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[SickBoy]

I bought my PS3 for LittleBigPlanet and I've been a little surprised by the (lowish) sales, but I bought into the hype big time. (For the record, I'm also a little ashamed of how little I've played it after being so excited and dropping such a chunk of change).

I don't think it's a bomb by any stretch, but taking a post-release view, I do wonder if it will ever be the sensation a lot of people, including myself, expected -- what does it have, for the average person, that gives it a huge leg up on, say, Mario Galaxy? I think the level creation stuff is great, but it's niche -- at least in terms of making the game something that people will feel they absolutely need to have.

The question of mass market (as posed in the OP) is simpler, I think. I think the mass market has overlooked LBP because they're playing Wii (and to a lesser extent 360). PS3 needs a price drop to cast a wider net... The Bluray advantage isn't what it once was, with players from reputable brands selling in the $250 range.

I could see LBP nearing a million worldwide by now, maybe, but I expect it'll be flat or down in the next NPDs... 500K total in the U.S. maybe?

That said, 500,000 copies is hardly shameful... and the game will have legs.

 

[commariodore64]

Called what?

"Overhyped Non-system seller of the year" or somesuch tomfoolery

 

[Psychotext]

I'm bored, and it seems a lot of you are posting without the slightest clue how this game is doing over the world... so here, a bunch of chart positions for LBP since launch.

		wk45	wk46	wk47	| October
USA		N/A	N/A	N/A	| 8th

Denmark		04th	11th	17th	| N/A
Finland		9th (45 & 46)		| N/A
France		7th	?	?	| N/A 
Germany		1st	5th	?	| N/A
Netherlands	4th	?	DNC	| N/A		(Top 10 only)
Norway		?	?	3rd	| N/A
Ireland		9th	14th	19th	| N/A
Italy		?	10th	?	| N/A		
Spain		?	DNC	?	| N/A		(Top 10 only)
Sweden		2nd	8th	?	| N/A
UK		2nd	12th	19th	| N/A

Australia	8th	DNC	?	| N/A		(Top 10 only)
New Zealand	?	?	?	| N/A

Japan		03rd	10th	22nd	| N/A

Europe / Oz / NZ data from the PAL charts... feel free to let me know if any of it is wrong or you have some of the missing data.

(Also, apparently I should add this: "charts from norway, finland, ireland and denmark aren't individual format charts but aggregated platform sales")

 

[Count Dookkake]

That works both ways though.

I'm not ignoring those claims. Some people were overly optimistic on it. Some people weren't, and some people were pessimistic.

I gotcha. I know that there is never a true GAF consensus.

However, with LBP, there seems to be a correlation between time before launch and greatness of expectations.

This also seems to a be a recurring theme on the PS3.

As for Untold Dreams wondering why I am here...

Perhaps, if people would be satisfied with reality (ie this game looks like fun for me) and not make such outrageous claims (ie this game will be the greatest ever and sell to soccer moms) then they could be happy with the game's performance in the marketplace, thus making threads such as these pointless.

Then again, this is sales-age, so who knows?

 

[commariodore64]

I bought my PS3 for LittleBigPlanet and I've been a little surprised by the (lowish) sales, but I bought into the hype big time. (For the record, I'm also a little ashamed of how little I've played it after being so excited and dropping such a chunk of change).

I don't think it's a bomb by any stretch, but taking a post-release view, I do wonder if it will ever be the sensation a lot of people, including myself, expected -- what does it have, for the average person, that gives it a huge leg up on, say, Mario Galaxy? I think the level creation stuff is great, but it's niche -- at least in terms of making the game something that people will feel they absolutely need to have.

The question of mass market (as posed in the OP) is simpler, I think. I think the mass market has overlooked LBP because they're playing Wii (and to a lesser extent 360). PS3 needs a price drop to cast a wider net... The Bluray advantage isn't what it once was, with players from reputable brands selling in the $250 range.

I could see LBP nearing a million worldwide by now, maybe, but I expect it'll be flat or down in the next NPDs... 500K total in the U.S. maybe?

That said, 500,000 copies is hardly shameful... and the game will have legs.

That sums up the problem - this game takes an investment to get the most out of it.
And I'm not talking level-creation. Trudging through the poor-to-mediocre user created levels just to find something playable is WORK. And the payoff is a side scrolling 2D game... it was never meant to be....

That said - I think it's a great game - I play it with my wife & kids... but when it's time for daddy to play, this aint it...

 

[Bluemercury]

Nintendo should have bought the project, but as usual NOA uselessness stayed strong. This game would have sold millions on the wii.....

