LittleBigPlanet has been awarded a Platinum Sales status by‭ ‬industry group ELSPA,‭ ‬meaning the title has now‭ ‬sold over‭ ‬300,000‭ ‬units‭ ‬in the‭ ‬UK.‭

LittleBigPlanet’s‭ ‬UK launch saw the title‭ ‬debut at fourth in the all-format top ten,‭ ‬sitting behind Fallout‭ ‬3,‭ ‬FIFA‭ ‬09‭ ‬and Gears of War‭ ‬2.‭ ‬It then‭ ‬fell out of the top ten just seven days later,‭ ‬casting an unflattering light on the title’s mainstream appeal.‭

But‭ ‬early in January‭ ‬the‭ ‬title was listed by ELSPA as a Gold status‭ ‬(200k‭) ‬game.‭ ‬Just a month‭ ‬later,‭ ‬and Sony’s‭ ‬"evergreen" title has joined an increasingly-exclusive crowd of high-selling games.

LittleBigPlanet‭ – ‬which was awarded the‭ ‬highest score in Edge and subsequently received the‭ ‬Best Game of‭ ‬2008‭ ‬award‭ – ‬now has a mountain to climb to shake off its Platinum status‭; ‬it has to amount sales of over‭ ‬600,000‭ ‬copies to enter the Double Platinum group.

In January, Epic’s Gears Of War‭ ‬2‭ ‬had achieved just that,‭ ‬as has the‭ ‬360‭ ‬version of EA’s FIFA‭ ‬09.‭

Meanwhile,‭ ‬Free Radical’s PS3‭ ‬exclusive HAZE makes its first entry into the ELSPA award chart,‭ ‬earning a Silver‭ (‬100k‭) ‬award‭; ‬surely a victory lap in a remarkable week for the developer,‭ ‬which saw an‭ ‬eleventh-hour,‭ ‬company-salvaging buyout from Crytek.‭

In each of ELSPA’s sales groups,‭ ‬every category represents‭ ‬one‭ ‬single-platform version,‭ ‬so while the‭ ‬360‭ ‬version of FIFA‭ ‬09‭ ‬hits ‬Double Platinum,‭ ‬the PS3‭ ‬version‭ ‬keeps its Platinum status.

Back in November,‭ ‬both Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit joined ELSPA’s select group of Diamond sellers,‭ ‬a standing for games that sell over one million units.‭ ‬ELSPA’s compiling of game sales began back in‭ ‬1999,‭ ‬meaning the likes of Tomb Raider‭ ‬2‭ ‬and Ocarina of Time miss the list.