Tue, Oct 05, 2010 | 11:19 BST
Media Molecule’s Evans: LBP2 delayed because not all PS3s are connected
Media Molecule head Alex Evans has told VG247′s Joe Anderson that LittleBigPlanet 2 was delayed into 2011 because not all PS3s are connected to the internet and capable of receiving a patch.
“Like LittleBigPlanet, we will be supporting the game with patches, updates and whatever, but you have to realise right from the beginning that there are those people who don’t have online and that is why we decided it was the right decision to delay the game,” Evans said, speaking to Anderson at EG Expo last weekend.
The developer added: “In the end, the main reason for it though was just that we played the game and in the end realised that we had to make the Blu-ray perfect, and I don’t mean 100 percent perfect, but I just mean something we are proud of.
“We respect people don’t have online and don’t want to patch their game to get the full experience. We could have shipped it and it would have been fine, however we realised that with just a couple of extra week’s we could make the game super amazing, adding the super onto the already amazing which exists today. This is something that will live forever and the delay, people will forget about.
“I’m really sorry the delay frustrated people, even us, I mean I really wanted to get this game out for Christmas so hard. We pushed ourselves but realised with just a few more weeks we could make it perfect.”
Evans and the LBP2 team dropped the bombshell that the game wouldn’t make 2010 late last month, saying at the time that the game had been pushed back to give players the “best experience imaginable”.
It was originally scheduled to hit in November.
In the wake of the news, SCEE told VG247 that the delay was “disappointing,” but that it’s “key” to replicate the quality MM achieved with the original LBP.
LittleBigPlanet 2 ups the ante over the original, allowing players to potentially create any game they like, as well as providing a host of new sharing options.
Check out this video we shot of the game being played in co-op at EG Expo in London last week.
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Posted in: Development, Eurogamer Expo 2010, Hot, PS3, Platformer, Puzzler, Sony
Tags: Alex Evans, littlebigplanet 2, media molecule
22 comments
#1
cookiejar
05/10/10, 11:21 am
Sounds fair to me.
#2
Patrick Garratt
05/10/10, 11:22 am
Yeah. You have to respect it.
#3
Erthazus
05/10/10, 11:27 am
But it will hurt Molecule hard.
LBP is a PERFECT gift and there are not a lot of games like LBP on the market right now. Especially in the Christmas time.
#4
Patrick Garratt
05/10/10, 11:29 am
It’s true, yeah. It’s a real shame. It’s such an “honest” game.
#5
Razor
05/10/10, 11:39 am
“LBP is a PERFECT gift”
…in principle. There’s no doubt GT5, Kinect and Black Ops will be the premier gift choices this Xmas, even if LPB2 had come out in November.
#6
SplatteredHouse
05/10/10, 11:45 am
Right! That’s it. By order of Sackboy, Christmas is postponed, this year.
But, in seriousness, it does give GT5 more open road to thrive by, and set off to a flying start.
#7
Erthazus
05/10/10, 11:52 am
@Razor
“GT5, Kinect and Black Ops”
All three absolutely different audiences.
@Splatteredhouse,
“Right! That’s it. By order of Sackboy, Christmas is postponed, this year.”
#8
get2sammyb
05/10/10, 11:54 am
I appreciate their honesty. But I don’t think this will hurt them. LBP’s going to be a big deal whenever it comes out. Let’s face it – it’s going to score 8′s, 9′s and 10′s, it’s going to be brilliant, and Sony’s going to push it hard.
I think it’ll be fine.
#9
Psychotext
05/10/10, 11:59 am
“and Sony’s going to push it hard”
They didn’t push the first game particularly hard.
#10
Razor
05/10/10, 12:09 pm
“All three absolutely different audiences.”
Not to parents looking to buy their little darling’s the popular item for Christmas….which LBP2 would not have been.
#11
The Hindle
05/10/10, 12:36 pm
The first LBP sold millions and that was launched in Christmas 2008, its an ip that sells over time. So yea dont worry about it.
#12
Johnny Cullen
05/10/10, 12:36 pm
PT – Maybe not, but they’ll give the sequel a bit more of a spotlight this time round, though.
#13
Psychotext
05/10/10, 1:03 pm
I hope so JC, I was displeased by how they handled the first first game.
#14
Massiveslag
05/10/10, 1:22 pm
They’ll be pushing it with all their might Psycho, the first LBP’s success is exactly what persuaded Sony to buy MM. They were a third party developer at the time, now they’re part of the family, and the IP is a Sony product there’ll be plenty of marketing weight behind it.
#15
Michael O’Connor
05/10/10, 1:54 pm
@9 And yet it still went on to sell over four million copies. Now imagine if they *did* push it.
@10 A sackboy is for life, not just for Christmas!
#16
back_up
05/10/10, 2:30 pm
Good decision
#17
onlineatron
05/10/10, 2:31 pm
@PT
A massive portion of Sony’s EG Expo set-up was LBP2, couldn’t walk 20ft without seeing another line of tvs playing it.
I think they will push it, especially given the larger PS3 install base now.
#18
onlineatron
05/10/10, 2:33 pm
@10
I really don’t think Kinect will be a big christmas seller.
£125 on shopto, that’s dear for a christmas present.
I’m not saying it’s bad value, you get a game and the ability to play 2 player, but for a parent that sees Kinect for £125 or the ever popular sure fire success that is COD for £40… I know which they’ll buy.
#19
frostquake
05/10/10, 2:38 pm
Good for you MM…I really appreciate not wanting to release a buggy, glitchy game, and just hoping to patch it down the road some time…and thank you for the Honesty! I don’t play LBP, but I appreciate your reasoning to those who do!
#20
Oct..
05/10/10, 5:49 pm
MM should take an.. no.. awards for their caring about their audience, really!
Sometimes I think about buying two copies in return to their favors..
It’s the exact opposite for IW who never patchs unless there’s a new “Map pack” is coming
#21
OlderGamer
05/10/10, 6:22 pm
So if all ps3s were connected to the net, it would ok to release an unfinished game, so long as you could patch it later?
Don’t get me wrong, it is good that MM will iron things out. However, underneath the “cheers for MM” and “yay for doing the right thing”, is still that undelining idology. I like that games get polished, finnished even. That is the way it should be. The way it used to be.
I just cringe to think they even contemplated doing anything else.
#22
Oct..
06/10/10, 1:00 pm
IMO it’s not a matter of “they wanted to release an unfinished game” I think it’s more like “they didn’t want their fans to wait longer..”
they could’ve just released it without a word and patched it in a week or month or wtevr, keeping silence… but they didn’t want to, just for the people who don’t have an internet connection