LittleBigPlanet Sales Not That Great? No Shit!

by Dan Landis on November 15, 2008 at 11:25 pm

I know some fanboys will read the headline and expect this article to totally slam the PS3 and Little Big Planet, and they will likely start posting hateful comments before even reading what this is about. Great. You are only making your fanboyism more apparent and showing the community what a massive dickface you are, so I welcome that.

What this article is actually about is in defense of Little Big Planet (or is it LittleBigPlanet, one word?). You see, a lot of websites (that I won’t mention because they don’t deserve the promotion) have been commenting on Little Big Planet’s sales and making the fantastically brilliant analysis that the game’s delay may have affected its numbers. More specifically, its October sales numbers in particular are not as high as they could have been because the release date was pushed back. Um, no fucking shit, you morons.

While a lot of fanboys and seemingly intelligent people have tried to reason with these websites as to why the sales were as “low” as they were (the patch caused people to be wary of buying it, lots of big releases in October, Sony didn’t advertise it enough, etc.), they all seemed to be missing one obviously logical explanation: it didn’t sell as well as it could have because it was only out for 4 fucking days!

Let me ask you this: do you think Little Big Planet sold less copies in October in 4 days than it would have if it was instead available for 11 days? Um, of course it did. It’s pretty simple logic, isn’t it? In fact, Little Big Planet’s sales of 215,000 units in 4 days was only right behind SOCOM’s sales of 231,000, and that game was available for a full two weeks longer.

Some people assumed Little Big Planet would be an instant million-seller, and some even predicted 5 million units sold. These October numbers now have people making all kinds of excuses. Let’s be real, people. The PS3 has only 17 games that have to date sold over a million copies (Xbox 360 has 47), and GTA4 tops that list with less than 5 million. Obviously, Little Big Planet is not going straight to the top with over 5 million copies sold. That’s just silly.

On the other hand, Little Big Planet’s sales of 215,000 copies in only 4 days puts it on track to sell a million copies fairly easily, a feat which is pretty impressive for a PS3-exclusive new IP (joining Motorstorm, Resistance, Uncharted, and Heavenly Sword). In fact, I would predict that Little Big Planet breaks the million mark by the end of the month, and if Sony decides to pack it in a holiday bundle, you can expect it to pass 2 million by year’s end.

So all these idiots pretending to be analysts need to just stop writing. If you want to talk about sales data, at least be logical about it… or don’t. At least if you keep doing what you’re doing I’ll have plenty of material for my own writing. So, uh, thanks for that… idiots.

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Tags: LBP, little-big-planet, LittleBigPlanet, Media Molecule, no shit, NPD, Sales

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Comments »

LordRaoh
on November 15, 2008 11:43 pm

i’m geting pretty sick of Sony’s marketing.

i get what your saying and it makes sense and all. the truth still is that sony is terrible at marketing.

they even just admitted that they could do more when it comes to marketing.

same goes for MGS4 and many others. they did well without marketing.. imaging sony actually putting some time into selling the games.

personally i think they need young blood in the company. if you notice they dont do big announcements. they dont do events. they dont do special launches.

they do press conferences. who are they promoting to? stock holders or customers?

all their events/announcements are like one big sit down press conference.

another example. they tried to do a special trailer on XPLAY for Killzone 2.. on XPLAY.. they showed it in low quality then after it aired, they went on to talk about something else.

Did sony actually think that the trailer would get XPLAY to promote the game for them for free or do a special on it? without actually discussing it or making it an event or sending someone to discuss and explain it?

the killzone 2 trailer was great, but watching it on xplay didnt make anyone excited or make them want to play it unless they already did.
Dan Landis
on November 15, 2008 11:51 pm

I hear you, LordRaoh. When the PS3 first launched, I saw ads all over the place. They had the crazy liquid metal black stuff all over the place and the rock music. Now, not so much. I have seen LittleBigPlanet and Resistance ads a few times, and the Mirror’s Edge ads I’ve seen have all been PS3 branded. Most games ads I see are for the 360, though, so if I were some dude not in the know, I would automatically be more drawn the 360 than the Wii or PS3 just based on commercials.
MoBe
on November 16, 2008 12:08 am

LBP seems like a really great game. But I have a 360. So I’m currently trying to trick my sister into buying a PS3 because “the PS3 version of SingStart is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than that of the PS2.” Little does she know about my plan… :)
madpuppy
on November 16, 2008 12:11 am

Dan, you are so damn angry, you need to wash the sand out of your birth canal. besides that, I see your point. Blah…..
Allen
on November 16, 2008 12:30 am

What’s up with the first paragraph and the insults? You look like a 12 year old screamimg for attention.

The only 2 reasons why LBP didn’t sell well is because of the delay and Sony’s poor marketing in the U.S.NPD represents U.S sales and you guys act lie NA is the whole world or something.

If you want impressive sales go look at MGS4 which sold 4.5 million so far,or just wait for GT5 or GOW3 to come out.
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 12:38 am

Madpuppy, leave my vagina out of this. I am angry because people are stupid, and I honestly could care less about LittleBigPlanet’s sales because I don’t even have a PS3.