 

[GenericPseudonym]

5 million? :lol

Yes, for LBP, game made by 25 people team, to be sucessful, it needs to outsell MGS4 :lol

As to the charts, in Europe it launched together with Gears and it even beat it in some major countries like Germany and France, and probably Spain and Italy (I dont think we got numbers from last 2 yet)... which together is some 35% bigger market than UK, where LBP launched 2nd place after Gears 2.

Such a failure, I know... :lol

This is supposedly the biggest Sony game in the so-called "Year of the PS3" surely LBP could do as well as Gears of War did back in 2006. Of course I am referring to lifetime sells not the next two months (even though that encompasses like 90% of lifetime sales).

 

[doicare]

Without a reliable source, you shouldn't make claims of sales numbers.

Have those shipped to retail numbers eh. AKA PR incoming. Insiders knowledge? How in the world would you have sale through numbers? Then again, you're the guy saying the PS3 has been outselling the 360 WW for awhile now. That is pretty tough sale in the last few months for certain.

Edit: Beaten on sourcing.

Link? For the record I can tell all you peeps that Little Big Planet has already sold 7 billion worldwide. See, without a link to back up what I say your post and my post have the exact same creditability.

I have sales contacts who i can ask for numbers if i want them, believe me or not i couldn't give a flying **** to be honest. I'm sure at some point sales figures will come out from an official source and then i can say i told you so but by then nobody will care.

 

[commariodore64]

Nintendo should have bought the project, but as usual NOA uselessness stayed strong. This game would have sold millions on the wii.....

only if it included the Super Smash Bro's cast of characters... seriously, most people with a penchant for 2D platforming are Nintendo mistresses.... look at the majority of initial user created levels - Casltvania, Mario, Metroid, etc clones...

 

[UntoldDreams]

No. You read it like that and inferred something that wasn't there.

If you search, you will find dozens of threads about LBP. In them you will find a great number of people who, at one time, thought it would perform miraculously. Now, this number may have gone down as the release of LBP got closer (more time for reality to sink in), but to look at the more modest claims being made now and ignore the past is selective memory at its finest.



Find me in a LBP hype thread or official thread or enthusiast thread.

Good luck!

If I were to copy your example then I could go into any non wii music hype/enthusiast thread and wreak total havoc.

I don't particularly like that direction myself but maybe others do.

Oh well... Didn't mean to single you out. If it makes you feel better and you aren't getting banned then I guess its just an inconvenient ugly truth.

 

[test_account]

No. You read it like that and inferred something that wasn't there.

If you search, you will find dozens of threads about LBP. In them you will find a great number of people who, at one time, thought it would perform miraculously. Now, this number may have gone down as the release of LBP got closer (more time for reality to sink in), but to look at the more modest claims being made now and ignore the past is selective memory at its finest.

Ah ok, then i understand what you mean, sorry for the missunderstanding.

In my opinion, Little Big Planet was (and partily still is) a pretty big wild card. It could (and maybe still can) end up selling alots of copies, since personally i think the game has the potential to do that. Personally i think LBP will atleast sell 2 million copies worldwide when it is all said and done (it could take many years from now on). The reason why i think this is because Sackboy is suppose to be PS3's mascot. Personally i dont think Sony will abandon LBP because of the potential ower expected sales in the begining.

I also think there also might be a chance that Sony might bundle LBP as a free (or for a cheaper price than what the game cost seperately atleast) game in a PS3 bundle if LBP is selling much less than what Sony expected it to sell. If this happends, then LBP might reach more than 2 million copies sold. But then of course people can say "it sold much because of the bundle!", which might be one the reasons, but then atleast millions of copies of LBP have found their way to people's home

 

[FrankT]

I have sales contacts who i can ask for numbers if i want them, believe me or not i couldn't give a flying **** to be honest. I'm sure at some point sales figures will come out from an official source and then i can say i told you so but by then nobody will care.

I don't really care either, but dropping the insider knowledge without a source is ban territory fyi. So I guess what you are saying is that you have inside sales data from US sources and Europe. Not only would you need one source it would take multiple valid sources outside of Sony shipment figures.

 

[Loudninja]

"Overhyped Non-system seller of the year" or somesuch tomfoolery

So basically you called nothing?

 

[Oblivion]

LBP had some pretty high expectations, and aside from GAF, you need to look no further than Edge's 'Most important PS3 title' label for the game in one of their issues a few months ago.

 

[CloudNL]

I havent seen a single commercial on Dutch TV. (but enough commercials from other games)

EPIC SONY FAIL

 

[gofreak]

I gotcha. I know that there is never a true GAF consensus.

However, with LBP, there seems to be a correlation between time before launch and greatness of expectations.

