When LittleBigPlanet opened its virtual doors this past Monday, Media Molecule decided that it was a good time to announce that they weren't done with the highly-anticipated Playstation 3 title. According to the BBC, LittleBigPlanet's developers are "already at work on a sequel." No other information was given, but clearly there are plans to bring this game beyond a one-shot title. Not only this, but Media Molecule's Alex Evans also let slip that LBP could become a "franchise that could mean spin offs including comics, cartoons, and action figures." Chew on that, Molyneux!

LittleBigPlanet is facing a LittleBigProblem as Muslim gamers have indicated their offense due to its use of a song that references a quote from the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam. In response, SCEE has decided to initiate a worldwide delay on the game, holding back its American release date as well. SCEA has confirmed that the game will be releasing the "week of October 27," presumably meaning that it will release on October 27.

The European release date has not been confirmed, though it's safe to assume that it will also be pushed back a week from its original date. Media Molecule claims to have a patch ready to fix the problem, but Sony opted instead to replace all of the discs.

Patrick Seybold of SCEA explains in his blog entry:

"During the review process prior to the release of LittleBigPlanet, it has been brought to our attention that one of the background music tracks licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Qur’an. We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologize for any offense that this may have caused."

Media Molecule has just announced via the Playstation.Blog that their flagship IP, the PS3-exclusive LittleBigPlanet, will release in North and Latin America on October 21st, with Europe, Australia, and New Zealand getting it on the 22nd and U.K. and Ireland on the 24th. LittleBigPlanet, developed by former members of Lionhead Studios (Fable), releases day and date with Fable II, prompting a bit of a competition between Media Molecule and Lionhead...

For those who preordered LittleBigPlanet, Media Molecule will be providing TWO pieces of free DLC: a spacesuit costume ("launch" pun is intentional) and a limited edition "I was there Week One" t-shirt.

In an interview with CVG, Pete Smith, producer of the upcoming Little Big Planet, revealed that he and the rest of development team Media Molecule would be watching the community closely with the intent of possibly hiring creative level designers. In the interview, Smith addresses concerns that if Media Molecule were to recruit someone from the community that their creations would suddenly have a price tag on them. Smith explains that "If a user becomes known as being great at making levels, I can't say we wouldn't but I don't think we'd want to take his level and then charge people for it, because it's free - that's the whole premise of the game."

Smith then goes on to offer an alternative solution, stating "I think if we were going to do that we'd rather get the top ten guys and commission them to make some amazing stuff for us.” He then adds “We'll be watching [the community] closely, because it'll be a great way for us to recruit great new designers." So there you have it folks. Think you’ve got what it takes to impress the boys and girls at Media Molecule? I guess you’ll just have to wait and see when Little Big Planet hits retail later this year.