboy ever. This is living this is folding...

[Tmac]

Most amazing game this generation, and people still hate on it lol.

[Danja]

anyone hating on he game are ppl who dont own a PS3 so they can play the game..simple as that...

The game is about 1 million sold...or a lil more..dont see how thats a flop...

[Porno Decepticon]

The Best Exclusive out of 3 platforms and like Tmac said, some peeps still hate on it.

[sackboy says hi]

U over HYPED me.... MOuhahahahahah XD

[socomnick]

thats an understatement lol.

[RememberThe357]

Halo 3 anyone?

[wicked]

@7.2 how can you say Halo 3, how many has it sold? and is still selling, No. 2 online game after over a year on the market. I know when my Son has his friends round it's Halo they ask to play. They must have gotten something right.

[comm13]

Yea... they got the name right.

[Porno Decepticon]

Wow so you round up a whole bunch of morons to Buy Halo 3 congrats, I'm sure they got a good golf clap going.

*KIDS wicked... KIDS*.

[Man_of_the_year]

Halo 3 was in no shape or form a Flop 94% on Metacritic and has sold over 8.1 million copies as of January 3rd 2008 - Sony fanboys just like to throw the name around when they are backed into a corner and don't know what to say.

[xg-ei8ht]

Not sure what your sorry for, MM has done well from this.

And the game is doing well. Coming up against bigger well known games.

You have to remember that this game was not advertised as it should have been, a few articles in newspapers isn't the right move.

You have to show this kind of thing in action.

I have the game, and it's excellent. I'm stuck on the bunker level atm. But i'll get off that wheel sometime soon:)

I'm also making a level, and once done should be pretty sweet, the editor is easy/ Nothign like the farcry,quake3 games i made maps 4.

[Counter_ACT]

All these articles and writers please gtfo.