This also seems to a be a recurring theme on the PS3.

It's a natural fact in any realm of speculation, over anything, that speculation is refined as you get closer to a speculated event. People had a much better idea of the environment LBP was launching into in September than they did in March 07.

Perhaps, if people would be satisfied with reality (ie this game looks like fun for me) and not make such outrageous claims (ie this game will be the greatest ever and sell to soccer moms) then they could be happy with the game's performance in the marketplace, thus making threads such as these pointless.

That the game would be one of the greatest ever isn't such an exaggeration I think hype re. the game's quality was fully justified.

What I wonder, though, is why people even care what strangers on the internet think about how a game will sell. The game will sell what it'll sell regardless. Sales speculation is pointless, but also harmless.

LBP had some pretty high expectations, and aside from GAF, you need to look no further than Edge's 'Most important PS3 title' label for the game in one of their issues a few months ago.

I think I've discussed this with you before, but I don't know if that means the same thing to you as it means to Edge, or me, or other people, perhaps. IMO it is one of PS3's most important titles, and that's nothing to do with sales. If you were to ask Edge - or perhaps most people, even - to compile a list of 'most important games', I doubt it would be a list ranked by sales.

 

[commariodore64]

So basically you called nothing?

I'm sorry, did you say 'Year of the PS3' again?

 

[Count Dookkake]

If I were to copy your example then I could go into any non wii music hype/enthusiast thread and wreak total havoc.

I don't particularly like that direction myself but maybe others do.

Oh well... Didn't mean to single you out. If it makes you feel better and you aren't getting banned then I guess its just an inconvenient ugly truth.

No seriously, find me "wreaking total havoc" in an LBP thread (about the game not its performance) and I will give you a major award.

Conversely, I can find many posts "wreaking havoc" in Wii Music threads.

Besides, if to you my "behavior" in this thread equates to "wreaking total havoc" I advise getting a new dictionary.

Ah ok, then i understand what you mean, sorry for the missunderstanding.

No worries. You don't seem to be cut from the same cloth as UntoldDreams.

It's a natural fact in any realm of speculation, over anything, that speculation is refined as you get closer to a speculated event. People had a much better idea of the environment LBP was launching into in September than they did in March 07.

Very good point.

 

[chespace]

So basically you called nothing?

If by "nothing" you mean "predicted the holiday season", then yes.

 

[sensi97]

I'm bored, and it seems a lot of you are posting without the slightest clue how this game is doing over the world... so here, a bunch of chart positions for LBP since launch.

Europe / Oz / NZ data from the PAL charts... feel free to let me know if any of it is wrong or you have some of the missing data.

You should add a note saying, charts from norway, finland, ireland and denmark aren't individual format charts but aggregated plateform sales.

 

[Az]

Thanks some of you for entertaining me at work while I was really bored.

Sales good or not, I am enjoying the shit out of this game. Last week my wife and I had two friends over and we played this until 5 in the morning in multiplayer.

 

[Zen]

We ever get any updates on the sales numbers of this game?

A while ago, Amy say "We're over 1 million (In America) and in the black". (When she was on a 1UP podcast with the Oddworld creator.

 

[Tideas]

Nintendo should have bought the project, but as usual NOA uselessness stayed strong. This game would have sold millions on the wii.....

kinda like Wii Music right?

 

[dfyb]

This is supposedly the biggest Sony game in the so-called "Year of the PS3" surely LBP could do as well as Gears of War did back in 2006. Of course I am referring to lifetime sells not the next two months (even though that encompasses like 90% of lifetime sales).

i think most people knew it'd be a slower burner in terms of sales. my estimate was 200-300k for the first month, which is pretty in line with 200k for four days. i think they can easily sell 1 million over the next year, if not more -- depends how the community stuff is fleshed out.

honestly, i think the people claiming it'd be a multi-million seller out of the gate were the minority.

 

[Bluemercury]

kinda like Wii Music right?

No more kind like a good mario platform game.....

 

[Private Hoffman]

I would have to agree with this sentiment. I own a PS3, and a few months ago, this game was #1 on my list to purchase. As it stands now, I purchased Motorstorm Pacific Rift, and haven't picked up LBP. I don't think I will either. The reason....

When all is said and done, I don't think the game looks to be very fun after seeing it and hearing it now for a year. It seems to me that the level design/creation and community aspects of this game have been sold more than anything, which is unfortunate. I have absolutely ZERO interest in building levels, and sharing them amongst the community.

