"SCEE and Media Molecule can guarantee that all consumer-generated content will be free at launch. We know how important this is to the LBP community and what we want most is for people to enjoy playing, creating and sharing their content," Sony told Eurogamer.

Monetizing user-generated content has been a hot-button issue in video games' adjacent virtual worlds sector, where casual multiplayer social games usually rely on microtransactions support to make money, and community content to drive engagement. It'll be interesting to see whether LittleBigPlanet can set the standard for bridging those two worlds with what Reeves calls an "iTunes meets eBay" system.

How willing are you, Kotaku readers, to pay for something another player has made? Or will you just stick to the free stuff?

All LBP user content to be free at launch [Eurogamer]

10/21/08, just one day before my birthday! Note, if you will, however, the asterisk pointing the way to fine print: Release date subject to change. Perhaps I will hold off on that birthday wishlist, just to be sure.

• Originally, they planned to give players complete freedom of depth, but found that a richer experience could be gotten with only three layers of depth.
• If you use voice chat, Sack Boy will be lipsynched to your speech.
• The tags used to label level you create are pre-selected and were intially from LOL Cats. This has since been changed.
• Stephen Fry does voice over work for the create mode.
• It hasn't been announced if you can import your own music into the game. Says Evans, "There's no reason technically why not."
You might've known all of these. Heck, you might even know more. Good for you.

At E3, Sony's Jack Tretton showed off LittleBigPlanet, and though we heard no hard date, Tretton at least gave us an idea of when we could expect to get our paws on it: October 2008.

That's a bit different from the September launch window we'd confirmed earlier.

Inside the Developers Studio: Kyle Shubel [PlayStation.Blog]

What can we expect Sony to focus on this year? Home and first party PlayStation 3 games. SCE Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida recently voiced the importance of internally developed products, as third-party exclusives go the way of the dinosaur. Titles we're almost guaranteed to hear more about include LittleBigPlanet, Killzone 2, Resistance 2, inFamous, SIREN Blood Curse, SOE's The Agency, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, PixelJunk Eden, The Last Guy, Flower and SOCOM Confrontation.

But Sony has far more than that to squeeze into its presentation, including what's coming for the PlayStation Network, PSP and PlayStation 2. While not guaranteed to make an appearance, there are a handful of "safe bets" that may come up during its E3 keynote.

These include the internally developed Afrika, Level 5's role-playing game White Knight Chronicles, and Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain. That last title is rumored to be the PS3 emotionally charged visual showcase that left the BBC "speechless" at a demo earlier this year. Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty, rumored to be an expansion to Insomniac Games' hit 3D action platformer, is also very, very likely to get a mention.

Those looking forward to Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII Versus have likely already come to terms with its apparent E3 no-show, but those two RPGs should at least show up in trailer form. We can at least hold out hope for a surprise appearance from Team ICO which is in the process of staffing up for its PS3 debut.

We've heard little about Sony's plans for NCSoft on the PlayStation 3, with whom it announced a partnership with last year and what exactly that Rockstar Games exclusive it has lined up remains to be seen.

Sony may also pull back the curtain on a number of new PlayStation Network titles, beyond things like Flower and Eden, as a quintet of trademarks — Ember, SkyBlue, Carriage Return, Race Day, and Strings Attached — have yet to materialize. We may also get a peek at Q-Games next PixelJunk title, Dungeons, but suspect that the company will focus on the tangible, ready-to-ship-soon stuff. Will SCEA be brave enough to localize Japanese gardening sim Shiki-tei?

With Home expected to ship later this year, Sony will more than likely bang the hype drum on its virtual world service. How? We suspect it will be by publicly showcasing how Home can make games we already own, titles like Warhawk, Resistance: Fall of Man and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, really, really cool. A peek into how future titles like MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and Killzone 2 will exploit Home, wouldn't surprise us, nor would a firm release date and further details on how Sony plans to monetize Home at the consumer level.

PlayStation 3 hardware could conceivably see a price drop alongside a revision, as marquee releases like Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid 4 helped to spike console sales, but not kick them into overdrive. Curious talk about a slimmer, cheaper PS3 could be big news — and quite a shock to the system, as the hardware is but a few years young.

