Sony has its eye on LittleBigPlanet character Sackboy to be the next big thing for the PS3.

Just as Sonic did for Sega, and Mario for Nintendo, Sony has said it is looking at building Sackboy into the next "emblematic character" for its next-gen console.

It has to be said, he's pretty cute looking, and with marketing strategies such as pre-order downloadable Sackboy designs based on Kratos from God of War and Nariko from Heavenly Sword, Sony are definitely getting behind the idea.

"We want LittleBigPlanet to lead the charge into a new genre of gaming and turn Sackboy into the next emblematic character for the PS3," Mark Valledor, marketeer for LBP.

"We have coined 2008 'the year of the PS3', and are confident that with the launch of LittleBigPlanet we will continue to see the momentum build throughout the end of this year and on to the next," he said. "This is a very big title for us."

LittleBigPlanet has been the subject of a lot of chatter in the run up to its October launch, with Sony claiming the game will be "a system seller" with a target audience of "everyone".

Certainly it seemed to live up to that hype at E3, with the game's developer Media Molecule promising another major reveal before the game goes on general release.

There's also talk of plenty of DLC to support the game which is always music to a gamers ears. It certainly seems Sackboy could be going places.

>> Via - Eurogamer