I remember when Halo 3 came out, everybody hyping the Forge and Theater options to the game, and how complex it was to create those features, what a technological accomplishment, blah blah blah. I just wanted to play the damn game. I had ZERO interest in creating my own custom levels, and sharing videos online of my getting owned with the community. What brought me to that game however was that I knew the core gameplay would be fun.

I am not interested in anything other than the core gameplay that comes out of the box for this game, and I'm simply not convinced that it will be fun enough for me. It's almost like you have to be into the level design/creation and sharing within the community for this game to be worth it, at least for me.

That's unfortunate, because playing co-op through the professionally made story levels and through some amazing user created content has been some of the most fun 'core gameplay' I've played this year, let alone this gen.

You don't have to be into level design at all.

 

[UntoldDreams]

No seriously, find me "wreaking total havoc" in an LBP thread (about the game not its performance) and I will give you a major award.

Conversely, I can find many posts "wreaking havoc" in Wii Music threads.

Besides, if to you my "behavior" in this thread equates to "wreaking total havoc" I advise getting a new dictionary.

No worries. You don't seem to be cut from the same cloth as UntoldDreams.

Very good point.

Let's be clear. If anyone is wreaking havoc in a thread about any game (Wii music or whatever) then I think they should be banned.

What I noticed was you singled me out originally and threw a "trolling wii music" at me which made zero sense. You sir... were looking for a fight from my point of view.

You still are from what I can see.

 

[G-Bus]

Their marketing sucks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ytFUsWmHsc

 

[Count Dookkake]

Let's be clear. If anyone is wreaking havoc in a thread about any game (Wii music or whatever) then I think they should be banned.

What I noticed was you singled me out originally and threw a "trolling wii music" at me which made zero sense. You sir... were looking for a fight from my point of view.

You still are from what I can see.

Please.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=13761385&postcount=572

Seriously, "wreaking havoc" is not what is happening in this thread.

 

[wazoo]

kinda like Wii Music right?

Wii music is at number 1 position on play.com, followed by LBP ...

so basically, european have good taste

 

[OldJadedGamer]

A while ago, Amy say "We're over 1 million (In America) and in the black". (When she was on a 1UP podcast with the Oddworld creator.

You are actually refering to this:

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:6ZhjwNXRzCMJ:www.gametap.com/articles/gamefeatures/uncharted_an_epilogue-03182008+uncharted+epilogue&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=ca&client=firefox-a

And it was concluded at the time this interview came out that she wasn't using any real data to back up these claims and was actually using the Chartzzzzz as her source.

 

[domokunrox]

4 days of sales.

This.

They should have also made an American 80GB bundle for it as well.

Also, the news of the delay also soured me from buying it until the following week after I had finished my first run of Fallout 3. Theres also too many great games out now, and its pretty safe to say that this game is a 3rd stringer to most.

Fallout 3 is too popular. Resistance 2 also interests the hardcore. It also has to compete with Rock Band 2 for casual play. I don't even need to mention that the economy is worsening.

I don't know why anyone would take Japan sales and make that some sort of indicator that it doesn't have legs. Japan has narrow tastes right down to Pokemon, JRPG's, and Pokemon. Europe on the other hand is a strange bunch. Eastern Europe is a PC gaming dominated region. Western Europe still has the Wii Frenzy and gobble down titles like Mario and Sonic Olympic games and Wii Play (France, in particular).

It has legs, I expect it to be a million seller.

 

[Regulus Tera]

kinda like Wii Music right?

You underestimate the potential of Nintendo's ability at cramming Mario into a game.

 

[gtj1092]

What funny is most of the people calling bomba now didn't even think it would sell enough to make the top 10 in October. Its not a runaway hit but its far from a bomb. I feel one of the reason that its not taking off is its cutesy look. I took my Ps3 to my girlfriends to let her try it and she was immediately like thats a little girls game. But once she saw me decorating my character she couldn't wait to make a sack girl. She kind of sucked but we had a blast playing together (albeit not very well). Sony needs to sell the co-op aspect of it but Sony's marketing this gen has been some the worst Ive ever seen so I don't count on it getting any better. So LBP will probably settle to about 2 million copies sold. Not huge but not bad and enough to warrant a sequel.


One thing Ive learned about GAF is that people don't view reality as it is but shape it to their fanboy dreams. So after all predictions and debate no matter what the outcome people will spin it to meet their desired needs to perpetuate there console jihad. Forums are for discussion but there really is no progression of discussion/ideas if people aren't arguing sincerely and are merely looking for an opportunity to spew their fanboy dribble.

Spoiler

shits getting old

 

[Psychotext]

So LBP will probably settle to about 2 million copies sold. Not huge but not bad and enough to warrant a sequel.

