Spore goes gold

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 15th August 2008
Comments (11) Stumble
Spore goes gold

EA has release several of the prototype versions of Spore for free download in the run-up to the full release.

Electronic Arts has just announced that the code for Spore has just been finalised and is now being put through the gold stage of development - which isn't nearly as interesting as it sounds unfortunately. Basically the game is now essentially finished and the game is being packaged and burned to discs ready for distribution.

Spore is the latest simulation game from Will Wright and his team at EA Maxis, the same group that designed and made the The Sims games, as well as SimCity and many of the other variants.

The game has had a turbulent history and has long been thought to be nothing more than vapourware, but the nay-sayers have now been proven to be wrong. The game will be launching in Europe on the 5th of September, with a US release following two days afterwards.

Amazingly, as an effort to show exactly why and how the game has taken so long to develop, EA is currently hosting six different early versions of the game which fans can download to experiment with. These early versions of the code showcase different stages of Spore's development and can be experimented with freely - check them out here.

Staggered release dates like this are often said to promote piracy, but EA has oddly taken to using staggered releases on several future PC titles including Crysis: Warhead which also will be launching a few days early in Europe.

If you're interested in learning more about Spore then you can check out our extensive hands-on preview.

What do you reckon to the staggered release of Spore? Have you had a look at the beta builds on offer? Let us know in the forums.
Quote sotu1 15th August 2008, 10:01
excellent display of interactive marketing for the whole game i say. release a large chunk of the game free, then release chunks of the early code for people to see what lies ahead in the final version.
Quote LeMaltor 15th August 2008, 10:03
Euro release before US hey, Makes up for the US getting GTA IV sooner, but why in the year 2008 can we not have a worldwide release day?
Quote Veles 15th August 2008, 10:58
Because the US and UK don't release games on the same day, most games are released on a Friday in the UK, and most are released on a Wednesday I believe in the US. Although that doesn't really explain why we're getting it sooner, usually we get it a day or two later (if it's a worldwide release).
Quote Timmy_the_tortoise 15th August 2008, 10:58
Have I misunderstood here? Or are the Nebulae in Spore fully simulated?
Quote LeMaltor 15th August 2008, 11:12
Quote:
Originally Posted by Veles
Because the US and UK don't release games on the same day, most games are released on a Friday in the UK, and most are released on a Wednesday I believe in the US. Although that doesn't really explain why we're getting it sooner, usually we get it a day or two later (if it's a worldwide release).

You answer, then rewrite my question and ask it again lol :p

Also guy who was finding out about why people pirate things and changing the way he made and released his games ^ this is one of the answers, I would find a few hours difference Jap (although language is different) /Aus/NZ release before, then euro then US fine. I don't want to get the same product days later than a person in another country.
Quote Bungle 15th August 2008, 12:02
Never really understood why staggered releases cause so much fuss. People wait years for a release then get shirty when they have to wait a few days later than someone else to get their paws on it.
In anycase Spore looks like a top notch game so will be eagerly awaiting the Bit-Tech review.
Quote Veles 15th August 2008, 12:04
It's only a few days, it used to be a lot worse.

Example: Fable

A game made in the UK, gets released in the US then we had to wait months for it to be released in Europe. Believe me, it's way better now than it used to be.
Quote Krikkit 15th August 2008, 12:09
Quote:
Originally Posted by Timmy_the_tortoise
Have I misunderstood here? Or are the Nebulae in Spore fully simulated?

Looks like they'll at least be simulations of the more intensive (in terms of processing power at least) CA simulations. Either that, or they'll have gone whole-hog and given us properly simulated bits as per your link of the prototype. :)
Quote Skepsis 16th August 2008, 02:28
Great! I can't wait to make my army of penis monsters and send them to battle.
Quote p3ri0d 16th August 2008, 14:26
I guess that should lower the piracy.
Why?
Most people that download illegal copies of games is because they want to know what they're going to find before getting the actual thing.
THat's why you find a lower level of piracy on games which offers demo's and/or stuff like Spore ;)
Quote ParaHelix.org 16th August 2008, 14:41
Cold blooded murder of the English cum.
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