LittleBigPlanet Could 'Move Consoles' For PlayStation 3

The always popular Michael Pachter offered up the opinion last week that LittleBigPlanet may be the title the PlayStation 3 needs to have breakout success. In a report pointing out failings on Microsoft and Sony's part to appeal to 'family gamers', Pachter said: "After seeing LittleBigPlanet at TGS, I believe it could be a console mover. The game is really innovative, and I think it adds a family element that is so far missing from both the Xbox 360 and the PS3. If they can accompany that game's launch with a price cut (or a lower priced SKU), I think we'll see a spike in sales." The game is really innovative, and I'm looking forward to it a bunch ... but I think I agree with the folks at Ars when they say the pricetag is still too high to appeal to family gamers.

Comments

Interesting idea, but they are ignoring the Wii

[jimstapleton]

being both cheaper, and having plenty of family-friendly titles, I think it'll make it harder for the PS3 to have a one-title-wonder breakout in this sector, like the XBox had it's one-title-wonder breakout with the Halo series.

Simply put, hardcores (Halo) will spend more money than families (this game), and the Wii will certainly provide a lot of competition in that arena. Plus, the Wii has many games (even if you count all the [animal]z games as just one game) that seem to excel in this arena, rather than just one.

Re:Interesting idea, but they are ignoring the Wii

[Lally Singh]

Couple of things:
  1. That assumes you can get a Wii. Only reason I bought one at all was b/c they had one in stock and I was gift shopping. (It turned out the gf didn't want it, so I kept it).
  2. I've got both the PS3 and the Wii. The Wii's got maybe 2-3 good games on it, and one of those comes with it. It's really not useful for me now beyond keeping guests happy. The PS3 games I enjoy more (regular ones, Resistance, Warhawk, etc) than the Wii stuff. IMHO people who played a lot of games on the PS2 will (and do) want more depth than the Wii offers in the area it excels in.
  3. With LBP, the PS3 could fit in as a good fit for everyone. LBP to keep the kids/girlfriend/etc happy, and Metal Gear 4 for the hardcore gamers. This is how it played out with the PS2.
  4. For those of us who really get turned off by the Halo set: not the gameplay per se, just all the 14 yr old kids humping fallen opponents, etc. the 360 has no appeal. IMHO it, like its predecessor, is set up for an FPS shooting game by far. It's really not my thing. God of War 1 & 2, all 6 hrs of Heavanly Sword, etc are more interesting. FPSs are fun, but they're not enough.

I know the PS3 doesn't have the best game selection, but then again no console does for what I want. I looked at the 360, but I don't care about Halo the way most 360 lovers seem to. It's a fun FPS, but eh, I don't care nearly that much. The PS3 does have the most interesting selection coming up for me, and the games it does have so far, I enjoy. Motorstorm, resistance, warhawk, heavenly sword, etc. are fun plays for me (and that little rubber ducky game), and frankly, the only game I've wanted this generation is MGS4. Everything else is nice on top, but it's the only thing on any platform that interests me at all.

Sony needs to revisit their golden age of movers

[kevin.fowler]

My roommate bought a PS2 when GTA III came out. This is one of the best examples of a console mover that I can remember. Sure the game had tons of hype, but it seems like a lot of people agreed that it delivered... and it was also a bit different nearly every game released. The problem now is that with genres being flooded with clones of clones of clones, and multiplatform releases... there are fewer console movers. It's going to take an game that has takes a COMPLETE departure from games that exist now and will only ever be on one console, to be the kind of mover that GTA 3 for the PS2 was in my eyes.

Think about inflation and the $250 NES

[Paktu]

The original NES was $200 or $250 (depending on the bundle) in 1985. If you add in inflation, that $200 becomes $375 in 2006 dollars, and the $250 is roughly $468. How many units of the NES did Nintendo sell at that price, anyway?