And Allen, it’s quite apparent from your comments that you did not actually read this article.
Dylan Duarte
on November 16, 2008 12:39 am

Allen-

The first paragraph was pretty hostile, and Dan is a very, very angry man, but with all the fanboy bullshit ruining the internet as of late, can you blame him for being on the defense?
LordRaoh
on November 16, 2008 12:44 am

just to follow up. if you look at the magazine and television ads you will see

the “Wii” Brand in Big Bold white letters.

the 360 is a big “Microsoft Xbox 360 LIVE”

the ps3? just the old original playstation logo. little ole box sitting in the corner. you would think some of these multiplayer games were on xbox only the way the ads are set up.
Allen
on November 16, 2008 12:57 am

Sigh..Yes I read your article,it would have been a good and credible one without the insults and childish comments.
Allen
on November 16, 2008 1:06 am

@ Dylan

Why get angry over some childish fanboys?
I actually laugh at them instead of smashing my keyboard.btw..we went through the same drama last gen and the gen before it.

If he’s angry then fine,get some kool aid or play LBP =)
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 1:11 am

I don’t think swearing in general or calling fanboys “dickfaces” are necessarily childish comments, and I don’t think it makes an article any less credible. I also don’t think that insulting people I don’t like is a bad thing. I think the intolerance shown by fanboys, if left alone, will easily develop into racism and sexism, and that’s totally not cool. I don’t want some fanboy disrespecting my mulatto love-child on Xbox Live.
Allen
on November 16, 2008 1:17 am

Sure you don’t want that,but it looks like you want your mulatto love-child to come here and learn some insults on then go throw em at those fanboys,then his teachers..then..you??
El Guapo
on November 16, 2008 1:34 am

it makes no difference what people say about the sales records of brand-fucking-new games. if they sell, thats cool… if not, cool too. why complain if you’re not the person selling?

and yes, fanboys are the most annoying fucking people on the face of the earth that actually make me ashamed to call myself a gamer.
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 2:04 am

I don’t believe in sheltering my children, and I’m sure that by the time they start throwing around swear words, they will have had a lot more exposure to them than just from me. The internet is a big place, and I don’t think that what I write will automatically corrupt my children. If I posted to a porn site, I don’t think my kids will automatically start having orgies in the living room.
AMC
on November 16, 2008 2:10 am

Childish? I didn’t really see anything childish about him expressing his disdain for the way Sony handles it’s promotions. I actually have both PS3 and 360, and I’d have to say I buy games mostly for my 360 just because the gameplay is better.
SeasonedSalt
on November 16, 2008 2:13 am

“If I posted to a porn site, I don’t think my kids will automatically start having orgies in the living room.”

Quoted for truth!

As an owner of a PS3, I can still say that I don’t care how well this game sells. I completely understand where Dan is coming from. Dumb people spreading misinformation on the internet makes me mad. I know I shouldn’t care but I do. Sue me.
maa
on November 16, 2008 2:14 am

You guys are funny. It’s standard Sony’s way: wait… wait… wait more… nothing happens… wait… hahaha.

LBP is supposed to be system seller. period.

And it’s not. period.

Get some real games, not this pseudo game-construction-kit for wanna-be-game-makers.
Dr. Muhbutwiches
on November 16, 2008 2:18 am

As a super smart psychologist, I’d have to agree that he isn’t being childish. Showing anger or contempt through the use of harsh language is not childish. If he made illogical remarks like “LBP is cool because I say so and will sell lots and if you don’t like it you stink” then that would be childish.
AMC
on November 16, 2008 2:19 am

Fact is. Money is tight only the best of the best games get the green-light now a days. Gears of War 2, Fable 2 and Resistance 2 are prime examples. Maybe LBP will do better during Christmas vacation when a lot of kids start getting stuff from their parents. HA!
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 2:30 am

El Guapo, while I personally don’t care about the sales of LittleBigPlanet, my journalistic integrity makes me lash out at other so-called “journalists” when they pollute the web with misinformation and inaccurate statements, but I’m totally with you on the fanboy hate.

maa, I agree with you on the Sony front. I think their advertising and marketing as of late (for the past few years, really) has sucked. I was the proud owner of a PS2, but all of Sony’s arrogant bullshit made me vow to never buy a PS3 out of principle. Looking at the system and its problems from the non-clouded eyes of someone that doesn’t need to justify that purchase, I can say that they are doing a lot of things wrong. LittleBigPlanet looks like it could be fun, but it is not something that makes me want to buy a PS3.

AMC, I agree with you that too many games are coming out this holiday and LBP just is not at the top of the list. I still think it will do well, and I still believe it won’t be long till it hits the million mark, which is pretty impressive. For people that only own PS3’s, however, Gears 2 and Fable 2 aren’t options, so Resistance 2 is really the only big game you listed that’s taking the spotlight away from LBP. I would also offer Fallout 3 as something I would spend money on before LBP, but that’s just me.
labwarrior
on November 16, 2008 2:38 am

Well, this game is a joke platformer with a level editor, has no importance or fun to be found anywhere in this mediocre scrolling platformer

Also user levels so far suck big time

In short LBP is a terrible and boring platformer, 2.5D too, and all it has is a useless level editor, because making amazing levels take many months, and noone will do it without beeing paid

That said, how on earth was this game supposed to sell ? It sales are amazing for how mediocre it is, and could have been much worst

Also i can see 99% of people buying returning it, because after playing the mediocre included levels and some user crap levels, there is no point in the game, it is not really a game, just a glorified level editor
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 2:47 am

Some people really like level editors, hahaha. The mod community is actually pretty huge, and I don’t see that as being terribly different than LBP. I know a lot of people that always wait for the PC version of games so that they can screw around with stuff. Hell, Counter Strike and Portal were just mods that some dudes made for fun until Valve brought them in-house to formally sell them to people.
AMC
on November 16, 2008 3:15 am

Wow Dan, I’m embarrassed. You just made me remember Fallout 3, I really loved Oblivion so I’ll eventually pick it up.

