Kodu is the new Boku: Xbox Live's 'LittleBigPlanet'

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jan 8th 2009 at 12:15PM }

Microsoft pulled no punches during its CES keynote, shuffling an "actual 12-year-old girl" onstage to demonstrate its newly renamed Xbox Live Community Game "Kodu." Apparently too reminiscent of the failed 80s-era adult juice, the former name, Boku, was dropped in favor of the less associable two-syllabler. But we digress. Kodu is still easily described as a LittleBigPlanet-esque effort, but on a much simpler scale -- and probably far less "brilliant," in the Brits' all-purpose sense of the word.

Sparrow, that 12-year-old we mentioned, apparently did create a "pretty impressive" game using Kodu, described by Engadget as, "Katamari meets light-cycles from Tron. It's totally bizarre -- now her and Robbie [Bach] are using cycles to steal rocks from each other." Actually, sounds brilliant to us.

Kodu was originally designed as a learning tool for kids, but Microsoft promises it's compatible with people ages "seven to 70." Players reportedly create their game worlds in mere minutes using a pool of 200 building blocks designed to drive simple gameplay concepts like vision, hearing and time. Kodu is scheduled for release this spring and has yet to be priced.

Update: Video after the break, and more details here. [Thanks EvilDud!]

Tags: breakingnews, ces-2009, community-games, kodu, xbox-live, xbox-live-community-games

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

PSN: Aggie_CEO @ Jan 8th 2009 12:24PM

**Sackboy reads title.......** "Kodu is the new Boku: Xbox Live's 'LittleBigPlanet'"

Sackboy then comments saying "really?? I didnt see a 'wheel of fire', paintinator, crazy looking farting/belching characters or prize wielding bubbles anywhere...." **Sackboy then falls in the floor laughing only to be crushed by giant ball of fire**

Little Big PSN ID: johnnynumber5 @ Jan 8th 2009 12:53PM

We all appreciated your effort at humor ... it's just that ... the execution was what failed.

PSN: Aggie_CEO @ Jan 8th 2009 12:56PM

yea.......I know......lol......

samfish @ Jan 8th 2009 1:01PM

nonono — NOT lol.

Duke @ Jan 8th 2009 1:03PM

Please research what the use of "..." means. It's so annoying to see it after every few words. Yeah, I know you said it was your style, but that doesn't make it correct to use instead of periods in every post. (Saying it's your style to do something incorrect is basically a cop-out.) Sorry to bust on you like they did yesterday, but c'mon already.

Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ Jan 8th 2009 1:14PM

Buzz Killington declares this joke buzz-kill'd.

You just ruined the funny of MS comparing Kodu to LBP.

borland502 (SDF Macross) @ Jan 8th 2009 1:15PM

"Please research what the use of "..." means."

Look duke...some of us like to type...like Shatner talks...we can't help it. It's still...above...txting. ur shur? ya rly.

Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Jan 8th 2009 1:17PM

Take it from someone who knows:You are trying to hard pal.

Kassu @ Jan 8th 2009 1:33PM

"Kodu" means "Home" in Estonian.

WINNAR.

Duke @ Jan 8th 2009 1:59PM

Oh, I got served. LMAO.

butaneko @ Jan 8th 2009 2:49PM

KODU = Ken Ober Drinks Urine

DBuck_Eye @ Jan 8th 2009 3:36PM

Borland, you gotta work on your Shatner impression. I thought you were going for Walkin.

J @ Jan 8th 2009 3:54PM

Hey aggie, it's okay.

You have some allies here. Let them be defensive for you... please. And learn from them.

James Stringer @ Jan 12th 2009 9:53PM

Those "..." are called elipse.

Good to know right.

ChiTownRuler23 @ Jan 8th 2009 12:29PM

hmm this sounds like a good idea but ill have to see it to belive it, o btw i love how it says "actual 12 yr old girl"
like we wudnt belive them if it just said "12 yr old girl"

roboluke @ Jan 8th 2009 1:15PM

I was thinking the same thing. It's like prefacing a statement by saying "honestly."

NoughtSoClever @ Jan 8th 2009 7:38PM

I too thought the "Actual 12 year old girl" was strange, but when you consider the alternatives
"12 year old girl
or
"Girl"
I think I would have went with the actual as well.

SimbaDogg @ Jan 9th 2009 12:42AM

knowing some companies in the 21st century, im' not surprised they'd do that. There are a too many sneaky bitch ass companies out there. Everyone does it, whether it be Sony, MS, Apple, Time Warner Cable, ATT Wireless, Verizon etc...

Point in case,I guess apples iphone commercials were removed from the air because the activities shown on the phone are capable of being done at the speed they show. And this was apples reply "Plaintiff's claims, and those of the purported class, are barred by the fact that the alleged deceptive statements were such that no reasonable person in Plaintiff's position could have reasonably relied on or misunderstood Apple's statements as claims of fact."

