Sony exec talks about the lasting appeal of LittleBigPlanet

Despite all its hype, LittleBigPlanet saw a lackluster debut according to NPD. 

In October, Media Molecule's little gem rounded up a meager 215,000 sales -- compare that to 790,000 Fable II units sold.  After its UK launch on November 5, research data show LBP took fourth place on the UK's All Format chart, dropping to 19th the week after.

David Wilson, head of Sony's public relations in the UK, has tried blamed the mediocre sales on the fact that LBP is "a brand new IP," overshadowed by sequels such as Gears of War 2, Fallout 3 and, of course, Fable II.  However, LBP is meant to have a longer appeal than other games, which should make up for its slow start. 

Wilson said as much in his response to inquiries concerning LBP's thus far unremarkable performance:

"Our industry is littered with examples of brand new innovative titles that have been lauded by the critics but have sold dismally.  But Sony is delighted and honoured to be working with hugely talented developers who can create brilliantly creative original games.  LittleBigPlanet has broken this stereotype by not only being brilliant and original but also by selling really well on a global basis. LittleBigPlanet is breaking many preconceptions. There are some games that are hardcore experiences that the kudos lies in getting it first.

LittleBigPlanet is excellent on day one but even better as time goes by.  If you bought this game on day one, you'd play your 50 plus levels on the Blu-ray and dip into the 12,000 levels created by the beta testers. If you bought the game one week later you've got over 84,000 user created levels to play with. This game gets better and better as an experience and as a value proposition.

It is also a game that will benefit enormously from word of mouth and from people trying it out with friends or in store - it drips fun and charm in equal measure. Also the bulk of our marketing including our six figure TV advertising campaign doesn't roll out until December, so we genuinely believe that Sackboy hasn't even hit his stride yet."

LBP has been experiencing problems before and after launch, after being hit with a delay due to controversial song lyrics in the soundtrack.  Recently players have been complaining about unfair moderation as levels are deleted for possible copyright infringements.