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While the game which features Sony's new super hero, Sackboy, has hit the headlines before it has even been released, Little Big Planet is being billed as the biggest Sony Playstation game ever released. The game hit a snag last week after it was discovered that some of the background lyrics contained terms from the Koran which some Muslims may find offensive. However, that will not stop the game being launched in a blaze of glory over the next few weeks and Sackboy hitting the headlines.

Sackboy is a rag doll which is central to the Little Big Planet game but it is the added extras to the game which should make it a raging success. The game itself involves players running around child like colourful worlds carrying out missions, jumping objects and having fun. However, it is the ability for players to design and save their own worlds for use by themselves and friends which is the kicker.

These unique worlds can be shared over the internet meaning that we will see large scale communities created around the game and an ever growing number of new challenges created by users in every corner of the world.

A poll was conducted at the recent London Games Festival in order to find out which gaming characters had stuck in the minds of the UK population and who took the crown as the most popular character of all time. Can you guess who won?

It will be no surprise to many to see Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog grab the top spot although he was closely followed by Mario of Mario Brothers fame. The Top Ten list also includes the likes of Laura Croft, Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Link, Max Payne, Pikachu, Niko Belic and Blanka. Can you notice one theme which runs most of the way down the list?

Interestingly the stronger characters are from games which appeared some time ago and have stood the test of time with only Niko Belic of Grand Theft Auto IV what you could call a new age character. This then begs the question, are the games on the market today stronger than the characters and what do gamers really want to see?

Are we starting to grow bored of the likes of Grand Theft Auto? Will we see some of the older characters snatch more market share? Or have we left yesteryear behind for a new era of gaming in the UK?

It has been revealed that UK consumers are expected to spend in the region of œ4.6 billion on video games in 2008, which is an increase of 42%, and "only" œ4.46 billion on music and video sales. While this will come as a surprise to many, the move towards games consoles and video games over the last decade has been enormous.

Games such as Grand Theft Auto IV and FIFA 08 together with the massive success of the Nintendo Wii has seen the more traditional CD and video market come under extreme pressure. There has also been massive pricing pressure in all UK entertainment markets which has seen many games and consoles now falling within the budget of the majority of the UK population.

While some retailers are complaining that the figures are misleading because they also include hardware sales, there is no doubt that the trend towards the games console market has been ongoing sometime. Whether music piracy has played any part in the shift in sales remains to be seen but this is also a growing market as well and one which the authorities are struggling to contain. It will be interesting to see how sales have progressed in 2009 with high ticket items such as games consoles possibly under more pressure.

While the headlines in the newspapers of late may concentrate on the battle between the Xbox 360 and the PS3 many have actually overlooked the fact that Nintendo is hammering them both in the States. Quite how the Xbox and PS3 have managed to capture some recent headlines in the media is a little bizarre but then again maybe they have higher marketing budgets!

However, the basic games console sales figures for September make very interesting reading with the Xbox 360 selling 347,000 units, the PS3 232,000, PS2 173,000 and the PSP 238,000. These figures are insignificant when compared to the development of the Nintendo brand which sold a very impressive 537,000 Nintendo DS units in the month of September and the Wii which sold an incredible 687,000 units last month.

It is interesting to see that the popularity of the Wii seems to have rubbed off onto the Nintendo DS in the states which is the largest market in the world. However, as we approach the Christmas period all console manufacturers will be on red alert as they try to ensure they are well positioned for the future. In all honesty it looks as though the Wii has Christmas sewn up all around the world, but we will see.

Another Christmas another short supply of the best selling games console and again it is the Wii which is in the headlines. Despite the signs that the Wii would be the more popular of the games consoles sought this Christmas it has been revealed that supply will not be able to keep up with festive demands.

However, it seems as though there is very little which Nintendo can do with their manufacturing division working flat out having just increased output by 33 percent a month from 1.6 million to 2.4 million units, yet still shelves are emptying faster than they can be refilled. It puts the whole situation into perspective when you consider that Sony will ?only' sell 10 million consoles worldwide this year, with Nintendo likely to sell that amount in just 3 months!

