Some of you may be too young to remember VelocityGirl. Back in aught 5 she was Microsoft's golden goose. A hypothetical consumer that would be attracted to the 360 not for gaming but for the range of other features offered by the service. Chief amongst these in VelocityGirl's heart? User generated content.

But alas, user generated content was never to be. Sure there have been a few titles like N+ out there that let you create your own levels and share them with your friends, yet it's a far cry from the promise of buying and selling other people creations on the Live Marketplace. The draw of creating and sharing was meant to be the 360's entire appeal to the VelocityGirl crowd. Create. Share. Why does this sound familiar?

Oh right. This thing;

A little game called LittleBigPlanet. Those of us that have been following this thing since it's announcement at GDC07 can't help but feel like proud parents. This quirky little title that we fell in love with has become the darling of the games industry. At first it was all about the physics engine, but it's since grown into so much more. For the first time you can create levels using anything your imagination and the PlayStation Eye can capture. Want to create a rug monster made entirely of the shag carpet in your basement? Done! Want to share it with your friends, family, or complete strangers? No problem! While the cream of the crop will no doubt rise to the top, all of the game's user-generated content should be available to the rest of the world as soon as you want to share it.

And while LBP seems to represent the penultimate plans for VelocityGirl, it's not the first time the PlayStation brand has dabbled in the world of user-made playthings. When Unreal Tournament III debuted last winter it allowed gamers to import PC-generated custom content like character mods, maps and vehicles. WipEout Pulse let you create and share new vehicle paint jobs in a web-based application. One could even argue that this spirit even touched the PS1, with games like Vib-Ribbon allowing you to include the music from your own collection in a rhythm game. Combine that with recent developments like YouTube gameplay recording, the rumored screenshot functionality in firmware 2.5, and the MySingStar community and you've got a console that embracing the spirit of Web 2.0. Embracing the spirit of sharing. Embracing the spirit of VelocityGirl.

Speaking of VelocityGirl, I bumped into her the other day. She was looking for an 60GB for her boyfriend (though she didn't really understand why the model mattered.) "It's really just a gift for him," she told me. "But I might fool around with it too if anything piques my interest."

Welcome to the PlayStation 3, VelocityGirl.

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