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Spore spawns 1 million sales

Despite piracy, EA and Maxis' evolution sim goes platinum in one week; Sporepedia surpasses 25 million creations.

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Before Spore launched earlier this month, it seemed as if nothing could steal the spotlight away from Will Wright and EA Maxis' latest life simulation. However, the game proved to be its own worst enemy, as an outcry over the game's digital rights management software sparked a class action lawsuit.

As part of the DRM backlash, many potential customers--500,000 in the first week alone, by Forbes' calculations--have downloaded the game illegally from file-sharing networks. Nonetheless, the so-called "Sim everything" game is still selling well. EA said today that since the game shipped on September 7, more than 1 million copies of the PC, Mac, and Nintendo DS editions have made it into consumers' hands. The game is also available for mobile devices.

EA also touted the popularity of the game's oft-praised Creature Creator. With the number of creatures uploaded to the Sporepedia hanging around 3 million leading up to the game's launch, EA said today that more than 25 million unique digital monstrosities populated its online compendium. As of press time, that number had risen to nearly 26.5 million.

The latest from acclaimed Sim City creator Will Wright, Spore for the PC and Mac gives players the tools to evolve a life-form from its humble protozoan beginnings to a galaxy-spanning empire. Pared down in scope from its desktop counterparts, Spore Creatures on the DS presents a mission-based adventure in which players must rescue a companion after it is mysteriously kidnapped.

Check out GameSpot's reviews of the PC/Mac and DS editions of Spore for more on the game.

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