LittleBigFailure? Maybe not

Early indications are that one of Sony's AAA titles for the PS3 this fall, the much anticipated LittleBigPlanet, has performed rather poorly at retail so far. Websites and blogs have been ablaze with the news that the title barely moved 200K units at launch.

Couple that with the game's delayed launch (due to allegedly offensive content in one song) and lack of significant publicity, and you've got a recipe for disaster. LBP seemed destined to be remembered along with Shadow of the Colossus and Okami...games that were innovative and well-reviewed, but performed poorly at retail.

But that could still change.

Does anyone remember last Christmas, when another highly-anticipated PS3-exclusive game known as Uncharted made its debut? It scored low on the sales charts, lower the following week, and was completely off the Top 50 shortly afterwards.

And then, it suddenly roared back into the Top 20 after Christmas, probably due to positive word-of-mouth (and PS3 onwers possessing gift cards looking for something new). After ten weeks, it had surpassed 1 million units sold...not bad for a game that was dead in the water after just two weeks. As of November 1st, 2008, the game had eclipsed the 2 million mark, and it was confirmed shortly afterwards that developer Naughty Dog was working on a sequel. For a game that was essentially DOA shortly after release, it made a major comeback to become a defining title for the PS3

Which brings me back to LittleBigPlanet.

Have sales been spectacular so far? Not really, although the NPD numbers for November could end up surprising everyone. But a lot of people expected LBP to be a multi-million seller immediately after launch, and that does not seem to have happened. But before you dig the game's grave, look at what happened to Uncharted last Christmas. LBP could see a similar burst in sales after the holidays. And even if it doesn't, it may be a title that never explodes onto the charts (like Gears 2) but rather sells steadily, and over time reaches multi-million sales status. Sony has also rolled out a major ad campaign for the game, and that should help boost awareness and sales.

If not, then it's a damn shame. Games like LBP only come around every once in a while.

For the record: I'm a 360/Wii owner. I don't have a PS3, and probably never will, due to the fact that owning two systems is my financial limit. But I'm a gamer, first and foremost, and try to appreciate quality games for every system , even if they're not on my system of choice.

I have a (relatively) new blog at http://thegamesguru.wordpress.com/  It's a little out-of-date right now, as a password problem has prevented me from posting in about two months. I've fixed it, and will merrily resume tossing my opinion around cyberspace soon.

Thanks for reading.

Sources:

http://www.n4g.com/ps3/News-103435.aspx

http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=12778

http://www.psu.com/Sony-UK-defends-LittleBigPlanet-sales-performance--a0005418-p0.php