At this point, it’s no secret that almost everyone with a PS3 (and some without) is looking forward to LittleBigPlanet. Here at Gamervision, we’ve been following this game throughout its entire development, and we are completely psyched that the game’s release is now, unbelievably, less than a week away here in the good old U.S. of A. Even Europe, a continent that notoriously gets screwed when it comes to release dates, was supposed to see this game in stores next week, on October 24. However, according to Gamesindustry.biz, it appears that Europe is getting the shaft once again: LBP appears to be getting a slight delay overseas.

While there is no explanation of why or how this happened, some European retailers are stating that the delay could be as long as three weeks, while others state that the date is yet to be determined. One thing is certain, though: this totally sucks for our friends across the pond. Yeah, three weeks isn’t that long if you’ve already been waiting years for the game, but seeing as LittleBigPlanet is one of the most anticipated games of the year (and considering how many triple-A titles are coming out this year, that’s really saying something), this has got to hurt. Sorry, Europe. Hey, at least you got Wii Fit earlier than we did.

UPDATE: There has been more news breaking about this delay, including the reason for it and the fact that it may be delayed GLOBALLY, not just in Europe. According to videogaming247, Sony's statement concerning the delay was as such:

During the review process prior to the release of LittleBigPlanet, it has been brought to our attention that one of the background music tracks licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Qur’an. We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologise for any offence that this may have caused.

We’ll confirm the new launch date shortly.

Apparently, the expressions translate to "every soul shall have the taste of death" and "all that is on earth will perish", which is all kinds of fucked up.

While it was originally thought that this would only affect European copies of the game, Sony has now confirmed a WORLDWIDE RECALL of the game, which has already shipped to most retailers (some have already started selling it pre-street date). As someone who lives in the world (and has had this game pre-ordered for nearly a year) I am freaking out a little bit. I know that my copy is sitting in the back room of GameStop at this very moment, and the fact that it may need to be shipped back and reprinted breaks my heart a little bit. Needless to say, we'll keep you updated.

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LittleBigPlanet Delayed. Again.