No more Spore in '07

Will Wright's ambitious evolution/civilization/creature creation title is now being targeted for spring 2008.

Though console owners will have a cornucopia of titles to choose from this fall, PC gamers were looking forward to one in particular. Spore, the hugely ambitious new project from Sims creator Will Wright, was slated to be out later this year and was presumed by many to be one of Electronic Arts' tentpole holiday releases.

Well, presume no longer. Today during a post-earnings report conference call with analysts, newly reinstalled EA CEO John Riccitiello shattered many gamers' dreams by announcing that Spore is no longer on the publisher's 2008 fiscal year calendar, which ends on March 31, 2008.

"Spore is a title we have enormous confidence in," Riccitiello told analysts. "I've had the chance to review the title three times in my short return to the EA, and it looks fantastic. I will also tell you that its release will be right up [to] the bubble in Q4 [of fiscal '08], if not sometime in early fiscal '09, so we don't feel comfortable in forecasting it." No specific mention was made of the DS version of the game.

As is often the case with high-profile titles, quality control concerns were behind the delay. "We're focusing on quality to make sure we build a franchise that feels more like The Sims, a franchise that we hope...to see around for some time in the future." Riccitiello promised, hinting the publisher has big plans for the property.

576 Comments

  • kingcole225

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 2:59 pm PT

    is there gunna be underwater creatures that u can be and make and underwater civilization cuz that wood be too cool

  • sanjeev3

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 11:30 pm PT

    I know that after the creature phase it becomes a sim one, but I don't want this like "The Sims" at all. Just like a sim game like "Pharaoh" or "Caesar IV" you know, those games that are sims but awesome at the same time.

  • hardprovidence

    Posted Oct 2, 2007 10:10 am PT

    Screw you John Riccitiello!

  • Psycho8x8

    Posted Aug 7, 2007 4:04 pm PT

    well i figure waiting for spore will just make it (feel like it will) take longer so i have given up all hope of spore and when it finally comes out ill go like, hmm? spore? oh righ that game! well time to start playing it! (or something like that lol)

  • Limes20

    Posted Aug 1, 2007 8:20 am PT

    so its all money n zero consumer's wishes? sheesh wat a cruel world...

  • pain2worship

    Posted Jul 26, 2007 8:47 am PT

    ryudo is right PEOPLE ARE SOOOO STUPID ! ! !

  • xboxobie

    Posted Jul 15, 2007 3:00 pm PT

    Sadly people seem to overlook the fact that games are simply a buisiness to these guys.

    If the game is released this financial year then EA are gonna simply pass targets theyre possibly already near.
    However release in April/May 08 (early next financial year) will mean EA will have a Major boost to next years Financial targets.

    Hitting targets each year is what makes these companies bigger, And sadly, Like Ubi-soft and many other maor publishers, Electronic Arts are much more interested in Money & hitting targets, than they will ever be on us getting games in time.

  • Limes20

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 5:57 am PT

    ummm... someones gotta tell wil that not everyone has computers like his mine's a home computer for chris's sake!!!! the current visuals would be enuff!!!! anymore, everyone's computer's will blow up. so is this this a plot by EA n a computer company to sell us ridiculously priced coms that can play spore?

  • Sleck64

    Posted Jul 6, 2007 8:52 pm PT

    Yeah! they're going to keep pushing it back till it's super awsome like Team Fortress 2. I can't wait till 2010 when we get to see the new engine they'll be using. EA games sure is developing a great reputation in the gaming community. Bethesda would have done something stupid like released a crazy good game and started working on a different title.

  • Jordite

    Posted Jul 6, 2007 11:43 am PT

    Does no one think that they're delaying the release because they want to make it good, and not rush the release of an unfinished and/or buggy game? This entire concept is absolutely freaking huge, so hopefully we can comprehend a few months of delay so that it works correctly. Since '05, there have been a multitude of new innovations in computer technologies (count Vista, Dual Core processing, 64-bit technology, etc) so the game needs to work correctly with those.

  • crowdevil

    Posted Jul 5, 2007 11:01 pm PT

    Well, presume no longer. Today during a post-earnings report conference call with analysts, newly reinstalled EA CEO John Riccitiello shattered many gamers' dreams by announcing that Spore is no longer on the publisher's 2008 fiscal year calendar, which ends on March 31, 2008.

