Early in every console’s life, it tries to stake a claim for itself with a certain franchise or character that can be leveraged into ongoing success. Back in the old days, the NES had Super Mario Bros., the Sega Genesis had Sonic the Hedgehog, and the original PlayStation showcased Crash Bandicoot. Let’s not forget that Microsoft’s Xbox may have never gotten off the ground if not for Halo, and Master Chief continues to be a major source of income to this day.

Speaking in a gamesindustry.biz interview published today, Lionhead’s Peter Molyneux believes that while the Wii and Xbox 360 have already found their feature franchises, the PS3 is still searching for its own "defining" game, one that will turn out the masses and drive sales to a brand new audience.

Some choice quotes from the interview:
"It is always one or two games which define a platform - it’s the same for the Wii, and the PlayStation 2."

"I think the PlayStation 3 is still waiting for that definition title that represents the platform - and I think that’s what hardware manufacturers need to do, find that defining title."

"Nintendo did a brilliant job of doing that at launch with games like Wii Sports and Wii Play - maybe Fable 2 is a defining title. But you are talking to the proud father of this game, so you can’t ask me to be tremendously objective," he added.

Molyneux went on to state that he believes LittleBigPlanet could be just what the doctor ordered, as it represents a truly unique experience that can be enjoyed by nearly anyone.

"If we want to bring people in who haven’t played games before, wherever they are in the world and whatever their cultural background, whatever their sex or age, then we’ve got to think out of the box and start creating stuff which fascinates those people. I think LBP could be one of those."

So is LBP going to be the game that really propels the PS3 this holiday season? What do you think?