Yesterday marked the opening day of Media Molecule’s European beta test for LittleBigPlanet. With just under a month before release, the invite-only beta test is drawing public interest in numbers high enough to overwhelm major European game sites.

Eurogamer hosted a large giveaway of beta invites and the crowd drawn pulled the site down under their weight. The site offered 5,800 invites to registered users, requiring little more than a single click once registration was complete, but the site was inundated with fans seeking hands-on time with the game. The invites were exhausted quickly, leaving little else but a dispersing cloud of dust and a quick apology from Eurogamer for the downtime.

Other European gaming sites have hosted their own giveaways. Spanish site MeriStation will be giving away 1,250 invites starting tomorrow, picking winners from the group who emails their entry to the listed email address. Denmark’s GameReactor is giving away over 300 invites, and Gamover of Portugal is offering 90 invites.

North American PlayStation 3 owners who haven’t successfully impersonated a European citizen will get their chance over the next five days, according to Sam_Protagonist at the official PlayStation forums. LittleBigPlanet’s official website will have more information for users starting tomorrow, and while email invites directly from Sony are being sent today, fans can expect invite giveaways at North American websites, similar to what was seen in Europe.

Hardcore gamers, the ones who are most likely to know about and take part in an online beta test, are usually the most vocal gamers in the world, so having Sony and Media Molecule distribute "sneak peak" invites like this is gonna get the hardcore to talk. A lot. If there’s a lesson to be learned here, it’s how well a close beta test can affect public perception of a title.