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Wednesday, Aug 26
EA Maxis-Spore Hit with Layoffs
The Maxis headquarters in Redwood, California have been the host of the latest job cuts as the gamin The Maxis headquarters in Redwood, California have been the host of the latest job cuts as the gamin
Sunday, Jul 26
Spore creature animated in Maya
Thanks to SporeOddity who pointed out that Ocean Quigley has posted a new video showing how the coll Thanks to SporeOddity who pointed out that Ocean Quigley has posted a new video showing how the coll
Thursday, Jul 23
Ocean Quigley: How to export spore creatures to maya
Source: Ocean Quigley’s Website Here’s how to use Spore to export a 3D Collada file of y Source: Ocean Quigley’s Website Here’s how to use Spore to export a 3D Collada file of y
Monday, Jul 6
Spore Hero Arena DS – HQ boxart
SporeBR found a much better version of the Spore Hero Arena boxart for the Nintendo DS. Thanks to S SporeBR found a much better version of the Spore Hero Arena boxart for the Nintendo DS. Thanks to S
Thursday, Jul 2
Celebrate your Independence with 2 new Spore Galactic Adventures missions!
Check out this new press release from EA – celebrate the 4th of July (as Maxis is an American-based Check out this new press release from EA – celebrate the 4th of July (as Maxis is an American-based
Tuesday, Jun 30
The Sims 3 Team presents 'Spore Galactic Adventures' Give-Away on Facebook
A message that was passed along to me from The Sims 3 Team on Facebook: To celebrate the release of A message that was passed along to me from The Sims 3 Team on Facebook: To celebrate the release of
Sunday, Jan 25
Play.tm: Spore Galactic Adventures review
Executive producer Morgan Roarty is here to take us around the add-on to EA’s PC hit, and talk of piracy and hardcore dissatisfaction is rapidly side-stepped as we pile into chatter on Spore’s mainstream success. The numbers make good reading, the Creature Creator having been downloaded over 6 million times, with 3 million copies of Spore sold, and over 64 million creatures invented. ‘Goals’ are key - tasks for creatures to complete, and these can be racked-up in succession in true sandbox style, allowing players to probe the limits of the game itself; the platform Maxis are offering us. If nothing more, Galactic Adventures’ toolset should be a sturdy test of just how robust the Spore game engine really is, and the quality and depth of the...
Friday, Jan 23
Worthplaying - Interview with Spore Galactic Adventures Morgan Roarty
MR: It’s all about the rating system. Every time you play the mission, you give it a rating, and we’ve seen it on the content side; if you go to Spore.com, all the good content bubbles up to featured content. Again, if you’re a really good guy who makes creatures out there, the most fame you’d get is featured content on Spore.com. That’s the only way you’re going to see your hard work and labor. These missions are a whole new avenue to show off your content. We’ve already proven with featured content that it’s going to bubble to the top, so I don’t see a problem with being able to see the good stuff and not be exposed to the bad stuff.
Friday, Dec 5
New Class Action attempts to shut down DRM forever
Just when we thought the whole DRM in spore issue has gone away, California resident Alex McQuown added one more Spore suit to the pile. However unlike previous class actions, attorneys are attempting to use Spore as a symbol for Electronic Arts’ entire SecuROM initiative, and hope to...
