Important Update: LBP Reconnected has been postponed until further notice due to the server outages. Please keep checking back for update on when the servers come back online. We will set a new deadline after this occurs.
After weeks of server outages, the LittleBigPlanet servers briefly came back online. Worries were high this month, but soon we can get back to playing, creating and sharing on LittleBigPlanet! We have a special announcement as well about LBP Reconnected, a community-wide creative contest to celebrate the servers being restored.
On March 31st, @LittleBigPlanet tweeted this announcement about the LittleBigPlanet servers:
“Please be assured that our team are doing all they can to get the servers back online ASAP. Thanks for being so patient :)— Sackboy: A Big Adventure | LittleBigPlanet”(@LittleBigPlanet) March 31, 2021
Users later began to notice that the servers went back online around 3:00 PM EST. Overnight, the servers were brought back down again.
Users have also noticed that the servers restored a backup from February 18th, 2021. This means that some published content may be missing.
I was able to enjoy the servers for a few hours that day.
However, since March 31st, attempting to connect to the LittleBigPlanet servers results in an error 403. On April 2nd, the official LittleBigPlanet Twitter account tweeted:
“Server update : It’s taking a bit longer than we anticipated to get the servers up and running again. Please be assured that we are doing all we can. Keep checking here for updates. Thanks. #saveLBP— Sackboy: A Big Adventure” | LittleBigPlanet (@LittleBigPlanet) April 2, 2021
I logged on that night of the 31st to play with some friends on LBP2 and noticed that some parts of the game were slow, such as loading my profile, Earth, and community levels. However, I was able to play with my friends in create mode easily. Based on information provided by Shanzenos in a previous news post we published, this is likely because the HTTP side of the server didn’t have enough resources, but the peer-to-peer side of the server was working just fine.
What does this mean? Well, it seems to suggest that the LittleBigPlanet team did not have enough server resources allocated to support so many players getting online at once. In simpler terms: we overloaded the server in our excitement!
This is normal. The developers working on the server maintenance needed to know how much demand there would be for the servers and they certainly got there answer on the 31st. Once they are able to fix any remaining problems and allocate enough resources to meet the demand for the servers, we should be able to get back to playing LittleBigPlanet.
The LittleBigPlanet server outages began on March 6th, with an official announcement of server closure being announced ten days later on March 16th. The fandom produced an enormous response in the form of the #SaveLBP movement on Twitter, which has garnered thousands of tweets over the past several weeks and resulted in the creation of this website.
LittleBigPlanet’s return was accompanied by two recent BAFTA awards earned by Sumo Digital and Sony XDev for Sackboy: A Big Adventure for best in the Family and British Game categories. With interest in the brand and attention to servers that are over a decade old, it’s clear that the LittleBigPlanet franchise is still alive and well. A sequel like LittleBigPlanet 4 might be in our near future!
The most important part of LittleBigPlanet has always been with us: the community! You’ve made your voice heard on social media, joined us on Discord, and kept the spirit of LittleBigPlanet alive! Now it’s time to get back to where we left off!
LBP Reconnected!
To celebrate the return of the LittleBigPlanet servers, the LBP Union is hosting a creative contest called LBP Reconnected. Anyone can participate!
We have three categories:
- Level: a playable level or game.
- Music: create a fancy music sequencer
- Creation: an object, vehicle, or anything else.
How To Enter
To enter a creation to LBP Reconnected, you need to do the following,
- Please publish a level with your entry. In the title, please include “#LBPReconnected”
- On our forum, make a new post in the official LBP Reconnected thread. Follow the directions in the original post.
Make sure you check out the forum thread to see a list of rules for the contest. The winners will be awarded a special trophy: the LBP Reconnected Crown! You’ll also get a special badge next to your username on our forum and a special role on our Discord server!
Spotlighting Contestants
We would love to showcase the content of LBP Reconnected contestants on our social media! No matter who wins, we want to help you share your awesome passion with the Imagisphere.
Recognizing Student Creators
A lot of LittleBigPlanet players are students and have exams coming up at the end of April. Since we would like the deadline for LBP Reconnected to be fairly soon, it’s important to consider how this affects players in the community who are students. Don’t feel compelled to make a masterpiece! Show us something small, or something that you’ve been working on since the servers went down.
Also, keep in mind that this isn’t the last contest that the LBP Union intends to host. We would like to do something to kick off the summer sometime in May!
We’re looking forward to seeing what you come up with! Welcome back and thank you for sharing your love for LittleBigPlanet!
