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Time magazine honors Spore, Wii Fit

By thorsen-ink, GameSpotPosted Nov 4, 2008 3:10 pm PT

A year and a half after it named Shigeru Miyamoto as one of its 100 Most Influential People of 2007, Time magazine has honored his work yet again. More specifically, it has named Wii Fit, the Donkey Kong and Wii designer's latest project, as one of its best gadgets of 2008. Though game critics...

A year and a half after it named Shigeru Miyamoto as one of its 100 Most Influential People of 2007, Time magazine has honored his work yet again. More specifically, it has named Wii Fit, the Donkey Kong and Wii designer's latest project, as one of its best gadgets of 2008. Though game critics had mixed feelings about the game and its balance board peripheral, Time heaps praise upon its fitness regimens, saying, "Weight loss has never been easier."

Time's official approval of the game industry doesn't stop there. The venerable magazine also ranked Spore as the 20th best invention of the year (out of 50), beating out such innovations as bionic contacts and the shadowless skyscraper. Dubbing the well-reviewed title its "Everything Game," the weekly talked up its protozoa-to-supernova scope and the seven years of effort put in by its creator, Will Wright. No mention was made of the in-limbo Wii edition of the game, the DS and iPhone spin-offs, the two forthcoming expansions, or possible TV and film adaptations.

However, not everyone has been as infected with Spore fever as Time. A group of scientists have taken offense not only to the way EA has marketed the title, but also to its flawed depiction of evolutionary biology. Wright also said religious and atheist groups have condemned the title.

106 Comments

  • rocky5221

    Posted May 15, 2009 2:28 pm PT

    Spore .. considered an invention?

    LOL!

    More like a steaming pile of $@%#.

  • krodin

    Posted Jan 12, 2009 3:34 pm PT

    spores awsome it lets you make ure own creature from scratch

  • minimme

    Posted Nov 17, 2008 11:09 pm PT

    spore sucks

  • glitchgeeman

    Posted Nov 17, 2008 10:31 pm PT

    Sure, it may not have the greatest practical impact on society, but you can't deny that it's amazing that video games have come so far. I mean, would you prefer gaming like it was in the old days? Where gaming was considered an underground hobby condemned as a lifestyle doomed to "becoming a fat nerd who lives in his mom's basement"? I for one, wholeheartedly welcome gaming as becoming a greater part of society, and if that means naming a creative genius one of the most influential people of the year and a revolutionary evolution editor as 20th best invention of the year, so be it.

  • mehboob_j

    Posted Nov 17, 2008 6:44 am PT

    Spore is fun indeed, but it does get rather repetitive after 24 hours or so of gameplay.
    advanced AI and fun gameplay cannot earn a spot in the best inventions list, I don't know what can.

  • earthnuggets

    Posted Nov 17, 2008 4:35 am PT

    I stopped taking them seriously after they made me person of the year in '06.

  • DarkNeoBahamut

    Posted Nov 17, 2008 3:45 am PT

    ..........ok

  • KhanhAgE

    Posted Nov 16, 2008 1:48 pm PT

    Umm...

    Ahhh...

    ...Okay.

    I bet the scientist and engineers who's inventions were beaten by a video game aren't ever going to read TIME magazine again.

  • wswedin

    Posted Nov 14, 2008 9:17 am PT

    @Shadow_Fax87 - Did the child inside you, that likes to create things, die? Did first person shooters, and MMO's eat it? I am not sure how people can give spore such a "boring" rating. It isn't a game meant to be a RTS or an RPG... its just so you can make something cool and watch it advance. Its mostly just a fun little editor, expansions will make it more. (No offense directly to you Shadow_Fax87)

    Its a concept game, it will evolve into something else eventually, but all games that kick off a genre are relatively simple.

    As for it beating those inventions, bad idea, and Wii fit, isn't anything new. In fact, its probably simplified versions of existing technology. In the end, these guys don't seem to understand spore was about innovation, not about fancy new technology that could revolutionize the world. If all these guys is do Wii, tops, for games... they have no right to judge them.

  • I_pWnzz_YoU

    Posted Nov 14, 2008 8:09 am PT

    Wow...Just...Wow

  • alkaline_DnB

    Posted Nov 13, 2008 2:39 pm PT

    Time Magazine...is...hilarious.

  • Boomarley

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 9:38 pm PT

    Half the comments are right in suggesting that having games go above more useful inventions for mankind is ridiculous, but this is the magazine that voted the iPhone as the top invention of last year, if I recall. Remember, the mainstream news media exists to sell itself.

    A bunch of other comments sorely lack perspective. There are more types of people than gamers, and Time's video game selection reflects games meant to appeal to the broader base. Yes, games with technical achievements are a triumph, for gamers only. Who else really cares?

  • -P4R4D0X-

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 9:14 pm PT

    ....they're kidding.....right?

    Better than a real life HUD in your eye? Seriously?

  • Sauron2

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 3:47 pm PT

    i say its awesome that gaming has reached this point!

  • japanesegoth

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 3:20 pm PT

    umm...apparently they haven't played many games...

  • Shadow_Fax87

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 1:24 pm PT

    Yeah... WTF????? it didn't deserve even to be in the top 50!!!! the game was SO boring!!!

  • smarb001

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 12:19 pm PT

    It beat LCD-screen contacts and a giant glass triangle skyscaper?

  • shailesh_das

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 10:40 pm PT

    A "Game" cannot deserve this honor. People at Time have gone crazy.

  • zintarr

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 6:35 pm PT

    It was a best invention. Best at being overhyped.

  • programexpert

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 4:41 pm PT

    Err... No? Spore is a mighty wonderful concept, but a horrible, shallow and milky execution. There's just about no redeeming point to the game right now, as it is akin to a boring selection of minigames crammed into one package and sold for the price of a full game. Maybe after the 24956 expansions, it'll be what it was supposed to be.

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