New Class Action attempts to shut down DRM forever
Story at GameCyte. Filed in California’s Northern District Court by attorneys from the offices of Finkelstein Thompson, the body of the lawsuit looks much the same as the three submitted by Thomas, Eldridge and Cortez earlier this year. In much the same way, it calls out SecuROM for secretly installing itself on the computers of unwitting Spore Creature Creator users; in much the same way, it talks about SecuROM as a pest that interferes with other software and hardware, and one that can never be completely removed. But third, buried near the end of the document, is the kicker — the lawsuit isn’t just about Spore:
Tuesday, Nov 25
SpikeTV - ‘The Wright Stuff SPORE UGC’ Contest
Spike and Electronic Arts Team Up to Celebrate Iconic Designer Will Wright With ‘The Wright Stuff SPORE UGC’ Contest To help celebrate Wright’s latest achievement, Spike and EA are teaming up to celebrate the creativity of Spore with “The Wright Stuff SPORE UGC” contest. The grand prize is a VIP trip for two to this year’s VGAs and some one-on-one time with the legend himself, Will Wright. SimCity, The Sims and Spore are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. SOURCE Spike TV Spike and Electronic Arts Team Up to Celebrate Iconic Designer Will Wright With ‘The Wright Stuff
Wednesday, Nov 5
Will Wright on Science vs Cute
To take a quick tangent let me use the creature design vs. performance as an example. We had competing issues to face. First, we wanted the creature’s design to impact its in-game performance. Second, we wanted the economics of the editor to be simple and understandable and connected to performance. Third, we wanted a high amount of aesthetic diversity. We didn’t want there to be one ultimate design direction that the simulator was forcing all the creatures into. In other words if to be fast you had to have long legs that would have met the first goal, conflicted with the third goal and made the second much more complex. Will Wright
Thursday, Oct 16
US: Spore #1 for PC
The top ten U.S. PC and Console games from September, according to NPD, were: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts, Xbox 360) - 610,000 Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 518,000Spore (Electronic Arts,PC) - 406,000Rock Band 2 (Harmonix, Xbox 360) - 363,000Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 353,000Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts, PlayStation 3) - 325,000Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (Pandemic, Xbox 360) - 297,000 Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning - 274,000Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii) - 243,000Madden NFL 09 (EA Tiburon, Xbox 360) - 224,000 Spore looks to be one of the best selling games this year topping the charts for September with almo
Wednesday, Oct 15
US: Spore stays #1
Spore has continued to hold onto its number one ranking in its fourth week on sale. The top three is pretty much the same as last week, with the most recent sims expansion The Sims 2 Apartment Life coming in at fourth. Spore Creature Creator managed to get back in the top ten, coming in at tenth, making it very likely that Spore will be one of the best selling games this year. 1. Spore 2. Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning 3. Civilization IV: Colonization Expansion Pack 4. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Expansion Pack 5. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest 6. Crysis: Warhead 7. World Of Warcraft 8. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe 10. Spore Creature Creator Spore has continued to hold onto its number one ranking in its fourth week on sale. The top three is
Tuesday, Oct 14
Spore expansions: Lucy Bradshaw
1UP spoke with Maxis general manager Lucy Bradshaw shortly after the announcement. When discussing the future of the franchise, they asked if Maxis would continue releasing Parts Packs indefinitely or if they might at some point open the game up for players to create their own parts, similar to how they eventually opened up The Sims 2. While careful to note that for the time being, the team is “focused on adding to it ourselves,” Bradshaw said, “I’d love to be able to do something like that, probably for more high-end players who have some 3D art skills.” Bradshaw also goes into detail on their plans for continued expansions and add-on packs as well as the future involvement of Will Wright in the game.
Second Spore Expansion: Space
EA has hinted that a new expansion for Spore will be heading our way around March next year. The expansion will mainly have features and gameplaychanges for the space phase, however not many details have been released yet. We can only hope that it will make the most in-depth part of Spore better. This space expansion will also add a new layer of user creation through the “Adventure Creator,” which allows users to craft unique missions that will then be populated out to other players’ games, just like the creatures, vehicles, and buildings. EA has hinted that a new expansion for Spore will be heading our way around March next year. The exp
Sunday, Oct 12
Spore Expansion: Creepy and Cute
Spore Expansion Last week, something called Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack - an expansion for Spore - appeared on Amazon and Gamestop’s online catalogues before being quickly taken down. Well, the listing is back up now along with a date, a price, and box art. It’s logical to assume from the expansion’s title that the pack will add new body parts for you to add to your creature. Is that it, though? A twenty buck price tag, nearly half the price of the full game, does suggest a sizable chunk of new content. Maybe it’s just an ass-ton of new creature parts? We’ll see in November. Spore Expansion Last week, something called Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack - an expansion for S
Thursday, Oct 9
US: Spore holds lead over Age of Reckoning
Spore has held its first place, even with tough competition from Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. This is the third week in a row that Spore has managed to take top position on the PC charts. Civilization IV: Colonization rounded out the top 3. However both Spore galactic edition and Spore Creature Creator both fell of the charts. The complete top is down below: 1. Spore 2. Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning 3. Civilization IV: Colonization 4. Crysis: Warhead 5. The Sims 2 Apartment Life 6. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest 7. World Of Warcraft 8. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe 9. Lego Batman 10. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Spore has held its first place, even with tough competition from Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.
