To celebrate the release of SackBoy in Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds, we’re putting together the first official LittleBigPlanet golf course where each hole is designed and created by the LBP community.

The best 9 holes and a driving range from North America and the most popular 9 holes and club house from Europe will form the official LittleBigPlanet golf course. So not only can you win individual glory at having your hole selected, but your creation will forever be part of this course!

Every winning entry will be awarded a LittleBigPlanet prize crown, so start drafting up your designs and switch to create mode! The Challenge has officially begun!

How to take part:

To enter, simply create and publish your hole or driving range in LittleBigPlanet before midnight on April 14, 2009 (Pacific Time). What makes a good hole? That’s entirely up to you - think Hot Shots Golf, think LittleBigPlanet, mash the two together and see what you come up with.

So that we can easily identify entries, and if you live in the US or Canada, you need to name your level in a specific way:

“LBPGolfNA” for US entries and “LBPGolfCA” for Canadian entries

You can then follow this name by either “Driving Range” or “Par 3, 4, 5″ etc, depending on how long or difficult your level is. For example:

“LBPGolfCA- Par 4” is a moderately difficult, average length hole from a Canadian Creator.
“LBPGolfNA- Driving Range” is a driving range from a US Creator.

(Note - Driving Range levels are limited to the US for this Challenge.)

We’ll then have a two-week voting period from Tuesday April 14 to Monday April 27 where you can play, vote and “heart” your favorite golf levels. Media Molecule will select the 9 winning holes and driving range for North America from eligible levels that get the best ratings during this time.

Click here for US Terms & Conditions

Click here for Canadian Terms & Conditions

Good luck and we’ll see you on the links!

A fully-stocked kitchen, on-site massage therapist, free cruise to the Bahamas—apparently, those kinds of employee perks weren’t enough for Chris Stathis, the star of last year’s ”Pinballz” video, to stick around at Insomniac Games. But even though Chris has moved on, he’s still our friend. In fact, we decided to check in with him at his new gig, MegaCorp, to see how it compared to his time here.

So if you’re like Chris’ new…err, old MegaCorp coworker and want to join Insomniac Games, head to the careers section of our website. We have a number of positions available in both our Burbank and North Carolina studio.

Hi everyone, the last time you heard from me, I talked about the huge milestone that PlayStation 2 achieved – reaching 50 million units sold in North America. Today I’m excited to talk about another milestone in PlayStation 2’s lifespan. For the first time ever, PlayStation 2 will be offered at a price point under $100 (that’s $99.99 MSRP, to be exact), starting April 1!

Why is this so significant? Well most importantly, this new price means that more people than ever will be able to join in on the fun that so many of you PlayStation 2 owners have been enjoying for years, which means new families will become part of the platform’s record-breaking install base. With this new price, we intend to introduce a new generation of consumers – some of whom weren’t even alive when the system was first introduced in 2000 – to the immense entertainment value offered by PlayStation 2.

In the gaming industry, the typical lifecycle for a console is around five years, but because we build each of our platforms for a large and diverse consumer base, we design our platforms differently. With the original PlayStation and now PlayStation 2, we’ve proven that consumers can rely on our platforms for their gaming and entertainment needs for at least a decade. This speaks to the technology and features that were packed into PlayStation 2 from the beginning, as well as to the ongoing support the platform enjoys from the publishing and retail communities and, well, all of you fans.

PlayStation 2’s unmatched gaming library will grow to nearly 1,900 titles from both our first-party studios and publishing partners this year, with a particular focus on the social and sports genres that are so popular with the emerging family demographic. This will include games such as MLB ’09, Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Guitar Hero Metallica and MotorStorm: Arctic Edge…not to mention the 250 titles that have achieved “Greatest Hits” status. With all of that content, PlayStation 2 is a great option for families looking for ways to share their entertainment experiences together; they can rock out to Rock Band, test their trivia knowledge with Buzz!, or simply use the PlayStation 2 as their DVD or CD player.

So to everyone who’s enjoyed PlayStation 2 over the years, thanks for your continued support. And to those who will now be joining the PlayStation family, welcome!

Experience the sweet nostalgia of classic coin-op beat 'em ups, using your fists, guns, and anything else that happens to be lying around to round up and beat down the foolish criminals of Tokyo. Who stands between hope and despair, order and chaos? Enter the Beast Cops, tireless servants of justice. These men and women struggle night and day for the heart of the city. They're Beast Cops because they will do whatever it takes, pay any price, inflict as much damage as necessary, in order to restore peace and security to the streets of Tokyo.

Release Date:Tue, 31 Mar 2009

Attention aspiring drum majors of the world! Can you guide the courageous cat, Major Minor, through this whimsical musical adventure? In a town where marching bands are prevalent and everyone is looking to be the best, Major Mike Minor is fairly ambivalent towards marches despite hailing from a long line of illustrious Drum Majors. After his parents present him with a "special" baton that magically attracts band members to fall into rhythm behind the leader, will Major Minor finally fulfill his potential and share the joy of marching with the world?