    Did you not mean "is no longer on the publisher's 2007 fiscal year calendar"

  • sando123

    Posted Jul 1, 2007 9:04 am PT

    If they do that, I'll go to them and destroy all the crappy game's progres ^^, But the solution of getting more money from a good game, Make a better game ^^

  • Vangaurdius

    Posted Jun 29, 2007 10:50 pm PT

    I am really losing intrest in this game. The thing you need to think about is the hours they have to work on it, since they develop video games for a living thus they have all day every day of the week to work on it. They work on average 5-6 days a week. And lets say they work 10 hours a day. Now, multiply that by 365 days and then you see that this is total crap. Then you multiply that number by 5 to account for this year, next year, and the year after, and the previous years. It isn't that they are working hard on it, it is that they are not working on it at all. They are instead busy with some other title that is going to fail miserably but they make money off it so they will make more crappy games. I think what they realized is, "Holy crap, this is going to be a great game, people might not buy our other crappy games. This just won't do, lets delay it so we can fill our pockets with money for a longer period of time." They do make money off bad games though since it is almost impossible to get all your money back and they aren't the ones giving it back, and the game will just get sold again and will go on and on until no one will buy it but by then there is another game doing that and that current game will be worth nothing, but once you get a good game people won't buy the other crappy games because they aren't tired of playing the quality game. Its rather simple really, if a game is going to be good make up a bunch of (insert coarse language here) excuses so that you don't have to release it because a lot of people don't go to the time to really think about it because there are other things that will distract people. Its pretty bad how greedy they are. Anyways, yah, there are a lot of other awsome games coming out and games that just come out, I just hope you have a 360 so you can enjoy them.

  • Sayun

    Posted Jun 28, 2007 5:23 pm PT

    "We're focusing on quality to make sure we build a franchise that feels more like The Sims.." I'm not sure that's an entirely good thing. I myself get kinda bored with playing a game where you have to go to work every day. I'm gonna ignore that quote and keep anticipating the game rabidly the same way I've done till now.

  • PotHeel

    Posted Jun 27, 2007 8:20 am PT

    Oh why do they make us wait so? Iwas ready for Spore when I first heard about it in 2005, now I'm bored. Release it Already, even if it needs umpteen patches! I WANNIT!!

  • reygar

    Posted Jun 25, 2007 6:31 am PT

    why do they announce games so soon....its frustrating
    some people will just give up on it.

  • CowbellFanatic

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 12:07 pm PT

    Normally Id be a little pissed, but there are so many awesome games coming out later this year that I shouldn't have a problem waiting. Hell, I could probably just play Halo 3 the whole time without getting bored. Mass Effect should help too.

  • paladin125

    Posted Jun 20, 2007 9:29 am PT

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Not another setback! Sometime in early '09?! Dang, I was really hoping to play Spore soon..........
    At least the longer they take the better it should be... I hope they release a demo!

  • GamerErman2001

    Posted Jun 16, 2007 7:46 pm PT

    Remember when Robin Williams crashed the game? Also, they said about 10% of the things to create stuff with has been made.

  • nat100

    Posted Jun 15, 2007 7:17 am PT

    this sucks because now the graphics are going to be better which means i have to buy a new computer

  • rpgenie

    Posted Jun 9, 2007 6:14 pm PT

    I'm ok with the release date, but i strongly hope to play a small little demo of the creature-editor soon.

  • KratosAurion7

    Posted Jun 9, 2007 1:15 pm PT

    I dont care if they take longer to make it. As long as it is a good game.

  • icy06

    Posted Jun 5, 2007 3:40 pm PT

    That's the problem when they announce games so early. They will have you waiting years before it actually hits the shelves.

  • Zedzy

    Posted Jun 5, 2007 1:27 pm PT

    When i heard about spore for the first time i was So excited i heard spring the summer then fall HOW LONG DO WE HAVE TO WAIT PS i hope they at least put in the underwater stage

  • tacoman567 posted Jun 3, 2007 8:07 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    tacoman567

    Posted Jun 3, 2007 8:07 pm PT (hide)

    THIS IS BULLCRAP!!! Ive been waiting for this damn game to come out for 3 years!! And now this New ceo comes out and pisses every one off.God! That keep dealaying this game since 2005 and now i will have to wait even longer. I swear if thay dealay this game any longer the Asian's will burn down John Riccitiello's house.And why dont thay realease a beta or demo or something.Like what type of marketing is that EA hasent realeased a game in a while so why dont thay realease spore. WHAT ARE THAY THINKING!why dont thay just realease the game and put patchs out.Or better yet reales a F***ing beta so people can find the bugs???!!!