Like you, I can’t find myself really getting into LBP. Mostly because I am not really into level modding, but also because of the only decently looking platforming aspect. X-Play really put good hype behind it, but from looking at the gameplay vids, I can honestly say I am not that impressed.
LOL
on November 16, 2008 3:20 am

How about the idiots up there-maa and labwarrior shut the fuck up? That would make the world a much better place.

Love how you two pick on the FUCKING game without even playing it. Do you two morons not realize that the game was delayed? In some cases, as this guy pointed out, wrong dates were given when it was delayed for a few days? If it wasn’t delayed, you’d get the damn million you were hoping for.

Does sales tell you how great a game is?

No, then shut the fuck up.

You nancyboys should all go and play your manhood crush games and stop picking on a game you’ve never played before!

Ignorant bastards!

And well said author. You brought up some great points. But stupid ass fanboys will always be stupid ass fanboys, especially 360 bigots. They expected this game to sell over a million when there was a delay instead of using their God-given brain.

They’re pathetic.
pixelsword
on November 16, 2008 3:33 am

Dan, You’re also missing Dead Space and Bioshock… and a game that may mystify everyone known as Mirror’s Edge. I want LBP, and I plan on buying it, but right now the mature gamer in me craves a storyline over fun. I plan on getting Bioshock, Uncharted, and Dead Space before LBP, and maybe after Killzone 2, depending on how long it takes for me to finish the three.

Even if it takes a while, it’s good for me because the games on LBP would’ve grown past penises and mario clones.

I know the Title and pic are for attention grabbing and hits, so that doesn’t surprise me; but using the title and links and expect a slobbering ADHD fanboy on either side of the fence to not jump to conclusions (and straight to the comment section) is asking a little much out of the people you want to educate. Granted, I believe that the 360 fans actually read the article up to two paragraphs in, but that’s only because they were trying to revel in the article. :D
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 4:24 am

Yes, I certainly should have lowered my expectations by now, but I still find it humorous that even after giving people a warning explicitly talking about what an article is about, people still manage to not read it a jump to conclusions. I’d hate to see what the comments section would look like if this got posted to N4G.
Zenfoldor
on November 16, 2008 4:35 am

I think you might consider this “flaming” but I’m going to attempt to correct you.

LBP sold below expectations. That’s not to say it sold poorly. One thing you’ve failed to mention is that Wal-Mart, and many other stores started selling the game early, in limited releases. It was on the market for more than 4 days, and in fact, you could find the game on Ebay for, at or near, regular price during those times.

Yes, the game could have legs, but all this ranting at forum members of a certain website, which if I’m right, overtracked the game you are obviously such a fan of, is unnecessary.

The game was supposed to move hardware. It was supposed to be “huge.” It didn’t meet unrealistic sales expectations of most people, even with a 4 day run(which is actually lying by omission, or ignorance, depending on whether you knew about the limited releases or not).

Doesn’t mean the sales were poor, but they weren’t good, as you are trying to spin them, and it’s something you should accept, rather than getting pissed off at a forum goer, and writing an angry rant in an attempt to “own” them, simply because you have a platform with which to speak.

If this is indicative of your other writings, you don’t deserve such a platform. This is damage control, pure and simple, and it’s also ironic how much you yourself hate fanboys. “The game didn’t sell poorly, here are a number of excuses and reasonings to explain why the numbers were so low.” That’s damage control. I wouldn’t even let another forum goer get away with such a thing, much less a “writer.”

If you’re trying to pretend LBP sold up to your own expectations, you’re probably kidding yourself. It might not have sold poorly, but every PS3 owner across the country expected it to make at least some impact.

If you’re trying to pretend that LBP will have legs and still be a fantastic success for Sony(because it’s a great game) then that’s your opinion, and it might be right, but there is no proof or evidence of that in you article.

Japan, as reported by Famitsu and MediaCrate, and the UK as reported by Chart-track, also have this game underperforming most expectations, just like NPD.

I noticed you left that out as well.

Your article is just a step shy of “lying by omission” actually, and if you’ve posted like this on any message forum, yes, you would get owned by someone. The internet usually doesn’t let people get away with such seeming bias, when accompanied by a lack of knowledge.

In fact, the only source that had this game actually not flopping was the site you hate so much. It seems to me, however, you’re pissed off at the site because of its members.

Bottom line is, this is an unnecessarily angry and offensive rant, with a lot of missing information, and false pretenses. The only people who will actually fall for this article are those who aren’t knowledgeable of its subject matter, long term fans of yours, and PS3 fanboys.

