Sony Acquires LittleBigPlanet Studio

[Andy Chalk]

Sony Acquires LittleBigPlanet Studio

Sony has bolstered its lineup of first-party studios by acquiring U.K.-based Media Molecule, the award-winning developer of LittleBigPlanet [http://www.amazon.com/LittleBigPlanet-Game-Year-Playstation-3/dp/B002ELCUUG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1279056757&sr=1-1].

Released in 2008, LittleBigPlanet earned more than 90 industry awards, including several nods for Game of the Year and eight wins at the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Sony [http://www.interactive.org/] said the acquisition of the studio was "strategic move to continue to secure excellence in game development for current and future PlayStation platforms."

"Since Media Molecule's [http://www.mediamolecule.com/] inception, we've had a uniquely close relationship with SCE," said Media Molecule co-founder Alex Evans. "Over the years they have consistently shown their dedication to Creative Gaming and Media Molecule, not only through their support of the company, but their willingness to take risks and embrace our often unusual approach and ideas."

With the addition of Media Molecule, Sony now has 15 first-party development studios aligned under the Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios flag, including Evolution Studios [http://www.naughtydog.com/]. The terms of the deal were not disclosed and Media Molecule's current project remains under wraps.


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[Daystar Clarion]

They better treat Stephen Fry with the respect he deserves. Or else.

I know he isn't part of the dev team, but still... or else.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Well this seems like a good move. Now they can focus on LBP2 or another project without worrying about cross platform stuff.

Unless, of course, you don't have a PS3 as you'll miss out on all the goodness.

 

[Jared]

They better treat Stephen Fry with the respect he deserves. Or else.

I know he isn't part of the dev team, but still... or else.

Totally agreed! rawr!

 

[xyrafhoan]

Microsoft's strategy of buying individual titles as exclusives = Bad
Sony's strategy of buying entire studios so they can force them to produce exclusive titles = Good

??????

Well, I suppose this means the studio will have more money and resources for their next project.

 

[Terramax]

So long as they don't go down the EA route of sequeling up the bum before shutting them down, and their creative freedom isn't infringed, I'd say good move.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'd like to see Media Molecule make a story-driven action adventure game.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Well this seems like a good move. Now they can focus on LBP2 or another project without worrying about cross platform stuff.

Unless, of course, you don't have a PS3 as you'll miss out on all the goodness.

I read in one of the articles discussing the purchase, that MM isn't really moving quickly to produce a 2nd, since the first has pretty much limitless longevity (2 Million user created levels and counting). So yeah, most likely going to be working on a new IP first. Should definitely expect Sackboy to be a regular on Sony machines now though.

It's too soon for a LBP2, and what would you really do with it? Like Blizzard is in no hurry to make a WoW2 even though basic business logic would dictate they should.

 

[Icecoldcynic]

The game was sony exclusive anyway, so it doesn't seem to affect me, not being a PS3 owner.

 

[TheGreenManalishi]

I want them to make a puzzle-platformer, because that was the most underdeveloped aspect of LBP, and the bit that I enjoyed the most.

 

[Korten12]

It would be awesome if they made a fighting platformer.

 

[DarkSaber]

What was it Sony were saying the other week about Microsoft throwing money around to get games on their system? Ha.

 

[Brotherofwill]

Excellent move on their part, MM is a studio with lots of potential and will surely produce a few more original and inovative titles (they could create something worthwhile for Arc/Gem whatever).

so they can force them to produce exclusive titles = Good

I think you're looking at this a little too much totalitarian relationship...

Well this seems like a good move. Now they can focus on LBP2 or another project without worrying about cross platform stuff.

Unless, of course, you don't have a PS3 as you'll miss out on all the goodness.

I read in one of the articles discussing the purchase, that MM isn't really moving quickly to produce a 2nd, since the first has pretty much limitless longevity (2 Million user created levels and counting). So yeah, most likely going to be working on a new IP first. Should definitely expect Sackboy to be a regular on Sony machines now though.

OT: Great move by Sony, and glad MM is happy with the move. They've been a great team thus far.

I remember hearing them starting production on the 2nd right after the first, but that was a long time ago. I'm not sure why because like you said the first seems to be stand-alone and still has lots of replayability.

It would be awesome if they made a fighting platformer.

I know this isn't exactly what you mean but it's a game based on an original idea of the head of MM and holds true to the spirit of their games.

SO much fun to play this in local multiplayer, not so good as a single player title.

 

[Johnmw]

They better treat Stephen Fry with the respect he deserves. Or else.

I know he isn't part of the dev team, but still... or else.

Totally agreed! rawr!

Agreed but if you didn't treat Fry with respect you'd have Jeeves on your hands. The world is lucky that Jeeves wasn't a master criminal... We'd all be dead/enslaved in the mines if he was