  • evil_guy44

    Posted Jun 3, 2007 12:43 am PT

    Turisman4, Acually the game was'nt near-complete at E3. You ever read Hydromancerx blog, he went to E3 AND tried the creator out. He said it was glitched. If the games main gimmick is glitched, that isnt good for the whole game. So just wait, you aint going to die if you dont get it, and its going to be a better game anyway.

  • camelinox

    Posted Jun 2, 2007 7:21 pm PT

    Noooooooooooooo, this sucks

  • mattwbrad

    Posted Jun 2, 2007 2:28 pm PT

    "NOOOOOOO!! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN??!!"

    Marketing.

    EA wants to see their yearly revenu increase every year, and they don't have another title with this much hipe lined up after Spore, so they decided to let spore slide another year, and if they don't come up with another title, I'm fairly certain they'll let Spore slide another year after this last delay.

    It's also a question about how widespread Vista is. Microsoft is having a tough time weaning everyone off of windows XP and even earlier versions of Windows. Until the service packs come out, not many people will even consider purchasing it other than gamers.

  • SovietWarrior42

    Posted Jun 2, 2007 4:51 am PT

    I wish they'd give us something to hold us over with, like the Creature Creator since it seemed pretty much done.

  • Batz

    Posted May 29, 2007 9:52 am PT

    The new Duke Nukem: Forever is........ that's right SPORE

  • Ares_hot

    Posted May 29, 2007 7:23 am PT

    **** man...that's really bad but like old_guy_476 said: It's better to get a really nice game later than getting a halfass to early!

  • Chao_Of_Blades

    Posted May 28, 2007 6:50 pm PT

    NOOOOOOO!! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN??!!

  • old_guy_476

    Posted May 27, 2007 6:35 pm PT

    Even though I am really looking foward to this game, I hope they just keep improving it, because I'd rather have a game I'd play longer later than a game I might not play for as long sooner. (If you can understand my weird wording)

  • maximusfive

    Posted May 24, 2007 5:51 pm PT

    At this rate, I think we might get a DEMO/BETA of this game in 2010, maybe the full game in 2012 or later. Seriously though, quit pushing the date back! Give us a definite date, or give us a general one that DOESN'T change all the time. I.e. 2008ish, sometime in the next 2 years, before the end of days, or something like that. I'm sick of going "Oh, its almost out!" and EA going "NOPE!!"

  • GT3x24x7

    Posted May 24, 2007 3:59 am PT

    Well, if it lives up to the hype (and the videos), it's gonna be worth the wait.

  • Joehard

    Posted May 22, 2007 9:46 pm PT

    Damn

  • andyrae11

    Posted May 20, 2007 10:35 am PT

    Dude... its not Will Wrights fault.

    Its the beotch at EA, John Riccitiello.

    You see, him and his other white collar crusties need another new pool, so of course they are going to postpone the most unique PC game possible and give you another NBA game! WHAT A DEAL!!

    EA is gay

  • thebubbleprince

    Posted May 19, 2007 6:12 pm PT

    ive waited since the first spore video came out! Go to hell John Riccola! Your just doing this since Battlefield 2 is full of bugs arnt yeh?

  • Calibah

    Posted May 19, 2007 1:34 am PT

    All games are hit with delays, relax guys.
    I hope the game ends up as amazing as it seems to be, even if it comes 6 months later than expected.

  • Man_of_Steel44

    Posted May 18, 2007 6:33 am PT

    We have been cheated! They where taunting us for a whole year then wham! they take it away NO NO you have to wait longer. Just be patient, I can't be patient anymmore this game is going to be awsome. I have so many ideas that i wont be able to remember by the time it comes out.

  • Kippie88

    Posted May 17, 2007 11:31 pm PT

    damn! i hoped the whole year and longer to see it in 'the other half of 2007', but now they say it actually takes even more time. but ok, if its making the game better i guess ill have to wait for another year. sigh...

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