spore-creature-creator posts

If you though you had to pay money to get new creature parts for EA's alien evolution sim game Spore, think again. According to the email-sent Spore newsletter, the next patch for the game will have some free content, "Patch 3 is coming soon - make sure to download it when it arrives. We're happy to include 24 free new limbs for your SPORE creatures - dial up your creepiness with insectoid and exoskeleton legs."

Meanwhile the first paid expansion for the game, Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack, is due out next week for $19.99. EA has a released a YouTube-exclusive trailer showing off some of the new content in the expansion.

Last month, in the wake of the controversy surrounding Electronic Arts' DRM set-up for Spore, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the publisher, alleging that EA did not disclose the use of the SecuROM software in the alien evolution sim game. Now Game Politics is reporting that EA has been hit with two more lawsuits, each alleging the install of the SecuROM software without their knowledge.

One lawsuit centers around the software being installed with Spore Creature Creator, the stand alone creator editor. The other is for the software being installed with The Sims 2: Bon Voyage expansion pack, released a year ago. In the latter case, the person claimed problems with their PC arose after installing the expansion. All three plaintiffs in the SecuROM lawsuits are represented by the same lawyer. EA has yet to comment on these lawsuits.

Time magazine has posted up a list of what they think are the 50 best inventions of 2008 on their web site. In between selections like the Mars Rover, the moving skyscraper, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (that qualifies as an invention, apparently) the list include's EA's alien evolution sim Spore at number 20.

The listing, which refers to Spore as "The Everything Game", is like reading about Will Wright's latest creation before its release last September, when everyone was thinking it would be the next major PC game title. We are wondering if Time has even read a review of the actual product which have described the game as good but not great. The magazine needs to go back to the drawing board on this list; it clearly is misinformed.

Remember how Spore creator Will Wright said that his alien evolution sim would help stimulate interest in science? Well a bunch of real scientists have just given the game a failing grade. The magazine Science (published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science) has posted up an extensive article on the game on its web site where it states, ",...the problem isn't just that Spore dumbs down the science or gets a few things wrong--it's meant to be a game, after all--but rather, it gets most of biology badly, needlessly, and often bizarrely wrong." The article goes into quite a lot of detail of what's wrong with Spore, both as a game and as the way it protrays real science.

Not only do these scientists feel that Spore is a disservice to the things it's supposed to champion, some were upset that they were interviewed for a documentary about the game that was included as a DVD in the Spore Galactic Edition (and also shown on the National Geographic Channel). According to the article, "They said they had been led to believe that the interviews were for a straight documentary about 'developmental evolutionary' science rather than a video promoting a computer game."

The NPD Group has revealed the top 20 best selling PC games in the US for the entire month of September and it's not a shocker to see that EA's alien evolution sim Spore is right up top at number one. New releases Warhammer Online, Crysis Warhead and Civilization IV: Colonization also did well in their debut months. Perhaps the biggest dissapointment was S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky. The GSC Game World shooter only came in at number 20 on the list in its first month, perhaps because of a lack of promotion by its publisher Deep Silver.

1. Spore - Electronic Arts
2. Warhammer Online - Mythic/Electronic Arts
3. The Sims 2 Apartment Life - Electronic Arts
4. Warhammer Online Collector's Edition - Mythic/Electronic Arts
5. Spore Galactic Edition - Electronic Arts
6. World of Warcraft Battle Chest - Blizzard
7. Crysis Warhead - Crytek/Electronic Arts
8. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe - Electronic Arts
9. World of Warcraft - Blizzard
10. Spore Creature Creator - Electronic Arts
11.World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade - Blizzard
12.Civilization IV: Colonization - Firaxis/2K Games
13. Warcraft III Battle Chest - Blizzard
14. Civilization IV - Firaxis/2K Games
15. The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff - Electronic Arts
16. Diablo Battle Chest - Blizzard
17. Starcraft Battle Chest - Blizzard
18. Hot Wheels: Beat That - Activision
19. Crysis - Crytek/Electronic Arts
20. S.T.A.LK.E.R. Clear Sky - GSC Game World/Deep Silver

Spore continues to do well for Electronic Arts and in November we will see if that success extends to a creature parts expansion pack. The publisher just released the first screenshots showing off some of the parts of the Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack which we have added to our overall Spore screenshot gallery.