On the PSP side, we expect to see Patapon 2, LocoRoco 2 and... well, that's all we expect. Sony may surprise us with a few software announcements on the portable side, as Devil May Cry PSP rumors have begun popping up again recently, as has talk of a new portable Grand Theft Auto, but we're not holding our breath for Polyphony Digital to get around to the long-promised Gran Turismo Portable. Instead, we'll expect services style software revelations and maybe even a God of War: Chains of Olympus sequel.

It's doubtful that Sony will trot out new PSP hardware, as the device just received a model refresh later last year, news that was announced at E3 2006. Given that and the relatively young age of the hardware, we'd be surprised to see a PSP2 make an appearance next week.

Speaking of hardware, will Sony finally drop the price of the PlayStation 2 to $99?

What could potentially be most interesting is how the company plans to match Nintendo's offerings. Does Sony have its answer to Wii Fit ready? Can a rumored break-apart DualShock appeal to the masses? Will Life With PlayStation find a fan? Will it be the "Year of the PS3" or just another E3?

We'll find out next Tuesday, July 15 when Sony holds its press conference at The Shrine.

Read more E3 08 coverage right here.

Folks from Media Molecule told me at a recent event that LittleBigPlanet has a pretty robust tool built into it for reporting problems. The reporting tool allows gamers to stop the action instantly, take a snapshot of a scene and send in the picture with a report of what they see that's wrong. The report is filled out by selecting from a number of fields. The form lets you report just about anything, be it copyright infringement, pornography, illegal activities or, shudder, copyrighted pornography.

The game is fun, and it's cute—no, strike that, it's fucking cute—and last week I got a chance to sit down with Alex Evans, technical director for the game, and go to town with LittleBigPlanet's "Create" function.

We've all seen the sped up videos of someone whipping out custom levels for the game in less time than it takes to start most games up, but I wanted to know just how easy or hard it was for someone with no experience.

After quickly walking me through the basics of design, Evans set me loose in the world.

My first step was creating a rag doll. The rag doll is one of the few things in LittleBigPlanet that have any sort of limitations on them. The sorts of things you can select to decorate and animate the sackcloth figure is limited to what Media Molecule provides, but they provide a lot.

I, for instance, created a blood-red doll with devil horns, a devil tail, a stitch for an eye, a patch over the other, a pointed goatee, a shock of long hair and a puppet on his left hand. (Later I discovered that you can use the game's control to have your rag doll open and close the mouth of the puppet on his hand.)

Evans stuck to a simpler looking doll, but then placed a piece of cardboard on his head, like a mask, and used a PS3 camera to take a picture of my head, which he proceeded to stamp onto the piece of cardboard, so the doll had my smiling face.

Once we created our dolls we hopped over to "My Moon" which is essentially your PS3's hard drive, the place where all of the custom maps are stored and where you go to start with a blank slate.

Evans dropped a background down for me, one featuring a forest scene, and then I got to work. First I selected the material I wanted to work with, I selected sponge so the rag dolls could grab them. Then I choose to make it a circle. Initially I just dropped a circle of red sponge on the floor of the map, but then I used my controller to drag out a shape of sponge that sort of looked like a large oak tree.

Evans then dropped down sections of rock wall. Since physics effect everything in the game, you can't just float objects in the sky, ala Mario, but have to start with them embedded in the ground.. After Evans placed rock walls next to and over my tree in the shape of a giant upside down L, I created a second section of rock connected to his, holding down a PS3 button and painting the rock out with a thumbstick.

Next, Evans used the same square shape he had been building with to cut out stairs in the rock. Removing chunks of things is as simple as pressing the X button.

Then Evans decided to show me how you can create moving objects, placing a spinning wheel of sponge on the rock. While he was talking I grabbed a hold of the spinning circle of sponge and then let go, sending my rag doll shooting straight up into the air. Evans was intrigued. "Let's create a vertical level," he said.

So we did, in about five minutes, copying the spinning sponge shape, we pasted more of them up the wall and then dropped down a starting line for a race at the base of my red tree and a finish line up top on a precipice of rock.