There are obvious concerns within Nintendo that consumers will go elsewhere if they are unable to purchase the consoles of their choice but in reality there is nothing which they can really do about in the short term. The massive investment needed to align supply with demand would not come online for some months by which time the extra capacity may not be required.

A survey by Microsoft has highlighted the fact that many parents believe that videogames and online gaming can actually benefit their children. A massive 75% of parents surveyed understood the positive aspects of online videogames with 61% viewing gaming as a social activity and a substantial 80% suggesting it is a vital aspect of home entertainment.

However, when questioned about the aspects of online gaming, as opposed to play stations and Xboxes for example, 42% expressed concern about interactive gaming and the Internet with 94% believed that they were responsible for the games which their children play and the various age limits now in place. Interestingly 47% of children questioned believe their parents are not vigilant enough when checking the age ratings for various online and off-line games and surprisingly 69% would like their parents to take a more proactive role in this area.

While a vast array of information gleaned from the survey was to be expected it was interesting to see how many people believe videogames are an essential part of home entertainment and also how many children would like their parents to take a more proactive role in vetting the games they play. There is no doubt that to many children video gaming is an essential social element of their lives and one which allows them to mix with their friends and family.

While there is no doubt that the Wii remote has literally changed the world of gaming in the UK and around the world it seems as though Nintendo is set to improve the experience even more. While no date has been set for release, it is known that Nintendo have a new extension to the Wii remote which will incorporate an additional angular rate sensor which will further improve the motion gaming available on the Wii.

Even though many people may not be aware, the Wii remote motion sensor is not perfect and rather bizarrely you can still play games using the motion sensor when you are upside down!

The new extension to the Wii motion controller is about 1 inch long and fits into the bottom of the remote control pad. When you add in the new motion detector and those sensors already present in the original remote controller it now adds up to the ultimate in motion sensor gaming and something which many other companies are unable to live with at present.

The beauty about Nintendo is the fact that the company, despite having one of the best selling games consoles of all time, has not sat back on its laurels and instead invested substantial funds into improving the award-winning Wii games console and accessories. This should see the company stay ahead of the competition for some time yet!

Super Mario has again risen to the top of the pile after claiming the top prize at this week's British Video Industry awards. The veteran gamer has been around for some time now but managed to beat off the likes of Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty and Rock Band to take the biggest prize in the British video gaming industry.

The award ceremony was hosted by Dara O'Briain and featured the best of the British video gaming industry with 15 categories leading to the climax of the best game of the year award which was taken by the old veteran. Interestingly, as predicted by many observers, the British Video Gaming Academy decided to distance itself from the bloodthirsty games of yesteryear after more negative comments in the press of late. While super Mario is no doubt one of the most popular gaming characters of all time, with this award specifically going to the Super Mario Galaxy game, there is a feeling that the Academy went for a "safe option".

As the video gaming industry comes under more and more pressure to reduce the violence and gore seen in many games there is a feeling that unless the video game industry introduces self-regulation the government will step in with ever tighter laws.

It has been revealed that Japanese giant Nintendo will be increasing the wholesale price of a Wii in the UK by up to œ20 next month due to currency exchange rate issues. Those who follow the economy will be well aware that the rate of sterling has fallen substantially against the vast majority of leading currencies around the world as the economic health of the country continues to decline. So will UK consumers be hit with the full œ20 increase?

Unfortunately for many Nintendo Wii fans around the country it seems almost inevitable that UK retailers will pass on the full œ20 increase with the average price of a Wii expected to rise from œ179 to œ200 over the next few weeks. Even though the reasons for the increase in the price are fully justified, bearing in mind the economic situation, this will be of little consolation for games console fans who will have to dig deeper into their pockets in the future.

On a more positive note, the Nintendo Wii has been one of the most successful games consoles of all time and the massive library of games being built up is attracting more and more players every year. While initially sales may be hit when the œ20 increase is introduced it seems highly unlikely there will be any long-term damage to sales of the Wii.