LittleBigPlanet nearly at LimitedPublicBeta

Sometime in October--retailers predict the 21st---LittleBigPlanet will arrive on PlayStation 3s in North America, Europe, and Japan. The adorable, level-creation-friendly platformer received some slight preorder incentives last month in the form of in-game SackBoy and SackGirl characters based on God of War's Kratos and Heavenly Sword's Nariko. The former will be available for those who place preorders via GameStop, the latter through Best Buy.

Now comes word that LittleBigPlanet is basically done--and will enter beta in short order. In a post this week on the official PlayStation forums, a Sony developer going by the handle "Sam_Protagonist" flatly said "the game itself is all but complete." He continued to say Sony and studio Media Molecule are looking to stress-test the game's online mode, which will allow millions of people to upload content created with the game's detailed level editor.

"There will be a limited public beta test for LittleBigPlanet in September," continued the developer. "If it will be possible to 'sign up' for this test, full information on how to do so will be made public in advance of the test. Similarly, if the test is going to be conducted in an invitation-only we will let you know ahead of time."