Friday, Oct 3
Rumor: Retailers Reveal Spore Expansion
The first expansion for Electronic Arts’ Spore will hit shelves on November 18, assuming second-hand reports of the expansion’s appearance on online retailers are anything to go by. Some sites including Hooked on Spore are reporting that a mysterious Spore expansion dubbed the Cute & Creepy Parts Pack popped up on both Gamestop and Amazon websites earlier today with a retail price of $20. Still, with the amount of cash EA made from Spore and the certainty that an expansion for the game will be released at some point, the Cute & Creepy Parts Pack doesn’t seem too implausible. First addon sneaks up at online game shops [Hooked On Spore] The first expansion for Electronic Arts’ Spore will hit shelves on November 18, assuming secon
Thursday, Sep 25
'Spore' hits a million copies sold since launch
The sales figures are for copies of the game on the PC, the Mac, and the Nintendo DS. The results are impressive and important for EA, especially given the heavy expectations that awaited the game, which was first announced in 2005 and was first expected in 2006, and also because the game has been beset by some controversy surrounding its DRM (digital rights management) restrictions. The big question, of course, is whether Spore can continue to sell over time and justify EA’s stated hopes that the game could end up becoming a full-scale franchise along the lines of The Sims. Written by Daniel Terdiman CNET Spore, the new evolution game from Electronic Arts, has sold a million units since its Septembe
Wednesday, Sep 24
US: Spore dominates PC gaming
Spore has dominated the US PC gaming charts taking out both first and second position on the US PC software sales chart for the week ended September 13, Spore sold more copies then the more expensive Spore Galactic Addition. Spore also took out fourth position with many shoppers continuing to buy Spore Creature Creatorr. Here is the US charts: The US PC chart follows: 1. Spore2. Spore Galactic Edition3. The Sims 2 Apartment Life4. Spore Creature Creator5. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest6. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe7. World Of Warcraft8. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade9. Warcraft III Battle Chest10. Crysis Spore has dominated the US PC gaming charts taking out both first and second position on the US PC
Court action against EA
With all the vitriol surrounding Spore’s DRM, it was only a matter of time before lawyers got involved. Courthouse News Service reports (via Shacknews) that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Electronic Arts in federal court, which alleges the company defrauds its customers by not disclosing the installation of SecuROM copy protection as part of Spore’s installation. While this lawsuit isn’t very surprising considering the controversy Spore has been under for its DRM, it is a bit odd when you consider Spore is far from the first EA game to use SecuROM copy protection — Mass Effect used the same software before it, and the recently released Crysis: Warhead (as well as the upcoming Red Alert 3) uses it as well. By Kris Pigna
Tuesday, Sep 23
Spore strengthens in Europe
Spore has maintained its position and gained in the German and Spanish software sales charts respectively for the week ended September 14. The German chart was topped by EA’s Spore, followed by Wii Fit in second place and Mario Kart Wii in third. Spore climbed to fifth in Spain overall, only being beaten by The Sims 2: Apartment Life in the PC category. The German software sales chart follows: 1. Spore (PC)2. Wii Fit (Wii)3. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)4. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky (PC)5. The Sims 2: Apartment Life (PC)6. Dr Kawashimas Brain Training (DS)7. The Settlers - Rise of an Empire (PC)8. Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3 (PS2)9. Dr Kawashimas More Brain Training (DS)10. Wii Play (Wii)
Saturday, Sep 20
Spore installs on five computers
EA has decided to once again loosen the DRM which some on Amazon called Draconic in nature. Spore was only allowed to be installed on three computers severely limiting where you could play it. In a dramatic u-turn EA has told MTV that Spore will be able to be installed five times. In a statement, EA Games president Frank Gibeau acknowledges EA’s desire to alter the way it deals with the issue: Two weeks ago EA launched SPORE – one of the most innovative games in the history of our industry. We’re extremely pleased with the reception SPORE has received from critics and consumers but we’re disappointed by the misunderstanding surrounding the use of DRM software and the limitation on the number of machines that are authorized to play a single a copy...
