440°

Why The 360 Needs LittleBigPlanet

So it was two months ago when Sony acquired Media Molecule, removing almost any hope of seeing LittleBigPlanet 2 on the 360 and immediately prompting us to consider what, potentially, the 360 might have lost. Because suddenly the whole concept of “Play, Create, Share” appealed much more to us.

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nowgamer.com
hay5132d ago (Edited 5132d ago )

The 360 has the answer for LBP.
It's called Kodu, anyone remember how it was hyped when first LBP was around the corner?

Kr1555132d ago

it's not vaporware. its on the market now. under indie games.

Godmars2905132d ago

It says something that the 360 has an answer to LBP and most 360 owners have no idea it exist.

Probably that its missing a central theme to pull it together. Like Sackboy.

darthv725131d ago

If I recall, MM stated they approached MS first but MS turned them down on the whole idea of user created content.

Bad move on MS part became a good move for sony.

dangert125132d ago

360 needs alot more platformers having a 360 i miss the hell out of games like mario jack n dexter rachet n clank etc

Corrwin5132d ago

WTF happened to Kodu? It looked quite cool.

Bibto5132d ago (Edited 5132d ago )

http://fuse.microsoft.com/k...

I like the "programming" aspect of it and it's a fun way to teach programming concepts to kids, but the games creation itself just isn't that great.

PotNoodle5132d ago (Edited 5132d ago )

Kodu has been out on the marketplace for ages.

And Media molecules acquirement wasn't what removed the chances of LBP on the 360, because the franchise has already been bought up by Sony before the announcement of the original game in 2007.

StanLee5132d ago ShowReplies(7)
Morbid Bulldozer5132d ago

Kodu is on the Marketplace, but I think it faced the problem that LBP2 has yet to tackle - creating whole games this way is time consuming and the results are still inferior to available XBLA/PSN games. At some point it's more reasonable to create an indie game via XBLA from scratch than struggle with limitations of so-called "game creator software".

hatchimatchi5132d ago

"At some point it's more reasonable to create an indie game via XBLA from scratch than struggle with limitations of so-called "game creator software"

Comparing little big planet 2 with a marketplace game is pretty silly. Granted LBP2 isn't out yet but media molecule and the LBP community have proved in spades what they are capable of doing, and that was with just a level creator. The community content for LBP2 is going to be absolutely insane.

Incase you didn't know, some people within the LBP online community recreated the entire game of Contra using the level creator. People made Dead Space, Resident Evil, Silent Hill & Mario Bros levels. As amazing as those levels were they don't even compare when it comes to some of the wholly original levels that were created. One guy was so talented that media molecule hired him.

Kleptic5131d ago

LittleBigPlanet 2 seems also to address the only problem I had with the original title, which was sorting through the millions of levels to find the great ones in somewhat awkward fashion...for every awesome level, there was an equally pointless one, and it to this day is nearly impossible to find the great stuff quickly...

I was never much for the creation aspect simply because of the amount of time it took to do it 'right'...i threw together multiple crapper roller coasters and stuff just to mess around, but could never dedicate the time it would take to create something impressive...seems millions of others did the same thing, yet published them to everyone also...so its unavoidable that there is a lot of less than stellar content, which by definition is part of UGC entirely...

I do agree that the 360 could use this stuff...but it doesn't 'need' it...as most core 360 users simply don't care about UGC, as its legion of fans and supporters have never had it, yet still buy almost everything released...if anything it would simply help brand expansion and MS's name in this industry...But going toe to toe with Sony in a competition of 'who is more open' would only embarrass MS...as Sony has gotten it right since the beginning...and the PS3 is the first platform to really illustrate that...by the end of this generation Sony will have a 100% stranglehold on the free and legal UGC side of gaming and its business advantages, save the indie PC scene which gets little overall spotlight...its too late for MS to do anything about that this generation; meaning with the 360 specifically...