Next we through down some rock off to the right and turned it into ice. When touched, ice objects freeze your rag doll into a block of ice until you can break them free by vigorously shaking your controller. You can also set things on fire, touching these objects will turn your doll into a puff of ash; or electrify objects which also destroys your doll when touched.

While Evans was busy turning peripheral objects into ice, I decided to go ahead and set my pretty tree on fire. Now we had a level.

Saving the level we created Evans dropped out of the create mode and let us play it. The starting line includes a little countdown that starts once both dolls stand on it and a gate that pops open when it's time to start racing.

The level, it turns out, was painfully difficult, so difficult in fact that Evans was growing increasingly frustrated trying to get to the finish line. Nothing feels better than frustrating a game designer with your diabolic game design... nothing.

We ended up going way over the amount of time I really supposed to be on the game, as the two of us kept vying to make it up the rock construct without either falling on the flaming tree or getting shot into the ice blocks.

Finally I managed to reach the summit and the race was over.

Evans reminded me that while user-created and shared maps are a big part of the game, they're certainly not the only part. In fact, LittleBigPlanet is going to ship with it's own robust, story-driven campaign which can be played solo or with friends.

And the game continues to impress on the cute level too. I was able to catch a glimpse of the menu interface for the first time last week and it's just painfully adorable. You and your friend's rag dolls are hanging out in what appears to be a cardboard cut-out rocket ship. The ships three windows will eventually, I suspect, all show options, but I only saw out one window.

The window neatly framed a hanging moon, the My Moon of your personal content; a felt-decorated Earth, the Craft Earth where other users creations will be shown by location; and a chunk of material currently called the info fridge where you can track your friends and news.

Neatest part? There's a Playstation 3 controller sitting in the rocket ship with you and when you use your controller to move around between the menus your rag doll uses the almost-life size controller to do the same thing in real time. It's this loving attention to detail that lets me know this game is going to continue to impress through launch and beyond.

Kaz Hirai told a gathering of press that the game will revolutionize the way people interact with games. Hirai also said that Sony Europe has sold 12 million PSPs, 48 million PS2s and 5 million PS3s and apologized for the delay of Home which he says will not launch until he's happy with it. More news to come as the Gamers Day continues.

PlayStation Day Conference [Eurogamer]

Basically this means all the cool stuff we said will be in there should be playable, even if it isn't pretty enough to release. The game seems to change every day at the moment and it is very exciting to be able to sit down and play what feels more and more like a complete experience.

Shoot that sounds like it's too far out for my tastes, which is like now.

We're Still Alive [Media Molecule Blog]

She then went the extra mile, recreating the Sackboy's Chinese dragon costume for the Media Molecule team members that like to play dress up with their dolls. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Sackboy Fo' Real [Media Molecule Blog]

I just can't get enough of these LittleBigPlanet play videos. This first one shows off the addition of in-game death in a lava pit level. The second video, on the jump, shows how easy it is to make a level of mountains and buildings. It really is amazing and makes me itchy to play the game and start creating stuff.

Hints of the first bits of downloadable content came in the form of new backgrounds, some of which have already debuted at CES. In addition to already shown desert and zen garden levels, the eastern Indian background featuring a pre-built Vishnu-like multi-armed god.

Sony and Media Molecule staffers also showed off another pre-built level with a heavy southwestern theme, a sombrero sporting Mexican mechanism that shuffled back and forth between structures. Players had to cooperate to pull the toy, which doubled as a platform necessary to progress, in order to complete the level.

The team also broke out briefly to show off the updated emote system further, with angry, sad, nervous, happy faces and postures, each with three degrees of intensity.

The game is looking very solid, but there wasn't too much on display that hadn't been seen at other events. The "share" portion of the game wasn't available, with Media Molecule recycling the same mock-up video shown previously.

Sony didn't follow up with any other titles, choosing to focus solely on LittleBigPlanet.

While the game is still pre-alpha, with an Autumn release date planned—they wouldn't commit to September, specifically—there's a surprising amount of content to play around with, far more so than in previous builds.

