GamesRadar - Spore

Will Wright Confirms Future Involvement in Spore Franchise (News)

Apr 22, 2009

GameDaily BIZ just got off the phone with legendary game designer Will Wright, who as you know recently left Electronic Arts to pursue his entertainment think tank, Stupid Fun Club (of which EA is a co-owner). Although Lucy Bradshaw, VP and General Manager at Maxis, reassured us when the news broke that Spore would be in good hands and that Wright's legacy and the culture he instilled at Maxis would help steer Spore's future, Wright today confirmed with us that he will actually still be providing feedback to EA on Spore and other projects.

LittleBigPlanet, Braid, Left 4 Dead lead game developers choice award finalists (News)

Feb 9, 2009

Gamasutra writes:

"Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet leads the nominees for the ninth annual Game Developers Choice Awards with seven nominations, organizers have revealed.

Number None's Braid follows closely with five nominations. Among the nominations for LittleBigPlanet is the coveted Game of the Year award.

Other nominees for that category include Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead, each of which received a total of four award nominations; Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto IV, which earned a total of three nominations, and Lionhead Studios' Fable 2. Winners will be honored at an awards show taking place during the 2009 Game Developers Conference."

Spores tackles LittleBigPlanet as Maxis throws down the creative gauntlet (News)

Jan 24, 2009

Both Spore and LittleBigPlanet are games that ride the "user generated content" train that seems to be so popular these days. Despite the fact that LittleBigPlanet benefited from its appealing central characters and PS3 exclusivity (which always guarantees press and fan attention), Maxis is confident that it still rules the user created content roost, and that LBP hasn't stolen its hype.

Maxis: 'Spore expansion can top LBP' (News)

Jan 24, 2009

CVG: "Spore senior producer Morgan Roarty has been weighing up the similarities between the Maxis game and Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet, as well as their relative strengths. Speaking to us at a recent EA event, Roarty contemplated whether LittleBigPlanet had stolen all of the hype surrounding user created game content in recent times."

Four new Spore titles for '09 - Including Wii/DS version (News)

Jan 22, 2009

CVG Writes: EA Maxis has confirmed plans to release four new Spore products in calendar year 2009.

Speaking to us at a recent trip to EA's UK headquarters, Spore senior producer Morgan Roarty laid out the franchise's roadmap for the upcoming year.

Maxis is developing the core game's first expansion pack, the LittleBigPlanet-esque Spore: Galactic Adventures.

The expansion's targeting a "deeper variety of gameplay" based around Spore's space stage, and the overwhelming majority of its new content will be created by the Spore community using new editing tools that'll allow players to customise their own planets and create their own adventures to share with other gamers.

TGR News Roundup: January 7, 2009 (News)

Jan 8, 2009

Today's news gathering has everything the TGR staff truly loves: boiling hate, Spore and Uwe Boll being publicly disgraced.

New Game Releases for the Week of December 21, 2008 (News)

Dec 20, 2008

Gamerdeals.net writes:

"Well... what can we say... the week of Christmas is not the best time to release a new game apparently..."

Spore Developer Goes to Bat for Used Game Merchants (News)

Nov 17, 2008

Kombo writes, "It is a widely held belief that used game retailers are screwing game publishers and developers out of millions upon millions of dollars annually. While this may be the case, there have been some that have made the argument that the game industry would be in worse shape without these retailers selling games at discount prices.

One such individual is Soren Johnson, a programmer on both the Civilization and Spore franchises. On his blog, Johnson spoke in the defense of GameStop saying..."

EA Game Banning Forum Post "Misunderstanding", C&C Community Manager Issues Apology (News)

Nov 1, 2008

Ripten:

"You know that saying about shit rolling downhill? Yeah, well you better believe it does. A few nights ago, we reported that a long time EA Command & Conquer community staff member had made a forum post informing members that the company would be linking bans on the forum to their line up of games as well ...

We then ran a follow up yesterday featuring an official canned response from EA regarding the matter, and today, the C&C community manager issued a response via the forum addressing his previous comment..."

EA Forcing Good Behavior: Get Banned on their Forum and You're Banned from their Games (News)

Oct 30, 2008

Ripten: "A recent post by an EA Community Staff member on the company's Command and Conquer message board outlines changes to their policy, stating their intent to link a gamers forum account to their EA gaming account. Why does this matter? Because EA is planning on banning those who get banned on their forum from their games as well.

The post by the EA Community Staff member can be seen below:"

EA Announce Christmas 2008 Family Gaming Line-Up (News)

Sep 24, 2008

Today, Electronic Arts have announced their UK Christmas 2008 family gaming line-up. While many of these titles will already be familiar to both Casual and Hardcore Gamers, there may also be one or two surprises...