It's the first proper Sony mascot. You'd have seen sequels and spinoffs even without good sales.

No worries at all there.

 

[gtj1092]

It's the first proper Sony mascot. You'd have seen sequels and spinoffs even without good sales.

No worries at all there.

Thats true and as much as like the physics gameplay I love traditional platforming even more. So I wouldn't mind old school mario style jumping. That is certainly one thing I would change.

 

[test_account]

No worries. You don't seem to be cut from the same cloth as UntoldDreams.

I dont know how UntoldDreams is so i can only speak for myself, but i just like to discuss different stuff from time to time and i try to keep it as civil as possible

 

[Tiktaalik]

I'm not sure why everyone is saying the game had no marketing. Yeah it didn't have a bundle like Japan, but at least in Canada there are ads on the TV all the time, and I think the ads hit the right market and are fairly good.

My feeling is that the low sales are because of the low marketshare of the PS3. I think if Sony continues the ads they could see decent sales well through the xmas season.

 

[joey_z]

Not exactly a good platformer but it has great user created content support. I think that's how this thread can be summed up.

 

[dfyb]

Not exactly a good platformer

except it is the best platformer this generation.

 

[Psychotext]

except it is the best platformer this generation.

I don't know if they're in this thread at the moment... but you brought it on yourself either way.

/does not name them

 

[kaching]

I guess we can wait for the "why is lbp selling better than expected" thread in response to the pessimistic predictions for it... I don't suppose Cow Girl will start that one.

Not when she can barely participate in this one.

 

[dfyb]

I don't know if they're in this thread at the moment... but you brought it on yourself either way.

/does not name them

i know who they are. that game was so easy that it didn't challenge me until after i had beaten it. and by that time, i was already bored with it.

 

[suffah]

I'm not sure why everyone is saying the game had no marketing. Yeah it didn't have a bundle like Japan, but at least in Canada there are ads on the TV all the time, and I think the ads hit the right market and are fairly good.

My feeling is that the low sales are because of the low marketshare of the PS3. I think if Sony continues the ads they could see decent sales well through the xmas season.

I'm not the biggest tv watcher, but I have seen plenty of LBP ads. I've also seen two billboards for the game, which is more than any other game in recent memory.

The game isn't a bomb by any stretch of the imagination. There were some ridiculous hopes pinned on this game to be the PS3's savior (yea, I do remember people making those soccer mom statements). Because of these outrageous claims I think people would consider 1m in sales a bomb. That's huge for a niche game like this, but then again I think even Sony bought into the hype and 1m might be a big letdown for them.

Also, to all the people that are still holding onto the 4 days thing, puh-lease. The game will be front-loaded like any other PS3 game. November was a huge month with tons of releases. It's tough for any game to survive this holiday season without huge drop-offs.

 

[Zophar]

Hasn't it already passed a million copies sold? I don't see how people can consider that a bomb. I thought it was already assumed that this was always going to be a "word of mouth" game anyway.

 

[commariodore64]

i know who they are. that game was so easy that it didn't challenge me until after i had beaten it. and by that time, i was already bored with it.

LBP is challenging? Seriously? Best Platformer!?
I guess I must be very out of touch in my old age...

 

[biggkidd32]

I do think I lot of fans of LBP thought the game would be a huge system seller. Using that criteria it doesn't look like it has succeeded. However, it will be one of the best selling first party titles worldwide for SCE this year and it will also be success financially, given the small team. It's also a new IP, with tons of potential for future titles.

We need to be realistic. It was never going to be a mass market hit, like the Sims or even WiiSports, especially given that it on an expensive, third place gaming platform, but it is definitely not a bomb. I would say it will be one of the best selling PS3 games when it is all said and done.

 

[jman2050]

Hasn't it already passed a million copies sold? I don't see how people can consider that a bomb.

Where ARE people getting this from?

 

[OldJadedGamer]

Hasn't it already passed a million copies sold?

Has it? Got a link?

 

[commariodore64]

I do think I lot of fans of LBP thought the game would be a huge system seller. Using that criteria it doesn't look like it has succeeded. However, it will be one of the best selling first party titles worldwide for SCE this year and it will also be success financially, given the small team. It's also a new IP, with tons of potential for future titles.

We need to be realistic. It was never going to be a mass market hit, like the Sims or even WiiSports, especially given that it on an expensive, third place gaming platform, but it is definitely not a bomb. I would say it will be one of the best selling PS3 games when it is all said and done.

Only if they pack it in... the mass market core of the PS2 was really young kids - this game is not aimed at those kids... so... PACK IT IN SONY (the GAME - with the SYSTEM, that is...)