Sony puts its Future in the Hands of Sackboy

240w ago - Sony is defining their future with a little-known British creation: a rag doll called Sackboy. He is the hero of LittleBigPlanet, which Sony has described as the biggest game in PlayStation's history.

It was scheduled for release this Friday, but this was pushed back after it was discovered some background music included lines from the Koran, offending some Muslims.

To quote: The simple concept was created by the British games designer Media Molecule, a small up-and-coming developer based above a bathroom shop in Guildford, Surrey, and has hit on the next big idea in gaming. This is because the product has an added twist - players can design their own level in rich detail, and share it with friends over the Internet.

Sony executives have made the game their biggest release before Christmas and have elevated Sackboy to become the company's first poster boy - a figurehead they hope will become as familiar as the likes of Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog.

A PlayStation official said: "We've never really had an icon before. That was a deliberate policy of the early days because we did not want to be pigeonholed. It's psychologically telling that this, arguably our first mascot, is fully customisable. You can make him anything you want him to be."