Jeff Green's Farewell GFW Radio in Audio and Video (News)

Sep 12, 2008

Want to watch 1UP PC Editor in Chief Jeff Green munch a mouthful of tongue-numbing Toxic Waste? Freestyle rap with 1UP Reviews Editor Ryan Scott doing hype duty? Imagine his impoverished future in which he panhandles for Peggle money outside 1UP's office?

Serious meets seriously stupid as Green, Scott, and the entire GFW Radio ensemble discuss Spore, Far Cry 2, testicles, Anglerfishes, and whatever else they want on Jeff's final podcast -- an episode so special we created this three-part video version.

The audio version of this landmark episode is available right here or via iTunes if you're subscribed to our podcast feed. If you're more interested in actually watching us, check out the embedded videos in this story (first part above, second and third below the cut) or download them via Filefront: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.

Banjo dev: Game play through time 'almost irrelevant' (News)

Sep 11, 2008

Speaking to VideoGamer.com at a recent Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts press day at Microsoft's Reading HQ, Rare's senior animator Elissa Miller said that the time it takes gamers to play through a modern video game is pretty much "irrelevant".

Asked about the apparent move away from linear gaming to much more free experiences - LittleBigPlanet, Spore, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts - Miller said this is the kind of gaming she enjoys most.

"For some people, that's the most interesting part. I know it's what I enjoy the most. Rather than play a game through from start to finish, I like to get lost in it," said Miller.

She added: "The amount of time it takes to actually complete a game is almost irrelevant, nowadays."

New Game Releases for the Week of September 7, 2008 (News)

Sep 6, 2008

Gamerdeals.net writes:

"The highlights this week include Spore (PC/Mac), NHL 09 (Xbox 360, PS3), NHL 2K9 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2), Spore Creatures (DS), and The Price is Right (Wii, DS).

Check out the full list of new video game releases (USA) for the week of September 7, 2008 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Sony PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS, and PC!"

EA Announce Leipzig Line-Up (News)

Aug 19, 2008

After an award winning showcase of titles at E3 in July, Electronic Arts today announced its product line up for the Leipzig Games Convention. EA will demonstrate the innovation and creativity of its portfolio for seasoned gamers and newcomers alike, as it leads the way with great interactive entertainment offerings for broad consumer tastes this year. On show in Leipzig are Europe's best selling franchises and consumer favourites like FIFA, Need For Speed, The Sims and Harry Potter, a wide range of casual and family titles for Nintendo platforms including LITTLEST PET SHOP, Boogie SuperStar, Zubo and MONOPOLY, brand new IP like SimAnimals, Mirror's Edge, Dead Space...

Spore Coming to nextgen systems (News)

Aug 19, 2008

If you don't yet know about Spore, you will soon enough, along with every other inhabitants of this planet. Spore is the next big game from Will Wright , the man behind the ridiculously successful game The SIMS. Spore is easily the most anticipated PC title currently in development, and now it looks like console gamers also will be able to enjoy Will Wright's masterpiece on their favorite console.

So if Will Wright's own words is anything to go by, and xbox 360 news don't see how it is not, Spore is definitely heading for next-gen consoles including the Xbox 360.

Electronic Arts aims to license Spore movie rights (News)

Aug 13, 2008

Forbes: Video game publishing giant Electronic Arts Inc (EA) wants to license television and movie rights to its soon-to-be released Spore game to boost sales, its creative guru Will Wright said on Wednesday.

Struggling with tepid sales and flagging interest from gamers, loss-making EA is rethinking its traditional ways of developing and marketing games.

It is banking on an aggressive marketing campaign and a raft of other new titles, including Dead Space and Warhammer Online, to achieve its guidance for full-year net revenue of $5-$5.3 billion.

The Top 7... new games that you already played (Feature)

Aug 11, 2008

"There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt."- Audre Lorde, a poet who wasn't the first person to have this idea

The idea that there are no new ideas isn't a new idea at all. In fact, it's a pretty old one and its veracity can be seen in the games industry too. ...

Digg monster sighted in Spore (Feature)

Jul 9, 2008

Stories that showcase fan-made clones of popular videogame characters made with Spore’s Creature Creator have been doing quite well on digg over the last few weeks. But it looks like digg itself has become the latest victim of the imitation treatment.

Meet the digg monster. His special attacks have been known to attract tons of traffic and snarky comments to websites that host him. The digg monster loves videos of cute girls ...

A Million creatures in Spore and growing (News)

Jun 25, 2008

You want more proof that people have far too much free time?

Spore (Preview)

Apr 7, 2008

At each of Spore’s five stages, from the microbiotic to the intergalactic, there is an eternal choice: kill or... don’t. When you start, as a microbe with teeth, it’s kill or be vegetarian. When you evolve enough to crawl from the primordial soup to dry land, it’s kill or sing little songs to befriend things. Once your species forms a society and decides what buildings to have in its first village, it’s kill or ...