Of the new materials now available—various stones, polystyrenes, sponges, all types of new cloths—I started building out a sandbox level with black rubber. Unfortunately, your little Sackboy can't hold onto the material, helpful for building more challenging levels, I'm sure, but not good for a tradeshow demo level. Also new were a handful of environments, including a graffiti splashed New York City style sidewalk and one with a mid-western feel, acres of corn fields spanning the background.

One of the other features that was seemingly new was the ability to dedicate an area, by way of a unique glowing material, as editable by those who play your level. That means, if you've built a level and shared it, you can limit what portions of the map a user can build upon. If they need to build a vehicle or a ramp to traverse an obstacle, editors can define where these lie.

Another change from previous versions was the "ring out" timer. If your Sackboy stays off camera for too long, you can be kicked off the level, even in the editor. This prevents those wide pan-outs from previous version, which showed the entire level if one player remained at the start while the other ran to the end. The ring out timer seemed pretty brief, so players will have to stay on their toes and cooperate.

Also, the popping collectible sponges from the original are out, pastel marshmallowy fluff now in.

While the game has seemed rather full featured at previous events, including its debut showing at GDC last year, the Media Molecule team is still in the alpha stages of development. The game did lock up a handful of times as we edited, but the game is many months away. Still, there's already plenty to do and the developer has been staffing up to get the game done. They've gone from a team of 9 last year, to one of 25 today, snatching up talent from Insomniac Games along the way.

We may see more of the game at GDC, but according to Cubbin, those plans are still up in the air. As far as a beta, one is still planned, but given that the Fall 2007 one never materialized, they're keeping dates unannounced.

Eurogamer has a source telling them that LIttleBigPlanet will be hitting shalves in September, according to a post that went up this morning.

The article doesn't really get into details, actually it doesn't get into any detail only pointing out that the source is within Sony and that official spokespeople refused to comment. When I hit up our local SCEA flak for word on whether to believe this sorta depressing news I was given the old ""SCEA does not comment on rumor and/or speculation."

So retain the salt and the skepticism. Let's hope we get more official details come this GDC.

LIttleBigPlanet in September [EuroGamer]

Oddly, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is overlooked for the Wii, a game whose success is all but guaranteed on the sales leading platform. A handful of 2008 potential candidates, Resident Evil 5 and Blizzard's possible offerings in Wrath of the Lich King and StarCraft II, also deserve attention.

Video-Game Publishers See Another Blockbuster Year [The Street]

Stephen Totilo breaks the news that the promised LittleBigPlanet demo slated to hit the Playstation 3 this fall won't be making 2007 after all.

"I can officially confirm that there won't be a demo this year," Ron Eagle, senior manager of PR for Sony Computer Entertainment America told me. But he did say he's played 30 of the games 50 planned developer-made levels and that it's a lot of fun. He seemed genuinely pleased about his time with the game, but his company won't be showing more "LBP" at least until next month. Eagle could only add that the full game is set for a 2008 release.

I hope that by not showing more LBP until next month, Eagle really means to say that their will be a LBP demo hitting in early January. I hope, but I seriously doubt it. Too bad, I was really hoping to smack Totilo around some more in the game.

'Little Big Planet' Demo Not Coming In 2007 [Multiplayer]

The latest trailer for Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet debuted during last night's Spike TV's 2007 Video Game Awards, giving many of its viewers a legitimate excuse for watching the thing. Fans of pirates and budding level designers take note—the clips shows off many of the new stickers, like seaweed and barnacles, plus gives hope for handmade mine cart racing levels. Knock you on your ass stuff.

Of course, Rein says they'll have a mechanism in place to blacklist certain mods that users report as objectionable, but the user created content on the PS3 version is the real deal. It's not just "rearranging chairs on the deck" a la LittleBigPlanet, it's scripting, graphics, models, level design.

Rein also chimes in, albeit briefly, about Square-Enix's plans with the Unreal Engine. Every sensitive about slights against his company's platform, he hints "there's a game that doesn't look anything like our games" coming from the Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest factory. Details are scarce, but Rein does let us know it's "neat." Consider it pre-ordered!

The Unreal Man: Mark Rein Speaks [Gamasutra]

...we think that LittleBigPlanet will be a console seller in Japan.