(god i love my chat logs, only took 10 seconds to find). Anyways, so apples stance was this "oh c'mon, only an idiot would believe us at face value".

Not beating on apple by any means here, but EVERYONE does it. I wouldn't be surprised if a company tried to demo a product like that, and said this is a 15 year old kid when it reality it was andy milonakis

Gun Barrier @ Jan 8th 2009 12:31PM

this could be a add on for community games.

Snowblind @ Jan 8th 2009 12:33PM

I wasn't a huge fan of LBP, and while this seems to be a little too kiddy, it does seem to be more my thing. I love using those programs like RPG Maker, and it should be possible to do some pretty cool things with this.

Little Big PSN ID: johnnynumber5 @ Jan 8th 2009 12:55PM

Imagine that! Snowblind would prefer a MS version of a more kid centric LBP. Who would have ever THUNK it.

Readme @ Jan 8th 2009 12:57PM

"Exactly. Calling it "Xbox's version of LBP" is just stupid and blatant flame bait."

But isn't that what journalism is all about?

Little Big PSN ID: johnnynumber5 @ Jan 8th 2009 1:01PM

Readme -

You made a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

Snowblind @ Jan 8th 2009 1:14PM

For the record I *do* own a PS3 and LBP.
Feel free to add me. PSN: WinterSnowblind

colinbell @ Jan 8th 2009 1:51PM

I wonder... will this be a failure if it sells less than 4 million on day 1?

JACK KLASSEN @ Jan 8th 2009 12:35PM

I AM ACTUAL 12 YEAROLD GIRL.

eNrique @ Jan 8th 2009 2:32PM

http://a0.vox.com/6a00c2252019508fdb00ccff8a52f86731-500pi

darth_nazgul @ Jan 8th 2009 6:04PM

eNrique = ultrapwnwin

Rein @ Jan 8th 2009 12:35PM

How is Kodu like LittleBigPlanet? That's like calling LBP the PS3's RPG Maker; just because they both allow you to create things doesn't mean they are anything alike.

knighty (GT: ZeraKnight) @ Jan 8th 2009 12:47PM

Exactly. Calling it "Xbox's version of LBP" is just stupid and blatant flame bait.

Little Big PSN ID: johnnynumber5 @ Jan 8th 2009 12:58PM

"How is Kodu like LittleBigPlanet? That's like calling LBP the PS3's RPG Maker;"

"Exactly. Calling it "Xbox's version of LBP" is just stupid and blatant flame bait."

THIS IS SPAR... JOYSTIQ!

Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ Jan 8th 2009 1:42PM

Flamebaits!? In mah Joystiq's!? No way!!1

Ben! @ Jan 8th 2009 4:11PM

They're not "pro Sony," you dolt. Just like they're not pro-Microsoft every time they make fun of the stupidity and uselessness of PS3's "Home" atrocity.

philmcphail @ Jan 8th 2009 5:38PM

but flamebait keeps Joystiq alive!

el serpiente @ Jan 8th 2009 7:36PM

"JOystiq is so pro sony it's ridiculous..."

You know, you really are mentally ill.

Mike @ Jan 8th 2009 10:34PM

Dude, it sounds, looks, and plays like LBP. The core mechanics may be slightly different but generally they look and feel the same.

JACK KLASSEN @ Jan 8th 2009 12:37PM

SUN SHINE LOLITA POPS

samfish @ Jan 8th 2009 12:37PM

a/s/l?

Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ Jan 8th 2009 1:12PM

16/Koopa/In ur Mooshroom Kingdum, harrasing ur sexed-up Mario...

GRT @ Jan 8th 2009 12:44PM

Gamers need to expand their horizons. This is much more like Scratch or Alice than LBP.

Stix Remix @ Jan 8th 2009 12:59PM

I have to agree with others that the comparisons between Kodu and LittleBigPlanet are slim (if even existent).

That said, Kodu looks promising. If only Microsoft had used a less "vibrant" color scheme in their keynote demo and they used more images like the ones from their research website.

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/kodu/

Duke @ Jan 8th 2009 1:05PM

I thought the comparison was not direct but rather comparing that both allow the end user tools to get involved in the game's creation and evolution. In that sense, I think they are loosely comparable.

Dirty @ Jan 8th 2009 1:17PM

Would it be more appropriate to say that it is Microsoft's answer to LBP?

Stix Remix @ Jan 8th 2009 1:22PM

@Dirty:

I almost typed that exact thing myself. To me, it definitely seems to be more of an answer to LBP than a version of it.

But style-wise and content wise, these two look to be worlds apart.

Edge @ Jan 8th 2009 1:04PM

XNA isn't for everyone. But for those who aren't up to hardcore coding work, this is a great way to get into the swing of design. In fact, I hope this is robust enough for rapid prototyping.

This IS the next big thing and it blows LBP out of the water in my opinion. Look at how she spins through the menus like a pro. The concepts really mesh with her. Mark my words: this will be huge.