Class up your articles a little bit, sir.
LOL
on November 16, 2008 4:59 am

Zenfolder, so you’re saying he was wrong for saying that this game didn’t sell because of a delay? So what you’re saying is that the game wouldn’t sell good even if there was a delay? One of the major retailers-Amazon had this game on the first page in the top ten before the delay. After the delay, the game fell back.

I cannot blame him for the curse words because I’m pissed off as well. This game is getting unfairly bashed from left to right.

Where is your evidence that Sony hoped this would be a system seller? Where is your evidence of this?

Did you not know that some games sell better and better overtime? Or are you too damn blind and up the ass to see that?
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 5:03 am

Zenfoldor,

Wow. I am actually surprised how much you manage to get wrong with your “insights”.

1 - I don’t own a PS3 and have said on many occasions that I do not care a bit about LittleBigPlanet. Listen to some of our first podcasts and you’ll hear me say how lame I thought the game was.

2 - This article was not based on information or comments in a forum, but was a direct reaction to ACTUAL WEBSITES commenting on the lack of sales of the game for the month of October and their reasoning for it. Perhaps you missed the logical statement that a game will obviously sell less is 4 days than it will in 11 days. Simple, really.

3 - The game didn’t sell up to my expectations because I had no expectations. Every PS3 owner blah, blah, blah — I am not a PS3 owner. It’s actually quite humorous that I’m being called a PS3 fanboy for this article when I’ve so much more often in the past been labeled a 360 fanboy.

4 - According to Chart Track, LBP is the best-selling PS3 game and number 4 overall, but that is for the week ending 8 November and, if you have any elementary school knowledge, is completely irrelevant since none of the days in that week were part of October. Even though that positive information somewhat supports my article, it has nothing to do with the October sales data that this article was commenting on.

5 - If you combine all of the information from these sales-tracking websites, LBP has actually already passed 750,000 units sold.

6 - I’m still not sure what site you think I supposedly hate so much, but it likely doesn’t matter because you’re wrong.

7 - Class up my nuts, sir.
Mark
on November 16, 2008 5:05 am

Cry some more.
Tomonoatmeal Cookigaki
on November 16, 2008 5:11 am

Cookigaki would cry but there are no more liquids left in Cookigaki’s body since last night’s orgy with your mom and girlfriend.
dark
on November 16, 2008 6:12 am

Dan Landis bring the hammer, don’t listen to these idiots, there just angry people who got slammed hard for making stupid articles about LPB low sales

GO GO Ripten
Allen
on November 16, 2008 6:28 am

Awesome! A gaming site with editors that throw insults and calls a game lame,how professional!

I <3 this site.
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 6:36 am

I accept your apology.
LOL
on November 16, 2008 6:42 am

Go Dan. You tell em’ dude.
Dylan Duarte
on November 16, 2008 6:49 am

It may just be how insanely tired I am, but “Dan Landis bring the hammer” is the best thing I’ve ever read, and I plan to use it frequently from now on.

@ Allen-

You really think that it’s unprofessional for a writer on a video game blog - that reviews games - to call a game “lame?” I disagree, good sir. This whole site is an outlet for our opinions; it’s what we do. Personally, I love LBP and I think Dan is a stupid fattypants, but I respect his opinion.

And as far as throwing insults goes, they started it! Dan said what he said in the first paragraph of the article because of problems we had with people criticizing Jonathan Zungre’s R2/GoW2 comparison article (posted a few days back) before they had even read it.

There are reasons behind Dan’s comments. There are reasons Dan Landis bring the hammer.
Jules
on November 16, 2008 6:58 am

Selling between one fifth and quarter of a million in 4 days is incredibly impressive!
Allen
on November 16, 2008 7:13 am

@Dylan
This is probably the first site I’ve seen that uses harsh words in an article,specially that it’s about LBP,a game which apeals to kids.I actually like some of the points he made in the article,but imagine a kid that’s surfing for some LBP news and hits your article.

Yes I rsepect his opinion too,but he could have just said that he doesn’t like
it,simple..no “lame” or any other useless terms.

I’m not hating if you think so =)
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 7:32 am

Lame, even though it’s four letters, is not a bad word. And I personally think a kid could easily stumble upon much worse things than foul language.

Considering that the average gamer is getting older and older, sites about gaming shouldn’t be expected to cater to a G-rated audience. We liken ourselves to the Daily Show, Maxim Magazine, and the Onion, all of which are targeted at adults.

We pride ourselves in delivering what we do with a little bit of personality. We are all different, and some of us use harsh language. If that isn’t something you are looking for, there are plenty of other sites out there to get gaming-related news. I just don’t think everyone should have to cater to the lowest common denominator, that being children. After all, 75% of the world’s population is over 18.
Allen
on November 16, 2008 8:14 am

“Lame” is sure not a bad word at all,but for professional reviewer[like yourself?] is not the right term to use,unless you backup your statement,then that’s something else.In the end you’re reviewing the game for your visitors,not for yourself.

Gamers are getting older,but there’s always new young ones,right? The only reason I’m commenting here is because my small bro told me to come check how you’re pissed at fanboys.

