LittleBigPlanet levels being deleted with no warning or explanation

by Griffin McElroy on Nov 9th 2008 2:00PM

If you've put countless hours into crafting a level in Media Molecule's uber-customizable platformer, you know how terrifying that headline really is -- LittleBigPlanet forums across the web are erupting with angry amateur level designers whose creations were 'moderated' (see: deleted) without explanation or forewarning. You read that right -- the levels aren't being removed from your list of published, downloadable creations. They are being deleted. Permanently. Forever. Gone.

Affected parties have noticed that the moderations have erased levels which mention (to varying degrees) copyrighted IPs. For instance, that remarkable God of War level that everyone probably played during beta? It is no more. The gaggle of Super Mario Bros. reimaginings? Yeah, those are gone too. Our personal favorite -- a level titled "Failure to Launch" was deleted, supposedly for using the title of a 2006 McConnaughey-infused romantic comedy. Sadly, our very own magnum opus also fell beneath the axe -- yes, "Maid in Manhattan" is gone, and no amount of protest will bring it back.

Moderators of the engulfed LBP forums have promised to implement a stronger feedback system to explain why levels are disappearing -- though their unwavering stance on copyrighted content has officially been displayed. Our lesson has certainly been learned -- we'll be keeping our rom-com-based creations to ourselves from now on.

[Via Kotaku]

Source

Tags: copyright-infringement, little-big-planet, littlebigplanet, media-molecule, moderation, PS3, sony

Reader Comments (203)

(Let's out a Darth Vader styled:)

NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wait, when does Darth Vader ever do that? I'm trying to picture it, and just can't do it.

And gosh, side note, thanks for link to Failure to Lauch on imdb :P I can count on one hand the # of chick flicks I've relented to and seen in the theaters, this was one of them. Thank the lawd for my girlfriend's love of horror movies and crass comedies.

He howls at the end of Revenge of the Sith. It's widely considered to be the greatest Star Wars moment, save for Jar Jar Binks's hysterical catchphrases.

Markez, he does that near the end of Episode 3 when he finds out Padme died.

Ah, alrighty, think I tried to erase the memory of having seen the first 3 from my brain.

Wait, there are more than three Star Wars movies? Next thing you'll tell me is that the entire Empire was wiped out by midget bears throwing logs at AT-STs.

You're kidding right?

If only George Lucas stopped at Episode 3....he's still making garbage like the clone wars and the new KOTOR game (MMO FTL) not to mention the upcoming TV series.

As for getting rid of LBP levels...WTF Sony, seriously, how long do you think you can keep it up? People will find a way to back levels up for posterity, and if they have to be shared via BT or a fan website, then so be it.

I'm so pissed right now. I have little interest in playing LBP levels that aren't based on existing IP's, so this is a huge blow. Sure, there are some fun and original levels, but not as many as there are levels based on IP's. Booooo Sony. Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Episode 3? Never heard of it.

Biggest day one disappointment purchase I've ever made.

Just sayin....

(Let's out a Darth Vader styled:)

DO NOT WANT

Well that doesn't sound good in terms of pleasing the fans...

Wow... But do we really need them being called 'Super Mario Bros Level!!'? Just rebrand them to remove any base for deletion. (Giana Sisters anyone?).

Italian Plumber Stage 1!

Amazing Guiseppe Siblings - Country 1

"This is I - Guiseppe!"

The Fungi Kingdom featuring Jumpman!

As long as it's Gianna Michaels

You win 180 Awesome Points for the C64 reference.

I believe they physically removed the levels from the player's HD's too. So they wouldn't be able to just rename them; but for the future, it would be wise to not name your level after something copywritten.

I don't own a PS3, probably never will, and probably never will own LBP.

But I do have to say, this is really shitty, I'd be pretty pissed if I had worked my ass off to make a really cool level and it got deleted because of copyright issues.

Lame.

Does this mean the level I made that looks my dong will be removed cause it's copying something that already exists? Or would it only apply if my dong is protected under copyright?

that god of war level was awesome

I know, it's a real shame. It was one of the best user created levels so far, so I'm dissapointed we've lost it.

And as others have pointed out, it's pretty stupid too. I mean, Sony own the GoW IP, and there's even Kratos costume for your sackboy to wear. It seems really bizarre that they'd delete it.

Well, it may just be like Apple with their Appstore, they're trying to find a way to make a profit off of their own IPs, so don't doubt that there might be a GoW level coming up for DLC sooner or later.