Use the Wii Remote as a "special" baton to keep tempo, recruit new band members and pick up valuable items in Major Minor's Majestic March. Featuring eight whimsical locations that contain various hair-raising events, Major Minor strives to create the most impressive parade ever. You can add up to 15 different instruments to the dynamic procession-including brass, woodwinds, and percussion to alter the composition and resulting performance. You are scored on how well the band maintains its rhythm and manages obstacles that could otherwise throw the procession into disarray.

Release Date:Tue, 31 Mar 2009

Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust is an all new sophomoric comedy adventure featuring Larry Laffer's nephew, Larry, looking for action (or love) on the back-lot of Laffer Studios, deep in the heart of Tinseltown! A rollicking, innuendo-laden lampoon of Hollywood, Leisure Suit Larry features exploration, platforming, racing and puzzle-solving as well as an all-new Director's Game, where the player becomes the director of their own "Larry Feature".

• Sophomoric comedy with celebrity talent: Leisure Suit Larry games are renowned for its risqué sophomoric humor. True to form, Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust will pump out those witty lines, playing on parodies of the popular movies of our time, thanks to the screenwriting skills of Allen Covert (Happy Madison Productions) and an all-star VO lineup of comedy actors (Jay Mohr, Carmen Electra, Jeffery Tambor, Shannon Elizabeth, Dave Attell and more).
• Girls, Girls, Girls: True to the franchise, Leisure Suit Larry will feature gorgeous babes that, as usual, are out of Larry's league.
• Giving "Pick Up and Play" a whole new meaning: The open world sand box gameplay includes exploration, platforming, racing and puzzle-solving as well as an all-new Director's Game, where the player becomes the director of his/her own "Larry Feature".

Release Date:Tue, 31 Mar 2009

Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust is an all new sophomoric comedy adventure featuring Larry Laffer's nephew, Larry, looking for action (or love) on the back-lot of Laffer Studios, deep in the heart of Tinseltown! A rollicking, innuendo-laden lampoon of Hollywood, Leisure Suit Larry features exploration, platforming, racing and puzzle-solving as well as an all-new Director's Game, where the player becomes the director of their own "Larry Feature".

• Sophomoric comedy with celebrity talent: Leisure Suit Larry games are renowned for its risqué sophomoric humor. True to form, Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust will pump out those witty lines, playing on parodies of the popular movies of our time, thanks to the screenwriting skills of Allen Covert (Happy Madison Productions) and an all-star VO lineup of comedy actors (Jay Mohr, Carmen Electra, Jeffery Tambor, Shannon Elizabeth, Dave Attell and more).
• Girls, Girls, Girls: True to the franchise, Leisure Suit Larry will feature gorgeous babes that, as usual, are out of Larry's league.
• Giving "Pick Up and Play" a whole new meaning: The open world sand box gameplay includes exploration, platforming, racing and puzzle-solving as well as an all-new Director's Game, where the player becomes the director of his/her own "Larry Feature".

Release Date:Tue, 31 Mar 2009

Become the new beloved doctor in town! Diagnose and care for patients who come to your office and save the town from an unknown epidemic.

• Be the Town’s Doctor—Meet and care for patients as you learn about their symptoms and medical history. Diagnose patients in fun mini-games, and give healing advice and prescriptions.
• Learn New Medical Skills—Learn new techniques from other doctors and receive advice that will help your practice.
• Solve the Mystery—Discover and defeat a mysterious virus that is plaguing the town!
• Create and Customize your Office—Design a welcoming office for your patients to feel comfortable in. Choose the color palette and furniture layout that fit your style!
• Make Friends in this New Town—Interact with a number of different characters like the funny shopkeeper, the clumsy actor, and the Zen Doctor.

Release Date:Tue, 31 Mar 2009

Gold's Gym Cardio Workout brings your own personal Gold's Gym cardio trainer into your living room! Gold's Gym is the largest gym in the world and is known for leading the industry in personal training, so expect to get in shape fast. It's a fun way to exercise and maintain a healthy body.

• A personal training experience—schedule workouts, track burned calories and body weight.
• Offers a more intense cardio workout than most Wii fitness games; includes exercises such as cardio boxing, running, sit-ups, and more.
• Tracks your progress and maintains a calendar of your exercise activity.
• Multiple training modes and fitness levels—difficulty evolves as your fitness level increases.
• Compatible with the Wii Balance Board.

Release Date:Tue, 31 Mar 2009

Gardening Mama transforms the DS stylus into a universal gardening tool that players will use to plant, nurture and harvest flowers, fruits and vegetables. Gamers can manage their garden through the seeding, blooming and maturation phases, and then produce items from the plants they've grown (i.e. grow strawberries to make jam or raise pumpkins and then carve a jack-`o-lantern). A robust multiplayer mode lets up to four friends compete to grow the biggest harvest and Treasure Box mode lets players share items they've grown with online friends. Gamers can also decorate various gardens while creating goods like pergolas and hanging baskets. In addition, players can change Mama's outfit to their liking while customizing the screen design to their preference. Just as millions of players enjoyed slicing and dicing with Mama in the kitchen, they can now move to the great outdoors-planting, pruning, picking, and creating-in Gardening Mama!

Release Date:Tue, 31 Mar 2009