According to Jeff Karp, EA’s head of North American publishing, there are plans to deliver Spore content for the next 10(!) years.
With “Spore,” EA already has plans internally to develop new content for at least 10 years. These plans include the traditional new levels and building blocks, but also “new ways to play and experience ‘Spore’.”
Exactly in what way is not mentioned; if this includes sequels or just expansion packs, add-ons and downloadable content.
Did you read the Gamasutra article yesterday? If so you know it had some new info regarding micro-payments in Spore. It turns out we were slightly mislead and EA had to step in to correct a few misunderstanding. This is how it is:
Sharing or “downloading” player created content is a core feature of Spore, not at all something that is part of the Spore Store or even under consideration for additional charge. The entire game is based on players making creatures, buildings, and vehicles which can be accessed from what we call our Sporepedia – a web based collection of all player created assets.
The Spore Store simply gives players the ability to purchase out-of-game merchandise such as t-shirts and posters or any additional game products we might make down the road such as expansion packs. For example, we are working with a company to provide the option for 3D versions of a player’s creature to be made and the Spore Store is where that purchase would originate.
We have also mentioned that we will be providing the Creature Creator tool as a stand alone product in the month or two before the game launches so that players can begin to design their creatures, but we do not have plans to sell individual parts via micro-transactions.
So not only are we free from the micro-payments yoke, but we also learn the planned timeframe for the release of the editor, and that figurines are indeed planned!
Ian Bogost over at Gamasutra visited the ICE 2008 conference Toronto last week, where he spent some quality time with Spore, playing with the editor and following the reactions of the visitors to its booth. He noticed some unexpected behavior patterns:
I have no doubt that the game will be a success, but I wonder if new players will pick up the box and think, “I’m not sure I’ll be able to create anything good,” or “I’m not the kind of person who toys with life.” And I wonder what marketing strategies and play styles might combat this.
We also get some tiny bits of information on how the editor behaves when performing certain actions. It’s a good read covering the whatif’s and but’s that you always encounter with innovative games leading up to their release. Discuss this further in our forum.
Brian Appleyard, with the Times, recently had a look at Spore and got the opportunity to create his own animal; a dinosaurish beast, appropriately called Bryan. The article however is more about Will Wright, Spore’s focus, and its heritage from The Sims, rather than a preview of the actual gameplay. No news, but an interesting take on the phenomena we know as Spore.
In an article about the next big thing in video gaming Spore is mentioned as one of the contenders for that next blockbuster title.
That’s not to say there aren’t any massive games coming soon. Chief amongst them is Spore, the much delayed but just-announced title from Sims creator Will Wright, in which players control a shepherd over a species from the amoebic to the galactic.
Popular Mechanics mentions the risk the industry could face with going back to producing sequel after sequel instead of being innovative, if Spore would fail.
Today during a conference call with analysts to discuss EA’s earnings, EA posted a net loss of $25 million and CEO John Riccitiello revealed that Spore will likely not be making into the 2008 fiscal year ending March 31, 2008. This comes as bad news for Spore fans who had been optimistically hoping for a late October release. With this new development, it could be almost a year before we see Spore on the shelves.
The editors over at computerandvideogames.com have awarded 10 games with the “CVG Most Wanted award” and Spore has made the grade saying that…
We believe [these titles] are a sign of true gaming excellence.
Check out the list for a small preview of Spore as well as some other great games to come.
Felix H. Cat (thanks!) dug up some higher quality screenshots from SXWS, ten to be exact, along with an a small article from PC Magazine to go with them. If you’ve read the previous recaps posted you won’t miss much.
Edit: GameSpot’s got coverage from SXSW as well, no screenshots though.
Will Wright’s keynote presentation from SXSW is out on video, along with several recaps and articles retelling it; including Kotaku, 3pointD.com and Joystiq. The quality of the video isn’t the best, so the recaps will help if you have trouble hearing what he’s saying.
Will Wright (one arm in a sling): All those pictures you just saw [projected on screens before the talk] are from the Hubble. I broke my arm skiing, before you ask. I had way too much coffee today, so I’ll go fast. They asked me to speak here, I decided I’d come and talk about story. Then a week ago I read that I would be demoing Spore, so I’m mashing the two together.
It’s similar to previous presentations of the game; the difference this time is that the game looks more finished with the new and updated graphics and better interface. As always you’ll see some fantastic creations by Will accompanied with a couple of good laughs.
Get well soon Will!
Thanks to Lualmoba for the news tip.
Edit: We managed to find a video with better quality from the presentation. It’s a bit shorter, but in this one you’ll actually hear what Will’s saying.
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