Thousands Purchase LittleBigPlanet "Early"

Kris Erickson • Oct 21, 2008 • Comments ()

Retail outlets across the United States were selling copies of LittleBigPlanet to impatient fans this week, as employees were either unaware or willfully ignorant of the impending recall of the game. Sony made a controversial, last-minute decision to pull the game last week after receiving word that Muslims could take offense to the lyrics contained in one of the songs on the soundtrack. However since the announcement by Sony came so close to release of the final version of the game (which was originally scheduled for October 21), many retail outlets already had the game in stock when the decision came. Instead of merely delaying the release, the planned recall has resulted in confusion and chaos, as some lucky gamers manage to pick up copies early.

So far, individual Wal-Mart and Target stores in the United States have been the most likely to break the newly-imposed street date. However, not all stores are allowing copies to leave the front door. Many would-be customers have reported massive disappointment upon reaching the cashier, game in hand, before being stopped by a "Do Not Sell" message at the till. In one anecdotal case, a fan reported that other cashiers and managers actually gathered around the checkout computer to override the message, eventually selling him the copy anyway!

And why shouldn't they. Large retail chains are in the business of selling products to customers, after all. It must seem as nonsensical to store managers as it does to consumers that copies of the game are sitting gathering dust while customers wait with wallets in hand to give over their money. We commend Sony for taking the high road with regards to offensive content, but this launch has so far been a big screw up.