Sony's innovative LittleBigPlanet has received widespread acclaim. Critics seemingly fell in love with Sackboy at first sight, leading to an impressive 95 Metacritic score and a 9-out-of-10 review from GameDaily. So why isn't the game leaping off store shelves? In the U.S. LittleBigPlanet placed eighth in October with 215K copies sold. In the U.K. it debuted in fourth place but one week later slipped all the way down to 19th.
Sony Computer Entertainment U.K. believes it would be dominating at another time of the year when the market isn't flooded with a host of good or great games for the holiday season. "We are pleased with its commercial performance. In other times of the year it would be a clear number one - so you have to put the chart in context. This is an incredibly volatile time of year and the chart reflects that - November 7 saw 47 titles released on that one day alone including many big hitters with Christmas number one aspirations. Look at the chart this week - the top four are all brand new entries," explained SCE U.K. spokesperson David Wilson to GI.biz.
"LittleBigPlanet has also sold well given that this is a brand new IP," he added. "Our industry is littered with examples of brand new innovative titles that have been lauded by the critics but have sold dismally. But Sony is delighted and honoured to be working with hugely talented developers who can create brilliantly creative original games. LittleBigPlanet has broken this stereotype by not only being brilliant and original but also by selling really well on a global basis. LittleBigPlanet is breaking many preconceptions. There are some games that are hardcore experiences that the kudos lies in getting it first."
Similar to some Wii titles that don't make a big splash at launch but gradually accumulate good sales, Wilson anticipates that LittleBigPlanet will benefit from a long tail. Positive word of mouth should also aid awareness and boost sales.
"It is also a game that will benefit enormously from word of mouth and from people trying it out with friends or in store - it drips fun and charm in equal measure. Also the bulk of our marketing including our six figure TV advertising campaign doesn't roll out until December, so we genuinely believe that Sackboy hasn't even hit his stride yet," he said.
Spore Screenshots
Spore, the highly anticipated game from the creators of The Sims, gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs. Players can then seamlessly share their creations with the world or explore infinite new galaxies created by other gamers. (Screenshot 1 of 112)
Spore, the highly anticipated game from the creators of The Sims, gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs. Players can then seamlessly share their creations with the world or explore infinite new galaxies created by other gamers. (Screenshot 2 of 112)
Spore, the highly anticipated game from the creators of The Sims, gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs. Players can then seamlessly share their creations with the world or explore infinite new galaxies created by other gamers. (Screenshot 3 of 112)
Spore, the highly anticipated game from the creators of The Sims, gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs. Players can then seamlessly share their creations with the world or explore infinite new galaxies created by other gamers. (Screenshot 4 of 112)
Spore, the highly anticipated game from the creators of The Sims, gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs. Players can then seamlessly share their creations with the world or explore infinite new galaxies created by other gamers. (Screenshot 5 of 112)
Spore, the highly anticipated game from the creators of The Sims, gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs. Players can then seamlessly share their creations with the world or explore infinite new galaxies created by other gamers. (Screenshot 6 of 112)
Spore, the highly anticipated game from the creators of The Sims, gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs. Players can then seamlessly share their creations with the world or explore infinite new galaxies created by other gamers. (Screenshot 7 of 112)
Spore, the highly anticipated game from the creators of The Sims, gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs. Players can then seamlessly share their creations with the world or explore infinite new galaxies created by other gamers. (Screenshot 8 of 112)
Spore, the highly anticipated game from the creators of The Sims, gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs. Players can then seamlessly share their creations with the world or explore infinite new galaxies created by other gamers. (Screenshot 9 of 112)
Spore, the highly anticipated game from the creators of The Sims, gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs. Players can then seamlessly share their creations with the world or explore infinite new galaxies created by other gamers. (Screenshot 10 of 112)
Reader Comments (1)
Hahaha, this is hilarious. Waiting to release a game to maximize sales, when in fact it causes sales to be down is called karma. Just like when you wait to put a movie out, and then it gets killed by another one. There are so many great established franchises out there releasing games for the holiday season, and a new game is trying to compete. The game is great, just should have released sooner.