Nevertheless, it was only the art style and name that made the game GoW-like at all. (And even then, only barely.)

If an official GoW level was made as charged DLC, the amateur one wouldn't affect its sales at all, as they'd be completely different to one another.

Considering they own the rights to the level, couldn't they delete it from the user and servers and render the first edition unplayable, turn around and sell it for DLC without the user getting as much as a dime?

i think a way around this is to make the levels how you want, just don't name them after games and don't have pictures in the stuff.

the GoW level was probably moderated due to the human sacrifice and not so much on copyright infringement.

In other news, Sony Computer Entertainment sues Sony Computer Entertainment over unlicensed use of God of War in LBP. SCE is expected to react by hiding a Sackboy in God of War IV.

That blows ass! But at least you can respect that they tell you straight up where they stand.

Well, no, I think that is the point. There isn't a great amount of clarity on why many levels are being taken down, so people don't know exactly where they stand. Hence the mention of a promise of a "stronger feedback" system to explain.

I haven't logged in many hours but for all the hype this thing had at take off, its a shame to see it nose diving back to earth.

what a load of BS.

You can't copyright a title so if that's why the "Failure to Launch" level was deleted, that's completely unfounded.

This really sucks, I knew this game was too good to be true. I guess there can be some clever workarounds but still.

God of War, Sony owns that, why would they take it out? Makes no sense.

Ever hear of a Trademark? Read up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark

Good point about Sony owning GoW though.

Was just thinking about that. Perhaps they plan to release some paid-for God of War DLC when GoW3 is near release?

With all due respect YOU CAN NOT COPYRIGHT A TITLE, I'm telling you, just trust me on this one.

(Haven't you ever seen a porn?)

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/JohnBuckWLD/you_cant_copyright_a_title__porn_films_unoriginal_title_expropriations___rated_nc_17/

SONY owns that

not the player who made the level =P

Uh, I never said you could. It's a similar idea though. You copyright Intellectual Properties. You trademark how you identify it, i.e. the title/logo.

"Infringement may occur when one party uses a trademark which is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark owned by another party."

The movie's title used a common phrase, it can't be trademarked either. It's like Columbia Tri-Star trying to trademark the word snatch, it just won't happen. Just like how the guy that tried to trademark Y2K back in 1999 got shot down by the courts.

@WiredKnight: Learn a thing or two about trademark before you get all armchair lawyer on us. Trademark infringement requires some likelihood of consumer confusion. Who the hell would think that a LittleBigPlanet level titled "Failure to Launch" would have *anything* to do with the movie of the same title? No confusion.

As for the rest of this story -- wow, way to dissuade creative folks from making levels built on the spirit and ethos of existent IPs.

Weak.

Leave it to sony and companies working with them to fuck everything up. They really screwed this game up leading up to launch and right after.

It's too bad cause I played some really awesome levels in the beta and most had references to some form of copyrighted material in one way or another. There were very few 100% original levels that I played that were any good.

I wonder if this means the Gradius level will be coming down?

Most likely it's going to be taken down. I mean, they took down a god of war level and that's something sony itself owns. Next thing you know they're going to take away the kratos and nariko sackboys/girls that they gave for preordering.

Activision is doing it also, although most (if not all) of this should be covered under fair use. Copyright is so friggin' broken.

What's your PSN tmac?

PSN- tmacairjordan87

Live- lmacairjordan87

Is it just me or is this game turning into the exact opposite of what everyone expected(not gameplay wise)?

Well put. This is one of the worst things Sony could have done. They had a hit on their hands, actually touted the user generated content as being the big deal, and then go ahead and take it away.

Did Sony not think users would emulate games? That's the first thing pretty much anybody thought of when they heard about the level creation system. Idiots.

I wonder if using the GoW level pack will automatically get a level pulled.

Yes, actually I have been quite let down by it. It started with the gameplay. Fun, but far from revolutionary. Then, the level editor was less game like and more...work. It just isn't fun to use. Then, initially the down servers were a major disaster and left a bad taste in my mouth. Finally, once the servers were up, I've been feverishly searching for spin-off levels of known IPs just to chuckly while playing. Now, the very thing I DO find fun about the game is getting shut down. >:(

I've had fun with the editor, but haven't produced any playable levels. The fun comes just from messing around and trying to construct things. My roommate and I spent hours trying to build a workable rocket ship out of, well, basically anything we could scrap off of existing objects (we hadn't figured out where all that stuff was yet). It was great!

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LittleBigPlanet levels being deleted with no warning or explanation

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