We saw Dave's LittleBigPlanet Justify Your Game clip this morning at Media Molecule and one of our graphic designers Jim promptly knocked this up!

When Luke Plunkett saw the awesomeness of this custom Plagachef graphic, he thought/hoped/dreamed it was Media Molecule's new Tetris alphabet game (instead of an ironic jab at their own slogan seen here). I pretended it was, got him super excited and then broke the bad news that such a game is not on the horizon while dually informing him that Ash has been fibbing a bit during those "translated" booth babe conversations—but that I was sure they thought he was "hulky" nonetheless.

Plagachef!

In addition to loads of new stuff to futz with, edit and graffiti, exactly where you can place your customized materials is going to change (read: there's even more flexibility there). In addition to that very dry detail, one that probably needs to be seen in person to understand properly, Healey promised that we'd be impressed—quite possibly even doubled-over with laughter—at the new puppet emotes and "acting" skills.

He also revealed that you'll be able to interact with other users by navigating the textile based globe, seemingly in a fashion similar to Katamari Damacy's interactive Earth. You'll meet up with other puppets on the corduroy planet for multiplayer matches, sharing, chatting, all that stuff.

Hopefully, we'll get a look at all these new features at TGS.

It was actually my first time with LittleBigPlanet and I snatched up the SIXAXIS as soon as it was offered. After being blown away by the game's GDC presentation, I started to worry that it wouldn't actually be that much fun to play and that the editor might be a bit too slow for proper level creation. At this point, after running around the pre-made level with Healey and stringing together my own primitive shapes into something worthwhile, my fears have been allayed.

It's awesome. So awesome.

Of course, the down side is that five of those are for Sony's own MLB 07: The Show. The other two are for the stunning Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and SOE's port of Championship Sprint, which I can only assume indicates a May 31 release of the arcade racer.

Now, for the Weekly Bitching Update. There are new trailers for Folklore, LittleBigPlanet, Heavenly Sword, Lair and SOCOM Confrontation from Gamers Day that we PLAYSTATION 3 owners would just love to see on the Store, yet they're still not up. They should be. Maybe I'm just bitter about not getting into the Warhawk beta. Michael McWhertor

The idea of creativity can be quite daunting to a lot of people. You give a blank piece of paper and a pen and say, "Be creative!" What do I do? People are looking for inspiration. With LBP we want to create a fuzzy felt experience, where we give the component parts to trigger the creativity. I don't think any of us as kids had a problem with cracking on and creating something when we were given a Lego set; it didn't really matter how it ended up. We're trying to give people the bare bones, and then we'll let them go. Obviously there are going to be sophisticated users who will make incredible things because they'll know how to create textures and images, import photos, videos, audio files. They'll know the things to do to make their contributions incredible, but at the same time incredible things can come from simplicity. Someone can do something unexpected which might spark a whole string on the community. It's going to be emergent.

The only downside is that after launch, any content Sony creates for download will probably be for a fee, though talk of seasonal content (like for the Olympics, etc.) does sound like fun. Sharing among users won't cost anyone a dime and (if I could make a prediction) will most likely be the more interesting content. Kim Phu

Interview:Little Big Planet [Guardian Unlimited]

I had a chance to actually play some LittleBigPlanet earlier this week. The developers had the level shown at GDC up for play. He would let three people drop into the game with him and play through the level while he talked about the controls and such. I ended up with a little guy wearing a Dragon Lion headpiece teamed up with a woman I didn't know and MTV's Stephen Totilo.

The controls were, for the most part, very easy to understand. Tilting the controller around controlled the head movements, pushing buttons activated the pre-selected emotions for the face, holding in the triggers and wiggling around the thumbsticks controlled the arms and holding another trigger let you grab things and drag them around.

After repeatedly bitch slapping Totilo and the developer, we started running through the course from GDC, trying to get to work together or compete against each other to grab up sponge, which can be used later on to unlock items for the worlds you create.