Personality?..I don’t know why you would use such “personality” in an article about a game rated E.
Alexandre Fiset
on November 16, 2008 8:20 am

LOL, the essence of the article is true, but the way the author wrote it is just stupid. Everyone that actually touched the game and played it know that this is a real piece of fun. I mean, its 4 player co-op and online customizable game experience.

If you think it looks ‘lame’, you’re right. But if you think it IS ‘lame’, now you’re totally wrong. This game will sell from mouth to ears, thats it. It sure looks lame on video, but once you’ve got the controller, everything change. The level editor is just HUGE, you can make HUGE level that aren’t platforming. The game will have expansions, adding objects, materials and character to the experience.

You’ve heard about Disney who wants their characters in the game? If the characters are out for the holiday season, or even Q1 2009, a huge number of parent will want this for their childs. Why?, because this game can make your child a creator. Its teaching physic basics through its engine and in a bundle with a blu-ray player, parent will sure buy.

They do not need huge marketing operations because they make good stuff. When something is good, you hear about it everywhere without spending any money. Look at the metacritic, it owns GoW2, R2 and Fable 2. The game will probably get the ‘Game of the Year’ award because it’s innovative, fun and well-designed. Once a game get this ‘Game Of the year’ sticker on the box, you sell more copies.

If you are a real gamer, you wouldn’t care about the sales number, you would have this game and a PS3. If you do not own the console, you cannot talk about it, you just don’t understand. Having both console is a wise choice and it leads to non-biased article.

Finally, even if sales number are not great? Who f=cking cares? You’re working for NPD? vgchartz? or perhaps Microsoft?

Now you’ll probably attack my lack of english writing skill, which is an easy shot because i’m french, but keep in mind the PS3 doesn’t suck at all. You are writing about the gaming industry, so stay informed and play the shit before posting stupid shit like this article.
matt
on November 16, 2008 9:30 am

It’s funny how Sony is still depending on word of mouth as their form of advertising. Just like in PS2 days except for the fact that they have only sold 16 FUCKING MILLION PS3′S with strong competion while in PS2 days they sold a kajillion PS2’s with almost NO competition.
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 9:35 am

Allen, I use such “personality” because I can, and that’s who I am. I won’t hold it against you if you don’t like it and don’t want to read my articles. Some people think Larry the Cable Guy is funny — I don’t.

Alexandre Fiset, I don’t know how to tell you that you apparently didn’t understand the point of this article without people thinking that I must be attacking your lack of understanding of the English language. I think you understand enough to change your tone had you actually read what this article is about. You say the essence of the article is true, but then you criticize me and say that I should “stay informed and play the shit before posting stupid shit like this article”, and that confuses me. You agree with what I said but think I am uninformed, and that mainly stems from your strange desire for me to own a PS3. I don’t see why that matters. I don’t think you have to own a PS3 to be a “real gamer” and I don’t think you have to own a console to be able to talk about it. Frankly, I find your line of thinking to be quite childish and full of fanboyism, and I will not stand for it! I’m going to go have a sandwich now and have sex with my wife, possibly at the same time. Good day.
kill-halo
on November 16, 2008 9:36 am

To who was this LBP game was aimed to? hard core gamer? casual gamer? fanboys? i have it and played for llike 3-6 hours and lost interest, my son and daughter dont care about it (8-6) so to all you people rent it first and then you will see what i mean its missing something
Evilelement
on November 16, 2008 9:43 am

The simplist way of speaking about Littlebigplanet is that the game wont sell any high numbers because christmas is nearly upon us once again. The current ecconomy world wide has put a strain on how well games like lbp do in initial launch. I would say we wont have a clear view of any games popularity until Jan 09 has came about. Way to many websites speak with little knowledge of business and marketing which models. Nobody works in sony japan on the executive board on how the company manages and thinks out every part of the SCEE.
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 9:47 am

Why would Sony Japan manage and think out every part of Sony Europe?
Jonah Falcon
on November 16, 2008 9:49 am

Why does it put it “on pace” to sell 1M by the end of the month? What kind of bad math are you using?

Most sales of a game are within the first two weeks of release, then it has a curve downward.

Even movies have that curve — and THEY rely on people shelling out money to see it more than once. Games rely on unique purchases.

Want an example?: Metal Gear Solid 4: sold a million plus in the first month, then vanished, ending up in bargain bins literally 7 weeks later.
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 9:56 am

Why does it put it on pace to sell a million by the end of the month? Are you serious? It’s mainly because of a little thing I like to call Christmas.
Evilelement
on November 16, 2008 10:06 am

Dan Landis I totally agree with ya, I do beleive SCEE is to some degree controlled by a upper part of the sony company, now if thats in japan or the US. I dont know. But decisions are made sometimes out with sony or a certain publishers hands (governments or ogranisations) same way Manhunt 2 was banned in the UK. But this blog wasnt about who controls who. Its lbp and dan chill, dont be so hostile.
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 10:17 am

I’m chill, it was just a question. I’m actually a pretty mellow dude, I just get fired up when people are dumb, hence this article.
Evilelement
on November 16, 2008 10:30 am

Put this way, u sound at least human and someone who speaks with a mature attitude which isnt that easy to find nowadays.

