Funny thing is, if this game was comming out for the Wii, no one would care about it, it would be seen as just another novelty game. I guess much of the same can be said for Conduit comming out for the Wii.

I can't believe I even have to explain this, but not every game is designed to fit into a single-sex five-year age range demographic. Some products transcend demographics. Like Wii Sports. Or The Sims. Or World of Warcraft. Part of the key to doing this is to not target a particular audience, which MM is keen on doing. When asked "Who is your target audience?" their response is "Everyone." Now, you can take that as PR bullshit, but the reaction of audiences across the world to the game bears them out on that.

The level creator in the game, in any case, is certainly not designed for children.


I made no mention of previews or words from Sony. What I did say is that Sony is committed to pushing this game from a marketing standpoint, which will expose wider audiences to it. Again, this is a fact, as you can see from the way the game features prominently at all their events and the way they're using it to unite their brands.

bardicverse said: To the OP: I'll explain why I as a developer, feelthat this game will not live up to its hype. 1- Audience. Yes, you reference this as a common argument, and it is perfectly valid. LBP has a target audience for the younger gamer crowd, under 11, the pokemon type crowd. The PS3 however has a main audience that ranges from high school to college kids. A Nintendo counterpart would be Pikmin to Zelda. What do you think a college kid is going to buy first?

Disagree so much. I think that this game appeals to everyone. There are various groups of people interested in this game, whether or not they fall into the "target audience" which you just made up.

@ Oni

Are you kidding? People are hyping Animal Crossing with (gimped) voice chat! I think Nintendo owners would excited if they could get this game on the Wii this holiday.

i dont understand how anyone can be so negitive about this game
i own all three systems and i would say play my 360 the most but LBP is the game im looking forward to the most
instead of fighting over # we should be giving media molecule credit for doing something original
ps3 fanboys shouls stop actiing like every exclusive is the system savior and xbots shouls stop crying when sony actually does get something cool

and so what if its hyped all expensive games are and hype doesnt always equal bad

Well, I'm pretty pleased with the level of discussion this thread has created... I'm especially a fan of Borkachev's posts. And only 1 person making insinuations about terrorism. It came fairly early, but the thread has moved on, so I think it will take until at least page 4 until someone compares someone else to Hitler.

I've taken the marketing classes and learned about demographics, and come to the conclusion that you only need to compete along demographic lines when you're packaging bottled water or a politician; when there's no distinguishing values or motivations behind the products.

I just want to mention innovation vs implementation. Blizzard was just talking about it recently, pointing out how they aren't really innovative, they're just better because of a unique philosophy. MMOs are older than WoW. Rhythm games are older than Guitar Hero, and motion controls are older than Wii Sports. So the fact that other user-created content sharing based games have flopped doesn't mean anything towards LBP.

How many people have actually played this game? With all the people glammering about the game not being innovative or they feel like it will suck, just wait till you get your hands on it.

I love how people glaze over that.

70% of games fail to break even. 70% of "developers" don't know what the hell they are talking about. The problem with "developers" is they want to work within established boundaries. "Developers" don't seem to understand the potential when an original game is developed.

LBP = original idea. This seems to confuse some "developers".

outlawauron said: Disagree so much. I think that this game appeals to everyone. There are various groups of people interested in this game, whether or not they fall into the "target audience" which you just made up.

 

Right, just made up. Outlaw, we all recognize you as one of the PS3 jihadists on this site, so we know that you throw around some strange things. Yet, dig a little deeper into the design documentation and early pitches for this game before you suggest I'm making things up.

 

@bork - You simply are not understanding how this game came to be, what its inspiration is from. Then you would understand how the demographic came to match my original point. Yet, I get the feeling that no matter what statistics I post, you are going to turn a blind eye to and defend this game as if it were your child, so I'm not going to continue this. I'd get my point across better to a brick wall.

naraku2099 said: 1- While generally I'd agree the GENERAL audience is young, it isn't necessarily 11. No matter people's age, if they have a heart, they can like the cutesy appeal. I'm 22 and Little Big Planet is one of the games that has me most excited on PS3. 2- The design is not as relying on user-generated content as you seem to believe it is. Little Big Planet has linear gameplay not created by you or any other consumer. At E3 this year, that was demonstrated as one of the creators of Little Big Planet demonstrated one such level and made a comment along the lines of "This particular level is towards the end of the game." While Little Big Planet allows players to be creative, it doesn't make it not fun to those who don't want to create. They can just play other people's levels. 3- "Pickpocketing the poor", you say? Last time I checked Sony doesn't snatch the money from your pocket and shove a PS3 into your hands. People decide for themselves whether or not they want to spend their money on a PS3 or Little Big Planet by themselves. Little Big Planet is designed to have a certain appeal, but the choice is still up to the consumers.

Thank God, an intelligent response!

1 - True, Mario games are generally aimed at a younger audience, but older people play them. Nothing wrong with that. My point was that the inspiration for the game characters came from a Japanese kids' show, thus trying to pull for that market. If they get anyone else aboard, kudos to them.

2 - You do realize that the end of your point negated the start of your point? "The design is not as relying on user-generated content" .... "it doesn't make it not fun for those who don't want to create. They can just play other people's levels." So, which is it =)

3 - This was more a terminology than an accusation. Casuals don't have/don't want to spend a ton of money, and with the economy being shot, getting a PS3 for LBP might not be in their holiday budgets. So, it's hard to say how many people LBP will actually reach at launch and over the holiday season, especially for the casuals who just got a Wii last Christmas.

 

I'm a little confused as to how people can claim it is/isn't innovative, is/isn't very good & will/wont change the landscape. How many of you have had a hands on? how many are judging from what they have gleaned from the media, Sony and their rivals? as my sig says...