Ju5131d ago (Edited 5131d ago )

"create an indie game via XBLA", yeah, because there are soo many community games in XBLA, especially free ones. /s

Morbid Bulldozer5131d ago

@Ju: Is LBP2 going to be free then?

hamburgerhill5131d ago

It's not really an equivalent simply because XNA rewards it's creators with the incentive to make money. LBP2 is Sony's monster that is (your correct) there XNA just being a tad bit more user friendly. XNA has more potential but the design of LBP2 will always keep it ahead in my eye.

Ju5130d ago (Edited 5130d ago )

LBP2 isn't free, nor is XBL.

We'll see what LBP2 can do. But it's an authoring tool for dummies. No (traditional) programming involved. That said, it's not as flexible as say an full blown engine (scripting?), but it is the best environment to create content - with logical and visual tools.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5130d ago
hamoor5132d ago (Edited 5132d ago )

games like lbp is what the 360 needs
and please micro....NO MORE FPS!!!!
one more and this will happen to me
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Def Warrant5132d ago

LOL yeah i remember when the desperate trolls where claiming kodu was a GOTY contender. Let's see what else they have to say about LBP2.

vhero5132d ago

LBP would be impossible on 360 anyway thanks to the restrictions on Live MM said this before they were acquired by Sony. So this is a moot point. This is just some site trying to get hits.

avengers19785131d ago

360 could use any unique game. Sadly you will never see LBP on the 360, but I guess some one can try to do it better than Media Molecule. Since Sony bought them there is no way you see LBP, or LBP 2, or MNR for the 360.

Greywulf5131d ago

They had the little girl making a level."AT LIGHTNING SPEED!"

Kotaku and the rest of the media were so amazed at how epic it was, tried to hype the hell out of it. Yet, absolutely nothing major has shipped on the scale of LBP at retail, or anywhere. It was just another "but yeah so what we have this!" to save face and look as if they are multi faceted, and boom nothing awarded at GDC.

Did everyone forget that the 360 already had its LBP? Banjo Kazooie from RARE? Search on N4G. Banjo was very hyped by the community here, but it sold less than 25k copies come NPD time. The audience for these type of games aren't 360 owners.

CrimsonFox135131d ago

I'm not entirely sure, but I thought Media Molecule went to Sony first. They were part of Lionhead Studios but left to make LBP and went to Sony first and they supported them much more than they expected and the project turned into something massive. Maybe they did go to Microsoft before forming Media Molecule... Or maybe I'm wrong. Oh well.

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 5130d ago
The Wood5132d ago (Edited 5132d ago )

im not sure they'd allow such creativity to bounce around for free. Look what happened to unreal tournament... One of its main features removed because either ms is worried about the content 'some' may put up or because they know they'd have to pay for the upkeep without getting payment from whoever creates/downloads/uploads...pe rsonally i think its a bit of both...why do it for free when they KNOW they can charge xbl users.

Scott6675132d ago

Actually, MS is fairly open with XBL. They offer XNA which allows people to create their own games and sell them over Live (I really wish Sony would implement something similar, creating/sharing indie games over a subsection of the PSN Store would be awesome!). A quite well known example is 'I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1" (Yes, it really does have a name that silly) which made a single person over $100,000!

I don't care about Cross-Game Chat or a Party system, if PSN had a Sony equivilent of XNA the two services would be equal in my eyes. ...wait, has that idea been submitted to PlayStationBlog.Share yet? Hopefully.

Apolloeye5131d ago

Once you have the SDK you need only get the game approved to have it appear on PSN - for example

Everyday Shooter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Or games like Shatter which was made by a group of 4 friends
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Kleptic5131d ago

well LBP2 seems to be the business equivelent to XNA for the PSN...but in the end consumers benefit more than they do with XNA, but the creators are not in a position to earn money...

if LBP2 does what its supposed to...people buy the game and than create 'games' through it...and other people buy the game to play games others created...and the only money exchanged is for purchasing the game in the first place...

i'll take that any day over buying all the indie games pushed through on XNA...as almost everything is relatively weak compared to any 'real' arcade title created for xbl...if they were better with previews and demos for said indie games; allowing users to try more of a indie title before buying...it would go a very long way...

and thats what I love about LBPs approach...you can try anything for free...share anything for free...and create anything for free...albeit once you have the game...if something sucks, so what?...try something else or create something better...

overall though Sony still needs to market LBP and especially LBP2 better...they did a great job with it, but there are still multiple PS3 owners I know that are just now hearing about the first LBP...and what its capable of...not sure how they can get the word out more, but so many people just think its a platformer with good graphics and simple gameplay...and its so much more...