A side from that i think this artical good but theres like u said to many random blogs out on the net which they believe speak with truth and honesty from games industry when they really have little to no idea on how everything really works. To many kids and some what stupid adults, to make a sad all out war. There was once a time when gamers were united, now there broken into factions hating each other. Were nothing more than pawns at companies disposals.
Allen
on November 16, 2008 10:36 am

Dan,
You’re not really getting my point here so let’s just drop the subject,and yeah,Larry the Cable Guy is not funny!

Anyways,happy holidays and thanks for supporting LBP =)
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 10:39 am

You’re right, and it’s a sad state we live in. I worry about what it teaches kids when all this “I hate you because you don’t have the same console as I do” is just an accepted part of life. And as I said before, this kind of bigotry, if tolerated, will only lead to even worse forms of intolerance, and I’m sure is a contributing factor to the kind of hate we hear from kids on Xbox Live.
kill-halo
on November 16, 2008 10:41 am

I LOST INTEREST IN THE GAME AFTER 3-6 HOURS OF GAMEPLAY, AND NOW I WANT MY MONEY BACK.
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 10:43 am

Allen, I thought your point was that I would be “more professional” if I didn’t use naughty words. While I don’t disagree with you, I’m not trying to be professional and would rather voice my opinion in my own way.

If that wasn’t your point, then I apologize that still don’t know. But thank you for your comments and happy holidays to you too.
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 10:46 am

kill-halo, my suggestion to you would be to sell it to one of the rabid fanboys on N4G. But for future reference: ALWAYS RENT FIRST.
Allen
on November 16, 2008 11:03 am

Nah not at all,the whole “unprofessional” thing was about branding LBP as lame,and now you came up with a new one which is “I don’t think you have to own a PS3 to be a real gamer” or any other next gen console generally,it’s like saying ” I don’t need Vitamins to have a balanced-diet” ;)

My point was that I didn’t want my brother to read isults such as “d**khead”,that’s all,the rest of your article is great!

Anyways,I have to go,cheerz!
shyguy
on November 16, 2008 11:13 am

Hi Dan. I’ve never posted a comment before but after reading this article and all the following comments I just had to. So, your a 360 fanboy eh. I know you’d rather not debate it and just say, “Looking at the system (PS3) and its problems from the non-clouded eyes of someone that doesn’t need to justify that purchase, I can say that they are doing a lot of things wrong. Though as a journalist in the feild of video games i’m sure you’ve come accross the 360’s fail rate, yes? Not to mention information tied to reasons for failure, correct? I really hope that your eyes are not clouded by this societies capatalistic “nature” in envolving you with games by means of advertisment. That is to say that you are one who games and not one of these dumb persons you speak of. Though that Resistance 2 banner was sick. Also why even mention the 47:17 ratio? That comment was just as “duh” as LBP sales in Oct. especially coming from a person in your position. As an intellectual and a gamer Dan, what more do you need than facts and fun?
Abaddon
on November 16, 2008 12:38 pm

[Mr.Landis],seems like you have suffered an avalanche of critters,take cover and count five,they’ll roll down the mountain. :DD

My opinion is…Nintendo did it,Reggie knew that LBP was a threat to Nintendo after reading a link in N4G named “SAcBoy,tEh NeW MaRIO? Lolz!”,then he planned to spread rumours about Islamic heresy about it to cripple its worldwide launch and ultimately the image of the game,but then got involved in a retarded action plot reminiscent of 1995’s Cristopher Lambert mediocre action film “Hunted”(tm),dying in japan 11/04/08,and is actually replaced by a smiling tanned cyborg.
spriggers
on November 16, 2008 12:50 pm

I said this as soon as NPD was released. It’s funny how people had praised 10 days of sales of Fable 2 with twice the install base in the US, more than twice the time out on shelves with no confusions of delay, and they get 750k for those 10 days, but people bash the 250k or so LBP got? Do the math people. And did anyone who buy the game get it on day one? I had to wait 2 days longer for our Gamestop shipment to get in.

LittleBigPlanet will sell 1M in North American easily, another $M in Europe, and probably 200k in Japan. Not bad really. Not a Gears type of release, but not even close to a flop.
Desperado
on November 16, 2008 1:03 pm

DAN, ALLEN, FLAEM WAR!@!#Q%R(W)HNRHWPi
I’m just kidding…

I guess Allen must be pretty clueless about the world around him, Elementary school kids are saying “fuck” all the time these days, gosh dernit, kids these days. Also I’m not quite sure how using the word “lame” makes one unprofessional…

Anyway,
I don’t own a PS3 but I’ve been interested in Little Big Planet for awhile now, but people really expected it to do well?
That’s… so damn stupid…
I mean it certainly hasn’t done bad, but really how could people get their expectations up so high?
“I like the game, so does my friend. THAT SETTLES IT, THIS GAME IS GOING TO SELL MILLIONS!!!”
Gavin
on November 16, 2008 1:23 pm

What is it with certain ‘journalists’ who feel the need to insult and belittle everyone just to get their opinion across?

Gears sold over two million in two days and with the hype that the net built around LBP I think it was fair to expect at least 500k in sales over the first couple of days.

