With E3 less than a week away, I wanted to take this opportunity to provide a quick update on what you’ll be seeing at the show in Los Angeles. We’ll be unveiling our multiplayer mode, which supports one to four players offline and one to eight players online, and I’m sure you’ll be reading plenty of hands-on reports from the press during E3 week. I can tell you that it’s addictively fun — you won’t want to put the controller down! We’ll also be showing off more of the single-player campaign that users will be able to explore, as well as some of the additional non-racing experiences that are unique to LBP Karting, so get ready!

Secondly, I wanted to quickly thank our friends in the press who have spoken highly of Sackboy’s newest karting adventure. As IGN put it…”LittleBigPlanet Karting is already an incredibly promising step up and a great new direction for the LittleBigPlanet franchise.” To give you a sense of the recent impressions out there so far, here are a few links— Chicago Tribune, Forbes, IGN, 1UP, Kotaku, Game Informer, GameTrailers, Destructoid, Digital Trends, GameSpot, Games Radar, Polygon, GameFan, etc.

Lastly, I wanted to pass along a quick reminder about our pre-order bonus offer. Those who pre-order the game through Amazon or GameStop will receive a bonus voucher code that grants access to the Kevin Butler DLC Pack, which includes the Kevin Butler Sackboy Costume and Executive Golf Kart. Here’s a look…

Lets begin with our Launch Trailer!

So I’ve just unwrapped my copy and I’m about to check it out. Now there are a LOT of things you can do in ModNation Racers, so I figured I would help you out on your first day.

Here’s a list of the five things I think are worth checking out right away.

1. Download Sackboy!

If you’re lucky, you scored a voucher for Sackboy and his Kart (one of my favorite karts in the game). The voucher is packed in with the game and manual, so make sure you don’t accidentally toss it out.

2. Career Basics

The first few races in the Career will teach you the basics: drifting, drafting, defense, boost, weapons and all the good stuff. A few quick tips:

• Use Boost wisely! Once you get out in front of the pack, manage your boost wisely. Save some boost for shields if you want to stay out in front.
• Learn to drift! Use the X button to drift. Drifting accumulates boost and it’s critical to getting around the tracks.
• Shortcuts! Keep your eyes open and watch out for shortcuts. The risk is worth the reward.

3. Track Studio

Track Studio is the bread and butter of creation in ModNation, and is THE BEST track creator, well, ever. It’s super easy to use and makes creation really fun. Want to try something a little different? Try playing around with the terrain before you lay out your track. It’s a different experience than you have seen in most videos and happens to be my favorite way to build tracks. I was going to list out some tips, but it’s probably best if I just point you in the direction of the Tutorials, which are informative and fun to watch. You don’t have to leave the Track Studio to watch them — just press the Start button and select “Tutorials” in the circle menu.

4. Hottest User-Generated Tracks

If you want to see what the community has deemed to be the hottest tracks, then the best thing to do is check out the Top Tracks or Hot Lap events in the ModSpot.

The Top Tracks event is populated with the hottest user-created tracks. It’s really easy and fun way to dive in a check out what’s hot. It’s a series event, so may the best Mod win! Hot Lap is also populated with user-created tracks. It’s another way to check out the hottest tracks, but there is a twist to this event. You get to race against the ghost of the Hot Lap leader; it’s all about lap times! There’s a new track every day and, if you finish in the top 10%, you’ll get a nice little reward.

5. Creation Browser

Probably the fastest way to see just how cool the creative tools are in ModNaiton is to see what other players are doing with them. To do that, check out the Creation Browser. To access the Creation Browser, simply drive up to and activate the “Share” station in the ModSpot.

Each creation gets a thumbnail preview so it’s really easy to browse. If you see something you like, download it and check it out. It’s a good way to get inspired and see just how cool the creation tools are.

Oh… and don’t forget to leave comments and vote! A lot of people put tons of work into their creation, so if you’re going to download it be sure to give them some props!

That’s it for now, can’t wait to see you in the ModSpot!