PiTCHBLaCK5131d ago

I Totally agree, I'd wrather us buy LBP 2 and play everything that users create for free, then to have some that are free and some that you need to pay for(I Hate this Concept), so when I Buy LBP 2 I Know that every game/movie/music video that is made with it is completely free.

Godmars2905131d ago (Edited 5131d ago )

The funny thing is you have to pay for full access to XBL. Don't why they'd turn around looking for more money for a LBP-like title that then "freely" shared user made content.

Think HDD space was/is more of an issue.

The Wood5131d ago

im sure MS get a cut out of the games and thats my point. What about unreal tournament? Whats the reason they cut ugc

5132d ago Replies(2)
anonymous5132d ago

Its that simple. Does that mean the 360 sucks? No. I own one and its nice to have for exclusive games. Sonys platform along w/ a massive 1st party team that communicates and shares tech it a godsend of a combo to have for creating amazing experiences, like LBP/LBP2. It your a fan of gaming, you have to own a ps3 at this point especially w/ it being priced at 299.

HighDefinition5132d ago

Its that simple. Does that mean the 360 sucks? No. I own one and its nice to have for exclusive games. Sonys platform along w/ a massive 1st party team that communicates and shares tech it a godsend of a combo to have for creating amazing experiences, like LBP/LBP2. It your a fan of gaming, you have to own a ps3 at this point especially w/ it being priced at 299.

Edit: Why did my comment come up as Guest?

MrMiyagi5132d ago (Edited 5132d ago )

whatever happened to that game MS ripped LBP look from? was it supposed to be the xbox LBP? i cant quite remember what it was...

palaeomerus5131d ago

Are you talking about "9" a CGI movie by Shane Acker released in 2005 that is that ALSO has a little guy made of burlap with a zipper running around huge everyday objects?

It had a full length feature film version made that released in 2009 under the Universal Pictures label.

Show all comments (112)
150°

Sony CEO says although AI "has been used for creation," it's "not a substitute for human creativity"

"AI is not a substitute for human creativity. We position it as a technology that supports creativity. Creativity resides in people. We will continue to contribute to people's creativity through technology," the CEO said.

Read Full Story >>
gamesradar.com
1nsomniac5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

...not yet but 100% within the next 10 years!

..Then Sony will use it like the drop of a hat. They're no different to the others.

isarai5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

They used to be 😞 sure it was always a business, and money's always the priority, but they used to have a very strong stance on supporting artists and creativity. "Dont f#@k with the artist" was a phrase they touted a few times back in the ps1-ps3 era, a philosophy carried over from their music branch PlayStation was created from. It's not COMPLETELY gone, but it's barely there compared to what it was back then, i just want them to return to that.

Eonjay4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

I am highly encouraged by their statement about human creativity. "Dont f#@k with the artist" is exactly what they are saying. But at the same time, I don't think people understand that Sony is a corporation. If they don't realize growth, they don't get to exist. When you say 'Sony', you are talking about a bunch of investors. To speak about them any other way is a illogical and incorrect. They haven't changed. They have been a group of investors since they became a public business.

isarai5d ago

Ugh, i really wish people would stop gambling people's livelihoods by turning a project/game into their political soapbox. Im all for statements and having your own opinion, but there's more people working on this than just druckman, ham fisting your political beliefs onto just seems inconsiderate for everyone elses job security when it can result in a failure due to people avoiding it for that reason.

