'In unveiling their much-anticipated and long-delayed video game "Spore" in North America Sunday, executives at Electronic Arts hope to counter critics who have faulted the Redwood City company for becoming fat and happy in recent years at the expense of artistry.
EA has been particularly chastised for milking its popular titles, such as the Madden NFL series, by making endless sequels based on licensed sports or movie content instead of creating entirely new games.
''Spore'' is poised to potentially enhance EA's image as an innovative game maker and, longer term, create a lucrative new wholly-owned franchise.
Based on initial reviews of a limited version of the game, dubbed "Creature Creator," which EA released in June, "Spore" seems likely to be well received. In the first week that Creature Creator was made available, game enthusiasts created more than 1 million organisms using it, according to EA.
" 'Spore' is a very important event at EA," said company spokesman Jeff Brown, adding that it's one of several new games the company has been working on. "A lot of people see 'Spore' as an inflection point, as a report card, on EA's quality initiative."
Mike Hickey of investment bank Janco Partners put it more bluntly.
"I think EA is desperate for a hit," said Hickey, who doesn't own EA stock. But expectations for the game are so high, he cautioned, sometimes "the buzz can overshadow the product."
"Spore" makes evolution into a game, in which players create creatures and set them loose in virtual eat-or-be-eaten worlds. By cooperating with other creatures — or conquering them — these organisms vie for the chance to grow from single-cell entities into members of space-faring civilizations.
The National Geographic Channel will highlight "Spore" in a show scheduled to air Tuesday, looking at the science behind some of the game's assumptions. Plus, ''Spore'' and several other EA games recently have won top awards in video-game competitions.
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Mon, 08 Sep 2008