It isn’t doing as well as expected and to say that this is purely down to it being out 4 days is a little naive to be honest.
kill-halo
on November 16, 2008 1:30 pm

IM SELLING MY COPY OF LBP ON CRAIGSLIST!!!! BORING, its not for kids or grown ups, so who are this game aimed for? just ps3 fanboys? puke
Greg
on November 16, 2008 5:25 pm

Do you need a hug, Dan?
Morisato06
on November 16, 2008 6:50 pm

Couldn’t agree more with the author.
Morisato06
on November 16, 2008 6:52 pm

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. :P

I like the game regardless. The number of sales doesn’t really affect my opinion of the game.
SweetSeka
on November 16, 2008 7:25 pm

Good job Dan. You made sense this time. I read this article and was like “Hey this article makes total sense”. Then I saw it was by you and I was like “What the fuck? That butt-tonguing cocktard wrote this?”

Oh well. Good job.
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 8:47 pm

Allen, I don’t have to have gay sex to know that I don’t want to have gay sex. I think most people would agree with me here. If you are a “can’t knock it till you try it” kind of guy, then more power to you. I’m just not. I appreciate your comments and understand your point of view and looking out for your little brother; however, you must understand that Ripten is not intended to be a site for kids (even though we talk about videogames that kids love), and we will not be changing that anytime soon.

shyguy, I’m impressed that you could see my blatant 360 fanboyism through all that defending of LittleBigPlanet. Good job.

Abaddon, you are most likely correct in your conspiracy theory. Nintendo is evil!

spriggers, I’m glad someone else in the world can see the simple logic behind this article, despite my ranting. Thank you.

Desperado, thank you for the support, and your insight into the hype machine and fanboy retardedness makes me happy that my friends aren’t like that.

Gavin, I did not insult or belittle everyone, I insulted and belittled fanboys and stupid “journalists”. I don’t know why any normal person would complain about that. If you want to compare releases, you really should compare a release on PS3 to another release on PS3. Likely every big release on 360 will be higher than PS3, so you can’t compare its relative success by pitting it against a 360 game, especially one as huge as Gears. Besides, the main point was that LBP’s sales were affected by the delay, and it’s only logical to assume it would sell less copies in 4 days than it would in 11 days. I was bitching about how other websites were spinning the numbers and making completely asinine statements.

kill-halo, good luck with that. I hope you get your money back since you were so unsatisfied, and I’m sure there will be someone out there that wants it.

Greg, I don’t need a hug, but I will accept one.

Morisato06, thank you for your support.

SweetSeka, I’m not sure I remember seeing you comment here before, unless maybe you did so under a different name. Anyhow, it’s nice to know that you can see through my butt-tonguing cocktardedness and read an article for what it’s worth. Congratulations.
ChrisWanker
on November 16, 2008 9:04 pm

I whole-heartedly believe that the sales are low because 2D and quasi 2D Platform games were at their peak of popularity in the 80s. And with me being a veteran gamer of many of the earliest platformers, I am deathly tired of them. No matter how pretty, cute, fun, exciting you make a platform game, you won’t get me to drop my 3D Action, FPS, epic RPGs, etc… Keep in mind, the average gamer is in their upper 20s and lower 30s. And it is my opinion that plenty of them feel the same as I do about LBP to affect sales.

In other words, I don’t believe Sony got as many Hardcore gamers to turncoat and try LBP as they were hoping for.
Dan Landis
on November 16, 2008 9:13 pm

While I think that makes a lot of sense and I personally feel pretty similar, everyone I know that has a PS3 is pretty into that game, and most of them have already purchased it. You also have to understand that a lot of those 30-somethings have school-aged children that they could easily use as an excuse to buy the game if they didn’t want to admit an interest in it themselves.
madpuppy
on November 16, 2008 9:24 pm

frankly, I purchased LBP but, it is not a game that I am jumping for joy over. I am more of a BF: Bad Company kind of player. don’t get me wrong, the game has an appeal on some levels for me but, overall it is not a game that gives me a rush or relaxes me or even makes me remember the “old” days. If I want to remember the old days I will either buy a genesis with sonic and toejam and earl or I will wait and grab Sonic unleashed.

blah, bluh,bluh,bluh, blah…..
The Whaler
on November 16, 2008 11:30 pm

It’s funny how so many people were going to buy LBP for like hundreds of mulla. I have yet to play this game but it looks fun, and I don’t follow the hype. As a SONY supporter (no I am DEFINITELY not a fanboy) I agree on PS3’s marketing. They over hype they’re system and yes they DO need to step up their game but then again the ps2 was pretty slow to start out as well.

Anyways….in response to almost everyone who’s attacking Dan. You need to stop he said plain and clear in his article that he wasn’t going to bash the ps3 or LBP and he DIDN’T. Just because he has a 360 and/or prefers the 360 over the ps3, so flippin what? Deal with it that doesn’t make him a fanboy. Seriously is this how every article about a 360 or ps3 is going to be?

You made a perfect prediction Dan :?
SuperSonic
on November 17, 2008 12:00 am

LBP = teh suck

It was fun for a few days but much like the Wii, definitely nothing I would keep, glad I rented it.

