Sackboy's Marching LittleBigPlanet 2 Into 2011.

We write this news with a heavy heart and sadness behind our eyes. Even our plush Sackboy - whom sleeps in the office bed - doesn't look his usual jovial self this morning. That's because LittleBigPlanet 2's been officially delayed.

The game was originally due for release in November, but Sony and Media Molecule have confirmed the delay into January this morning. Rumours have been running all week with regards to LittleBigPlanet 2's release window. We did have concerns when Sony labelled them "speculation" rather than just shooting them down.

The reason for the delay is detailed in a long personal message from Media Molecule. We've embedded their words after the jump, but to summarise for the purposes of this article, they want more time to polish. Which in a way is admirable, we'd expect nothing less from Media Molecule.

While this news is undeniably tinged with disappointment, there are some positives to pull out of it. Mainly that, despite the temptation of Christmas sales, Sony and Media Molecule are committed to quality. In an age where developers ship an unfinished game and patch it later, that's certainly refreshing.

Obviously we're gutted that we won't be playing LittleBigPlanet 2 over Christmas, but polish can never be a bad thing. We'll still be there day one in January. And to be honest, we're assuming you will too.

That Sony 2011 release schedule is looking enormous now. We daresay there'll be some head-scratching internally. It's a good problem to have though, right?

Media Molecule's official statement:

“LittleBigPlanet 2 is a crazy dream, a dream to allow players to make whatever kind of game they want, but also to play though a great adventure of drama and excitement, power-ups, and cinematics. But like all of the most ambitious ideas, it can be a considerable challenge to turn these dreams in fun games. We’ve all been working like powered-up space ninjas and we’re almost there, but because we love what we’ve made, and we love our little sack-friends, and most of all we love all our fans out there, we couldn’t let you all get together until we knew we were giving you the best experience imaginable. Which is why we’ve taken the hard decision to delay the worldwide release of LittleBigPlanet 2, originally slated for later this year to January 2011.

“We know this will come as disappointing news for all you LittleBigPlanet fans, and believe us, we are disappointed too. We are a tight-knit team and we take enormous pride in our work, so to raise the bar we’ve set with the original LittleBigPlanet, a game that has been so embraced by all, we’ve agreed to allow ourselves a bit more time to deliver the experience that our great fans and community deserve. We are truly sorry, but hope you understand that we have to build the best possible game, as it is the foundation of our community.

"On the upside, we are going to find a way to give more of you a taste of LBP2 prior to launch, so stay tuned. Thanks for your continued love and support, it won’t be long – we promise. Lots of love from all at Mm.”