I play games for escape, im so tired of nearly every AAA game blatantly dragging real world issues to shove in my face when I'm trying to take a break from it all. They don't even bother to be subtle about it, quite the opposite, it's blasted and force fed to you and it's just getting exhausting

Einhander19724d ago

People are taking a whole interview and cutting it down to clips that make him look bad and take what he actually was saying out of context. For example he also said things like this AI has "ethical issues we need to address"

-Foxtrot4d ago

@Einhander

Why defend him at this point?

It’s not taking things out of context, he said what he said.

Old ND would never talk about soulless AI taking over so many creative things they are well known for. The whole “ethical issues” is just a good PR spin people who push this crap fall back on to make their statements not seem as bad. So many AI lovers do this.

AI has no place is so many creative based things.

Einhander19724d ago

Well yeah, because everyone else is using it so they need to stay competitive. It's the same as paid online, they didn't want to go that route but their competition was making so much money they needed to add paid online just to keep up.

RaiderNation4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

AI will never replace humans in game development in terms of conceptualizing new games. Humans still need to come up with the ideas and what they want to implement. However much of the day to day menial coding could be AI driven to reduce production time and team size. I could also see AI being used for bug testing/optimization that could lead to better quality games at launch. I'm actually very optimistic about how AI can positively impact game development.

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XiNatsuDragnel5d ago

Good statement but hopefully this holds up

NotoriousWhiz4d ago

People that aren't software developers just don't understand the benefits of AI. People who's only exposure to A.I is the Terminator movie and other related sci fi films won't understand the benefits it provides.

It's not about replacing human labor. It's about making human labor easier.

Many years ago, I had laser eye surgery done. It was performed by a robot. The doctor took my measurements and calibrated the machine to make sure it would do what needed be done. And then the robot corrected my vision in 10 seconds.

15 years later and I still have 20/20 vision.

Eonjay4d ago

AI in and of itself is not a 'bad'. Money is bad. Money is evil, and corporations will do whatever they can to get more of it. They will find ways to implement AI to replace as may jobs as possible. This isn't even up for debate. It is the charge of the corporation to maximize returns for the investors. They have no choice. I'm a developer and I know that my job will absolutely be replaced. Therefore, I have decided to become an AI dev. AI has a lot of potential to help us solve problem on a scale most can't even imagine. The issue, as ever is that our monetary system only ever allows us to focus on greed and fiscal growth.

But I am a pragmatist. Perhaps an AI model can be built to help protect us from our most dangerous instincts and habits. And perhaps Congress can pass laws to protect us from people who would use AI to manipulate and control us (spoiler: they wont).

RaiderNation4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Progress is inevitable. Nobody driving cars today is complaining that the horse and buggy is no longer around. Yes, some jobs will be lost but guess what? With innovation comes new job opportunities. It's how the cycle of the job market works.

210°

Microsoft once tried to nab LittleBigPlanet from Sony after a few drinks

It turns out that many moons ago, Microsoft once had its eye on the Sony published LittleBigPlanet series.

Read Full Story >>
eurogamer.net
XiNatsuDragnel19d ago

Microsoft had a good idea but fumbled it again.

Cacabunga18d ago (Edited 18d ago )

Project Spark idea was decent but they quickly gave up ..
LBP was wonderful

ApocalypseShadow19d ago

Microsoft in a nutshell. Always tried to poach Sony employees, games, 3rd party games and devices like the depth camera that was turned into Kinect but was running on PS2 before Xbox 360. Wouldn't be surprised they wanted LBP. Just like they worked behind the scenes pushing the MLB to bring Sony's baseball game to Xbox instead of making their own.
https://www.playstationlife...

They didn't spend years trying to develop their own baseball game. They wanted Sony's game.

They're scum.

Zachmo18218d ago

Microsoft didn't force MLB on Xbox. MLB gave Sony 2 options either go multiplat or risk losing the license.

Rynxie18d ago

And why do you think MLB said that? I believe Ms approached MLB.

ApocalypseShadow18d ago (Edited 18d ago )

Totally ridiculous comment.

