Media Molecule May Face An Age Old Criticism With LBP2.

Media Molecule has insisted on telling us that much. Everything else we know by now, we probably shouldn't. The embargo lifts tomorrow. Already people are forming opinions about the game though: generally I'm gauging a sense of unprecedented excitement, optimism at the potential fixes for common problems, and irritation. Judging by what we've actually seen of LittleBigPlanet 2, it strikes me that Media Molecule may well face the problem so many before have encountered: how do you justify your extension to Joe Bloggs?

Apparently, LittleBigPlanet 2 is capable of many things over its predecessor. It's not a platformer platform, it's a platform for platforms. It's doing acres more than its predecessor. But how on Earth do you get Joe Bloggs to understand that? Show them whimsy, show them Sackboy, show them cardboard characters: "Yeah, it's LittleBigPlanet but you want me to pay again, right?" the average Joe will clamour. And Media Molecule will yell, "But you can create unique AI with out new Sackbot's non-playable characters engine." But Joe will retort, "It's still LittleBigPlanet."

Admittedly, we're yet to see LittleBigPlanet 2 and Media Molecule's strategy, so I'm just going to hold that example and edge into something more recent. Super Street Fighter IV. "Why isn't this DLC?" average Joe complained, "I've already bought the game once." A Capcom representative pursed his lips and explained, "We've got all these new characters, a whole slew of new stages and new multiplayer. It's a new game." But people don't seem to get it. Problematically consumers seem to think that with the advent of downloadable content, it's their birth-right to get bonus goodies that directly into their original game for DLC prices. But that's just not the way I see things. Super Street Fighter IV adds so much to the experience it's deserving of a new package. It feels like an entirely game.

People have come around to Super Street Fighter IV, like I expect them to LittleBigPlanet 2. But I have to question what stops people from looking beneath the surface of a product to really digest the value of it. Are ten new fighters, new stages and a reworked online mode really not representative of enough value to bring you to a whole new product? Do you really want to dig out last year's game that's fallen to the bottom of your game's pile, just for the principle? Rockstar wanted to offer The Ballad Of Gay Tony and The Lost & Damned as DLC additions to the Grand Theft Auto IV package. But the Episodes From Liberty City retail disc probably ended up selling better than those downloads - why? - simple, because cry as people will about the principle, in the end they realise there is value in a new release.

And whether LittleBigPlanet 2 is aesthetically familiar or not, the feature-set says the game is every inch a sequel. When the embargo lifts tomorrow, don't jump to the first forum you find crying about the "injustice" of an "unnecessary sequel". Seek out the information and realise the value in it. Not every company is out to con you.

“Twiggy” is an anonymous PushSquare columnist who has been spotted in three major cities across the globe. It’s rumoured he’s on the run from the British monarchy.