While this first commercial expansion to the alien evolution sim is "merely" for the creature editor portion of the game, EA has already announced plans for a major gameplay expansion in spring 2009 that will add planet landing and missions to its Space stage. It will also have an Adventure editor for people who want to make and share their own missions with others. Until then you will have to make due with creepy and cute. Enjoy.

Download the Spore Creature Creator demo at Big Download right now

How much more DRM in games discussion can you have for one week? Apparently at least one more time. This time the opinion comes from Will Wright, the creator of EA's Spore that really brought this debate to a head last month. Wright has kept silent about his views on the subject but Kotaku got him to chat about this as he was accepting an award for Spore during the Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Awards ceremony Wednesday night

Wright admits he should have paid more attention to EA's DRM plans for the game, saying, " It was a corporate decision to go with DRM on Spore." On the subject of DRM being used to combat PC games piracy, Wright states, "I think it's an interim solution to an interim problem." Wright apparently sees the future of PC gaming akin to what EA is doing with the upcoming shooter Battlefield Heroes, saying, "I think we're in this uncomfortable spot in going from what's primarily a brink and motor shrink-wrapped product to what eventually will become more of an online monetization model."

Will Wright's alien evolution sim Spore seems to be holding its own against the rest of the PC games out there in terms of sales. Despite mixed reviews and protests against its DRM set-up the game remains atop the top 10 best selling games list as monitored and revealed by the NPD Group. The latest list, which is for the week ending Oct. 4, has no new games debuting on the charts. Lego Batman has fallen out of the top 10 list while the $9.99 Spore Creature Creator reappears in the number 10 spot.

1. Spore - Electronic Arts
2. Warhammer Online - Mythic/Electronic Arts
3. Civilization IV: Colonization - 2K Games
4. The Sims 2 Apartment Life - Electronic Arts
5. World of Warcraft Battle Chest - Blizzard
6. Crysis Warhead - Crytek/Electronic Arts
7. World of Warcraft - Blizzard
8. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe - Electronic Arts
9. World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade - Blizzard
10. Spore Creature Creator - Electronic Arts

We reported on rumors earlier this month that Electronic Arts would release a creatures parts expansion pack for their alien evolution sim Spore. Today the publisher confirmed that they would release the Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack on Nov. 18 for $19.99. The expansion will add over 100 new parts for people to make creatures in both the full game and the retail version of Spore Creature Creator. The Spore Creepy & Cute Parks Pack is already available for pre-order at the EA online store.

However, some even bigger news was revealed in the press release as EA announced plans for another Spore expansion in spring 2009. The as yet unnamed expansion will allow players in the Space stage of the game to "beam down from their spaceships to explore new planets and earn rewards for completing challenging missions." In addition the expansion will finally add something Spore players have wanted from the beginning; "A new Adventure Creator will allow players to build and share online their own custom missions, providing almost endless gameplay possibilities."

It's gotten mixed reviews and has gotten slammed over its DRM features but Will Wright's latest game Spore has, as expected, emerged on the top of the sales charts on Amazon.com's PC games lists in its first week. Gamaustra has posted up the top PC games for three of Amazon's territories (North America, UK and Japan).

In the US, Spore is ranked number 1 in sales on Amazon.com, followed in second by the Galactic editon of the game. The $9.99 Spore Creature Creator is listed as number 4. Spore and its Galactic Edition are number one and two, respectively, on Amazon.com's UK site and Japan also has Spore at number one, ahead of a number of Japanese and Asian based games. The NPD Group should release the first sales numbers from Spore next week gathering their data from a number of retail sources.