The fact that the game encourages to smack each other around and grab at each other, but also requires team work at times, is a brilliant touch. It creates this fun sense of competition that I can't imagine would ever get nasty. Instead the game seems to be about, purely, having fun. While the controls were easy enough to figure out, they weren't issue free. For instance, you don't have the ability to move forward and backward in the game, instead you can only move side to side and the game automatically moves you back and forth, like a 3D side-scroller. This is only an issue when you come to something that you can either run in front of or climb up. Typically it seemed to work fine, but I did have a couple of issues with falling off a location.

What was most amazing about my time with the game was the fact that I just played around with one little area that they created, I didn't get a chance to make my own things or see what else could be built. I think this game would have legs even if it was just a straight-up, side-scroller with a pack of pre-created maps, but throw in user created content and I think you've got the potential for a smash hit on your hands. Brian Crecente

LittleBigPlanet
FACT SHEET

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Media Molecule Ltd
Platform: PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3 ) computer entertainment system
Genre: Creative Gaming
Players: 1-4 Players
Rating: "RP" for Rating Pending

OVERVIEW

Developed by Media Molecule, LittleBigPlanet is a new PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3 ) computer entertainment system community-based game with a hugely innovative concept behind it. Players meet on a blue and green planet scattered with individual plots - and use their character's amazing abilities to play, create and share what they build with other gamers throughout the world via PLAYSTATION Network.

The LittleBigPlanet experience starts with players learning about their character's powers to interact physically with the environment. There are places to explore, creative resources to collect and puzzles to solve - all requiring a combination of brains and collaborative teamwork. As soon as players begin their creative skills will grow and they will soon be ready to start creating and modifying their surroundings - the first step to sharing them with the whole community.

Characters have the power to move anything in this glued and stitched-together 3D landscape; they have the power to design, shape and build both objects and entire locations for others to view and play. There's no complicated level editor; all of these skills can be learned by simply playing the game. Creativity is part of the gameplay experience and playing is part of the creative experience. Players can make their world as open or as secretive to explore as they like. When it's ready, they can invite anyone within the LittleBigPlanet community to come and explore their patch - or can go and explore everybody else's.

KEY FEATURES

There's not just one way to play. Players craft their own individual experience based on their own creativity.
Unlimited possibilities for user-created content - players can customize everything: their characters, the landscape around them and their own patch on LittleBigPlanet.
Players learn new skills and discover new items to aid them on their creative journey Explore the massive single player game or go online to find user-generated content."LittleBigPlanet will change every day as players contribute their own levels
Online and offline multiplayer modes - play alone, work as a team or get competitive
LittleBigPlanet global community for players to get involved with: includes player comments, rankings and easy communication with new and existing friends

He says the company believes a "significant pre-holiday ramp in PS3 unit sales is unlikely without a more robust title lineup and/or a hardware price cut." Wow. It's almost as if millions of gamers cried out "O RLY?" and were suddenly silenced by shoving Pringles in their mouths.

That's pretty good advice there, Colin. Maybe if Sony can turn those cheaper blue laser pick-up heads into a cheaper PS3 and get games like Lair, LittleBigPlanet, Heavenly Sword and Metal Gear Solid 4 out the door they'll have a chance.

I also suggest including ice cream sandwiches with all future console purchases. Why? People like ice cream sandwiches! Michael McWhertor

Lazard: 15% Software Sales Growth 2007 [Next-Gen]

OK, this one comes video GamersReports which gets it via a translation of German game site Gamefront which seems to be getting the news from OPM or some other "American Playstation magazine" so there's a handy chance that something could have been lost in translation.

Heck, with that many jumps and translations maybe the original story was about Ratchet and Clank. Anyway, according to the accordings-to, a Little Big Planet demo will be hitting the Playstation Network in the US this autumn.

If true, that's pretty damn cool. Brian Crecente

Little Big Planet Demo Coming To PSN In Fall 2007 [GamersReports]

The gang at 1UP got word from the kids at SCEA who now say that Incognito's multiplayer shooter is coming to the PlayStation Store and will see a Blu-ray disc retail release. Not that strange, as Phil Harrison broke word that GDC hit LittleBigPlanet would also see a double release.