Sony’s 3rd party games have been under whelming this year to say the least. Socom failed, R2 failed, LBP failed, Motorstorm: PR failed . Hme will fail, should’ve failed last year but they’re delaying the inevitable. Last year was a better year for quality titles like Uncharted and R&C as far as Sony’s 3rd party devs go.

So much for “year of the playstation 3” claim, lol. But at least all of our games are in 1080P…oh wait ..lol.
Wolf26pack
on November 17, 2008 12:25 am

This article although very simple to understand due to fanboys has turned very ugly. It is so simple to see Dan was just saying that LittleBigPlanet’s #’s weren’t that high in Oct due to it only being out for 4 days out of the month. I am sure that the month of Nov. will show what kind of #’s LBP can really sell.

Although I really do believe that basing a games quality or how good it is on how well it sells is a very ignorant thing to do. I mean saying a game sucks when you haven’t played it is wrong but saying something like I am just not interested in the kind of gameplay LBP offers is cool because everyone can have there opinion.

I have a PS3 and bought LPB and have enjoyed playing it. I found it fun and while it isn’t immersive and doesn’t have realistic graphics. I like it because it’s different and fun.

It is just too bad Fanboy’s have to do things like I mentioned above. It is a very sad life they must live.
Chris Remo
on November 17, 2008 10:30 pm

Jesus Christ, could this article have been any more unnecessarily abrasive? It’s comical that the comment rules underneath a piece like this are demanding intelligent debate.
The Whaler
on November 17, 2008 10:36 pm

Fanboys (on both sides) here are worse then people who comment on YouTube. If you don’t like what you’re reading then don’t read it. The author cussing isn’t going to kill anyone and if it does then you deserve to die.

Anyways. good article Mr. Landis
Chris Remo
on November 17, 2008 10:50 pm

There’s no way to know if you liked something you read without reading it first, and the site invites public feedback on its articles via the comment feature.
Dan Landis
on November 18, 2008 1:04 am

Chris Remo,
I certainly welcome all comments, good and bad. People are allowed to disagree with me. The world would be a boring place if they didn’t.

Our commenting rules mainly are intended to discourage hate speech, and combined with “debate intelligently”, our goal is to have a comment section that does not consist of people bashing each other back and forth using racial slurs and providing no actual arguments.

I understand what you are getting at, but swearing is allowed, though it gets flagged if excessive and must be approved by an editor. Also, calling fanboys “dickheads” isn’t hate speech, it’s justice.

And thanks for your support, Whaler.
LBP
on November 24, 2008 10:40 pm

You make a fair point that the October sales figures only included 4 days of sales but 2½ weeks later and the game has already dropped out of the top 20. The November sales figure will obviously be higher than October, but it won’t be anywhere near as high as some people seem to be expecting. For a game that got a lot of hype and received some amazing review scores, I’m sure Media Molecule aren’t exactly over the moon about sales and that doesn’t just go for the US. Sales of the game in the UK and Japan haven’t exactly been stellar either.

It will reach a million sales no doubt, but a million sales only in America by the end of November? Not a chance. It’s got 2 weeks to sell about 600,000 copies and it’s not going to hit a million in that time at a rate of 40k a week.
fan
on December 11, 2008 5:06 pm

hey jackass, just looked at the November NPD Sales numbers.

1. Gears of War 2 - Xbox 360 – Microsoft – 1.56 million
2. Call of Duty: World at War - Xbox 360 – Activision – 1.41 million
3. Wii Play w/ remote - Wii – Nintendo – 796K
4. Wii Fit - Wii – Nintendo – 697K
5. Mario Kart - Wii – Nintendo – 637K
6. Call of Duty: World at War - PS3 – Activision – 597K
7. Guitar Hero: World Tour - Wii – Activision – 475K
8. Left 4 Dead - Xbox 360 – EA – 410K
9. Resistance 2 - PS3 – Sony – 385K
10. Wii Music - Wii – Nintendo – 297K

Don’t seem to see Little Big Planet in there at all do you? Jackass
Dan Landis
on December 11, 2008 7:07 pm

Dear fan,

NPD is only U.S. sales. LittleBigPlanet is #19 on the list of best selling PS3 games of all time and has sold about a million copies worldwide. It is by no means a flop, but it also probably didn’t sell as well as Sony and the fanboys expected. You know what else I don’t see on that list? Your point.
Kota Weaver
on December 25, 2008 3:06 pm

I agree with Dan but I would have taken the extra step of explaining that there are also less PS3 consoles out there than Wii and 360s, and therefore, obviously, the number of possible customers is fewer than the other two consoles. This would probably be because of the 2 year head start the 360 had, and because the PS3 is targeted to more techy people… why else would they have a partitioning tool and a tool to install another OS?

I personally own LBP, and I have to admit it is by far the best game I have ever played. Of course, everyone has a different taste, and I cannot speak for everyone, but LBP is a very full game, that if played “correctly”, can provide way more freedom than most other games. The only reason the marketing didn’t go as well as expected was probably because of the delays, patches, and the lack of PS3 owners.
OP is a tit
on January 25, 2009 8:12 am

haha OMG, by reading the first paragraph I completley switched off! :D didn’t even want to consider reading the article :D nice one you bald cunt! :D
Dan Landis
on January 25, 2009 11:36 am

You’re welcome you anonymous first-time commenter! :D

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