Great In '08: 10 Games You Can't Wait To Play (News)

Mar 12, 2008

After the deluge of great games that were released in 2007, you might think that this year's crop of titles are destined to underwhelm when compared to the likes of Bioshock, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Super Mario Galaxy, and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. However, a number of high profile games scheduled for release over the coming months should have gamers everywhere doing the pee-pee dance in anticipation, giving 2007 a run for it's money as the best year of video games ever.

EA: We'd love to bring Spore to PS3 and 360 (News)

Feb 13, 2008

EA would love to bring Will Wright's Spore to PS3 and Xbox 360, producer Thomas Vu has revealed."There's lots of technical hurdles we have to think about before we can say, 'Okay, we can do this or not'. But we're always looking at and thinking about these issues," Vu told us earlier this week when asked whether it's the company's intention to bring the title to the two platforms.Spore is huge and we know there's an audience, he added when ...

Spore planted on September 7, coming to PS3/360? (News)

Feb 12, 2008

The Wii version of Spore, which was reconfirmed at an EA analysts' event today, has not yet been dated. However, it may not be the only version of the ambitious evolution-civilization-space-exploration sim to hit next-generation consoles. Speaking to analysts, EA Games president Frank Gibeau said that Spore is "already in development" for the newest generation of consoles, "Wii included." He did not specify further platforms, and EA reps could not clarify his comments as of press time.

In addition to dropping hints about new platforms, Gibeau also hinted that Spore might not be entirely free of charge. He told analysts that the online mode of the game could be an "opportunity" for an "expanded digital revenue stream." He did not elaborate if said stream entailed microtransactions, in-game advertising, subscription fees, or any combination of the three.

Spore (Preview)

Jan 15, 2008

Jan 15, 2008 Playing with Spores electronic clay nearly a year ago, we were struck by just how complete the character creation tools were. Spores remit, to take a species from microbe to UFO, may be massive but back then it felt ready, and real. Stretching out flesh, bolting on limbs, arranging faces - it all worked. Then, nothing. The game went back into development. New hires (Soren Johnson, the lead designer of Civilization 4 was the last high-profile addition), and no news pointed to a ...

Spore On Track For 2008 (News)

Jan 15, 2008

Whilst an exact release date has yet to be announced by publisher Electronic Arts, CEO John Riccitello did confirm back in June last year that the game was scheduled for launch in the 'early part of fiscal 2009', which begins on April 1st this year.

Analyst's 2008 Best Seller List (News)

Jan 12, 2008

Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey picks what he believes will be the biggest sellers of 2008.

Will Wright: Spore "roughly" six months away (News)

Oct 24, 2007

Oct 24, 2007 Spore will release in roughly six months time, according to its creator Will "The Sims" Wright. "We have the game fully playable at this point and it's in final testing," Wright said yesterday in an interview with Radio 5 Live. Spore is an admittedly ambitious game, essentially a life sim. Players start off as a single-cell organism and then create their species at every stage of its evolution - from its first steps on land through to tribes then a culture and then finally it's ...

Spore 09-04-07 trailer (Video)

Sep 4, 2007

SimCity creator Will Wright is creating his most ambitious simulation ever: one for the entire universe.

Watch! Spore Leipzig Trailer (News)

Sep 4, 2007

Sept 04 2007 We knew it was going to be expansive - but the Leipzig trailer of Spore really blows all bets out of the water. The scale of change in how you manage your species through it's evolution from the primordial ooze to indisputable galactic dominance is staggering - but not nearly as exciting as the ability to control the evolution of your creation, not just manage it. Every evolutionary adjunct, every building, vehicle and plant is for you to ...

New Spore video gets viral (News)

Aug 22, 2007

Aug 22, 2007 A new two-minute trailer shows gameplay of Spore - the latest from design genius Will Wright. Running through the games premise, we also get commentary from the man himself from other members of the development team. In a nutshell, Spore is a life sim, that has players starting off as a single-cell organism. From there, you create your species at every stage of its evolution - from your first steps on land through tribal culture and then on to galactic exploration. Scroll down ...

Spore spreads the love (News)

May 18, 2006

We already suspected that Spore was heading to DS and PSP, but now Will Wright, creator of The Sims, has announced during an online interview that his colossal-scale evolution game will be launched "on all platforms." Will Wright also spoke out about the next-gen war, saying, "I'm rooting for Nintendo." This surely means that Wright is keen to see his creature-creation masterpiece reach Nintendo's Wii, after already confirming in another interview that Spore would "definitely" be playable on ...