Choice. Convenience. Warhawk. That's what we want. Michael McWhertor

Warhawk Will Be on Blu-ray and PS Network [1UP]

While LittleBigPlanet really doesn't need to convince me any further that it will be orgasmically fun, those of you who haven't seen the editor in action and remain on the fence ought to settle down with this clip for a few minutes. The power of LittleBigPlanet compels you! Michael McWhertor

Standing inside the Nintendo booth on the GDC expo floor I notice a nearby banner advertising the Wii, it's reaching out for "hardcore" gamers.

A few minutes later when I sit down with Beth Llewelyn Nintendo of America's Director of pr, I ask her about it, is Nintendo changing their messaging, refocusing on getting those hardcore gamers now that they seem to have the casual ones.

"At E3 (getting casual gamers) was the bigger message," she said. "Now we're coming back and saying, 'Hey, we still have the games that hardcore gamers like.'"

Llewelyn said Nintendo had an inkling at E3 how well their system was going to do, how it would hit a chord with both gamers and non-gamers but that they didn't fully realize that until the day of launch.

"I think now we're kind of, 'Wow, this has exceeded our expectations. Everything is selling, games are doing really well."

I asked Llewelyn if she had seen Phil Harrison's keynote and what she thought of both the avatar-based Home and LittleBigPlanet.

"I think Home is very interesting, it looks like Sony is trying to figure out where their niche is," she said. "I saw things in there that reminded me of products that we've done and things we've done. It didn't seem something wholly revolutionary."

Home "is very different from what we are doing. On a personal level, looking at it, it would be something I would never do. You're not got to reach someone like me. It would invest too much of my time."

However, Llewelyn seemed to really like what she saw of LittleBigPlanet.

"It's very interesting, it looks like it could be a very fun product," she said. "It seemed to have elements that Nintendo has done, it was very cute." Brian Crecente

This is the same level keynote attendees were shown during a live play session with Phil Harrison and the LittleBigPlanet team. Both real-time demonstrations we watched played out a little differently and the GDC keynote crowd exploded when the game was shown.

This is the biggest thing to come out of GDC07. Hyperbole? Yes, probably. Is the game worth it? Yes, probably. Michael McWhertor

What they showed was a game that drove home the point of Sony's Game 3.0 theory, one where enabling users to aid in the creation of game content will help drive the console gaming industry.

The game they showed was LittleBigPlanet, a user designed playground, a make-your-own-platformer tool, an actual game with deep physics that looks beautiful and shockingly fun to play. If you really need comparisons, the game is like Line Rider meets Garry's Mod meets Super Mario Bros. meets an orgasm.

Healey and Evans fired up the game, demonstrating how simple the editing process can be. A grid of objects, from which was pulled a large block of wood, appeared over the player's avatar. The block was tethered to the avatar to give the user a sense of position. It was resized, reshaped and dropped into the world. Decals were applied, over and over to all areas of the burlap decorated sandbox. They added a large spinning cog, to which the avatar attached itself. It hung on, seemingly for dear life, as it spun around the cog. When the avatar released its grip, it was flung to the other side of the playground using the game's physics model. They added soccer balls, fruit, flowers, glowing stars, and stickers to the field and even to each other.

It was clear that two, or three, or four players controlling LittleBigPlanet could turn into a frantic build and design free-for-all.

Phil and another Sony Computer Entertainment producer picked up two additional SIXAXIS controllers and joined Healey and Evans for a run through a pre-built level. It highlighted the possibilities of running and jumping through a dynamic, physics driven platformer, one where the simple concepts of Mario-esque platforming, combined with the ability to sticky your adorable voodoo doll to almost any object (including other players) led to wide-open gameplay possibilities.

Did I mention there were jetpacks? Oh. There were jetpacks. And they were cool.

LittleBigPlanet also features a photo option for capturing your more memorable platforming moments. Sony also plans level sharing over the network, along with strong community features for rating and commenting on player designed worlds. If there's any justice in the world, this gorgeous game will be a massive hit and really should make PLAYSTATION 3 owners very happy.

According to Harrison, LittleBigPlanet will hit the PlayStation Network "later this year" and on Blu-ray disc early next year.

You'll see how awesome it is. We'll have video up in just a moment. Until then, check out the first six screen shots below. Michael McWhertor