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.
The studio's also handling Spore: Creature Keeper, a standalone PC product targeted at a younger audience. Described as "like a mini-Sims" game, it will see players nurturing a newly born creature that has "Sims motives like energy and bladder".
In addition, two externally developed Spore titles are in the pipeline for Nintendo platforms.
The franchise will make its Wii debut with Spore: Hero, an avatar-focused, adventure-based game set in "a beautiful new world", while Spore: Hero Arena will be the second Spore game to hit DS. Nothing's been officially announced yet on the handheld game's subject matter but the name suggests it'll tie in with the Wii title.
None of these new Spore titles have been given solid launch dates yet, although they're all pencilled in for release this year, with the PC products likely to launch ahead of the Wii and DS ones. They also shows EA's faith in the franchise, which Roarty would love to be "as big as The Sims".
Speaking about the potential of seeing the franchise on 360 or PS3, he told us, "I think first and foremost we'd have to have the right design.
"The obvious out of the box thinking would be to port the PC product... but I don't think that's really the right design. [We'd] possibly go deeper into space... but in my mind, before something like that would get greenlit, it would have to be the right design."
Look out for our preview of the PC expansion later today.
Sorry, but in my opinion, Spore was one of the most boring, overated games to come out of 2008. I've have dedicated heaps of time into it but have yet to find anything interesting.
Oh actually that's unfair. The cell stage was quite fun, but it was over in like 5 min's. But the rest is just a repetitive chore.
I know a lot of people will disagree with me here but to be honest, I don't care! Let them spend £100 this year on Spore expansions. I know full well that when Empire: Total War comes out, I'll be set until the Christmas releases!
Spore is a bit of an odd one. In terms of what it actually does, it's really impressive. From cell stage to intergalactic is all very nice. But after Tribal stage, each one is just a re-skinning of the previous one.
There's just not enough of a selection of missions in the final stage, so it becomes how many ways you can do the same thing, and the game doesn't really provide that many choices.
May the planned "Spore" expansions, and any other DRM with limited activations games from EA and others, end up being just as pirated and face the same public backlash that the first "Spore" title did. That is my wish for this sort of unacceptable arrogant over-reaching.
To snip10: We're in the same boat in regards to "Empire: Total War". Bring on the months (even years,) of campaign gaming!
Sorry, but in my opinion, Spore was one of the most boring, overated games to come out of 2008. I've have dedicated heaps of time into it but have yet to find anything interesting.
Oh actually that's unfair. The cell stage was quite fun, but it was over in like 5 min's. But the rest is just a repetitive chore.
I couldn't agree more, it has great ideas but they were very poorly executed.
And dont even get me started on the DRM issues...
Isn't the Sims the cancer of gaming?
Thats a bit harsh, the core game its self is very innovative but once they cranked up the expansion production line to stupid levels then i agree people start looking at the franchise in a negative way.
Spore doesn't have the luxury of being as popular or as good as the Sims so people are going to look at all the expansions even more negatively, and i don't blame them.
I wouldn't say the Sims (or Sims 2), were the cancer of gaming. But:
Livin' Large, House Party, Hot date, Vacation, Unleashed, Super Star, Makin' Magic, University, Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Seasons, Bon Voyage, Free Time, Apartment Life, and Stuff...
I wouldn't say the Sims (or Sims 2), were the cancer of gaming. But:
Livin' Large, House Party, Hot date, Vacation, Unleashed, Super Star, Makin' Magic, University, Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Seasons, Bon Voyage, Free Time, Apartment Life, and Stuff...
0h dear this is sounding horrible. For the wii of course. Create a creature and make it go adventuring? if they can pull off such a concept i will be amazed. 5 bucks that you transfer your "hero" to the ds and battle it. If not then i have no idea what they are thinking about doing when it comes to tying stuff together.
Anyone else remember a news story on here a year ago with EA saying "we've only included 1% of what we could have in the game", and they said they had already planned expansion packs way before the game was released. Basically what they've done is given you an incomplete game and expect you to pay more for the rest.
I wouldn't say the Sims (or Sims 2), were the cancer of gaming. But:
Livin' Large, House Party, Hot date, Vacation, Unleashed, Super Star, Makin' Magic, University, Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Seasons, Bon Voyage, Free Time, Apartment Life, and Stuff...
...are!
And let's not forget those Wii Sims either!
Thanks Wikipedia!
That's kinda what I meant...
Holy F**k! You are right! I knew there were a few, but that many?!?!?! Erk!!
I think that where it pertains to expansion packs differentiating themselves from rip-off "should-have-been-included-at-the-main-launch" the criteria separating the two comes down to two main factors:
1) How much time has elapsed between main launch and expansion launch.
2) How much additional material and quality the new material adds.
From that perspective I don't quite agree with your statement that "Spore" was an incomplete game. Yet I hold a similar view to yours when it comes to "Starcraft II" which is why I won't buy it until the entire three planned games for the overall title of "Starcraft II" are complete. I can accept that Blizzard has some ideas they want to execute and perhaps feel that one game isn't sufficient to do this in (and/or maybe the see an added bonus in being able to milk the customers' wallets three times instead of once). They are free to do this and I'm free to feel a bit annoyed with their plan and refuse to buy any of the episodes until all three are completed.
It's so sad... I thought that spore was going t be a good new serious way of gaming but they had to screw around and make it a big "kiddies adventure" didn't they
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