The only exclusivity Sony had was to their own creation of The Show. Microsoft could have paid the MLB for the license just like Sony did and made their own baseball game.

Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox. They're worth 3 TRILLION dollars. You think that's not enough money to make their own baseball game? Don't be delusional.

Microsoft spun it like they always do and told the media that they had to trust Sony with their hardware. After they put Sony in that position of not having a choice. Either go multiplatform or stop making one of their successful games. That's a no win scenario.

And what did Microsoft do? They didn't try to sell the game to the Xbox community. They put it on game pass to hurt Sony. Pushing the idea of why buy games that are $70 when you can play them in their cheap service for $10. It was a dirty tactic.

You fell for the Kool aid drink Microsoft served you instead of spitting it out. Hope it tasted good because you were fooled by Phil and the gang.

17d ago
Hereandthere17d ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Bond revealed that MLB The Show “always came up” in conversations between Microsoft and the Major League Baseball organization. “We always said, ‘We love this game. It would be a huge opportunity to bring it to Xbox.'” she recalled. However, when Microsoft’s efforts materialized, it put the company in an awkward situation where it had to send in pre-release consoles to a rival company.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 17d ago
Notellin17d ago

"Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox."

Take a nap, conspiracies are rotting your brain.

17d ago
Hereandthere17d ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

ApocalypseShadow17d ago

Lying to yourself is unbecoming.

Article link tells you all you need to know in Sarah Bond's own words.

Hereandthere17d ago

They were too cheap/inept/lazy to develop their own mlb game, so they port begged for years and bribed the mlb to make the show multiplatform. Like i said many times, xbox brought nothing to the table their 24 years, ZERO.

ApocalypseShadow17d ago

At least you and others get it. Note drank the Kool aid and asked for seconds thinking it was refreshing.

Most don't even know how it all played out but it's there in black and white for all to see. Microsoft brought it up for years until the MLB forced Sony's hand. It was a win win for Microsoft. Kill one reason to buy a PlayStation or kill the game by dropping it in a cheap service to kill Sony's sales numbers on PlayStation.

OtterX18d ago

"However, Healey said Media Molecule wouldn't have felt right doing that, adding it would have been "morally corrupt"."

Major kudos to Media Molecule for being an upright studio with principles.

Cockney16d ago

They chose well, Sony gave them the backing to pursue their dreams with no restrictions even tho their games especially dreams have very niche appeal. Media molecule and Sony deserve respect for this in an age of risk averse publishing.

RNTody18d ago (Edited 18d ago )

Great, more stories like this please. Show the last of the zombies holding the line what we've been saying for years: Microsoft is anti competition, anti industry and has no interest in making games at all.

But hey, at least there's an Xbox Games Showcase to look forward to, right?

Inverno18d ago

Well considering SONY just killed the series, LBP would've been dead by now either way. Though MM probably wouldn't exist by now either, so I'm glad they stayed with SONY, hopefully they don't get shut down any time soon or ever honestly.

Inverno18d ago

They shut down the servers, that's millions of user created levels gone. That and dead are pretty much the same, it's also been years since 3 and they cancelled HUB soooo.

17d ago
fsfsxii17d ago

They shutdown the servers because no one was playing, no one in the community cared about the user created levels so why keep them up? Wtf you guys would never succeed in running a business.

Inverno17d ago

Yea dood no one was playing so they shut off the servers. Cause people with enough common sense can't just Google why they were actually shut of, right?

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100°

Media Molecule’s Next Game is Going to be a New IP

A job listing published by the UK studio reveals that its next project will be another entirely new IP.

Read Full Story >>
gamingbolt.com
Inverno32d ago

The only PlayStation dev I care about tbh.

Inverno31d ago

Dayum did I hit a nerve. Sorry for not liking most of this gens games coming from PS, not really doe.

Cacabunga32d ago

Hopefully doesn’t take them a complete gen to release it

TheColbertinator32d ago

Good. Something not boring, not one of those "make your own game" crap and also on Steam would be nice.

Stopac32d ago

I too like to look for things in the wrong places.