We aren't sure when we'll see Maxis' Spore, but we certainly like the premise. It's not often that we get a game that allows us to order around cells, people, and civilizations all in one package. Spore is kind of like an "all forms of life" sim, and we definitely like that premise.

Well, to tide us over until the game's release, we've managed to find 12 new screens for the game that should definitely interest fans. How come? Because they actually show off the different stages of control each player will get when it comes to the game.

The screenshots show off the player actually controlling a cellular organism, moving onto a singular creature, a small tribe of creatures, and finally an entire galactic civilization. Not much is known about how you're going to do all that, but since it's a Will Wright creation, we're expecting some pretty spectacular things in the making of this game.

In any case, enjoy these new screenshots, and expect more information to come our way as time passes.

  

More Spore screenshots after the jump!

 

One of the more anticipated games of this generation is Will Wright's Spore (PC, DS) - a title that promises not only the insane level of customization that Will Wright masterpieces have been known for, but also the ability of making your own unique life-form, starting right down to the cellular level.

And while current updates about the game have been less than optimistic - with a delay that sees us nabbing copies next year at the earliest - this one about Maxis planning console versions of the game should brighten things up considerably.

Yes, you read that right. Maxis is planning to port the game over to consoles. This means we won't just be playing and showing off our creations on our PCs and Dual Screens, but also on our favorite next-gen behemoths of gaming goodness.

This delicious bit of news comes directly from Maxis Executive Patrick Buechener, during a closed-doors demo of Spore in Leipzig GC. When asked about a console version of Spore, his statement, verbatim, goes:

Not right now, but we see this as a franchise. It just won't be at launch.

It's to note that he didn't single out nor exclude any of today's next-gen consoles - which could mean great news for all owners, as we just might see a console-wide release of the game that lets you create your very own species. That said, it'll definitely be interesting as to what sort of creatures we'll be seeing from the different versions of Spore, and how their platform affects the creatures produced.

After being absent from Electronic Arts' press conference during this year's E3 Media and Business Summit, gamers will be able to take a look at impressions of how far Spore (DS, PC) has gotten in terms of development at the Games Convention in Leipzig this month.

According to GameSpot, Spore is one of the titles that are slated to be playable by journalists attending this year's Games Convention on August 23 until August 26. This based on a roster of EA titles that will be playable at the event.

The highly-anticipated epic from Sims creator Will Wright is currently slated for a 2008 release. EA CEO John Riccitiello has said, however, that the game could conceivably be released in early fiscal year 2009.

Electronic Arts has responded to reports that the highly-anticipated title Spore (DS, PC) will be delayed indefinitely, saying that the delay reports are "misinformation".

The recent reports are apparently rooted in statements from last month that Spore will be released either in Q4 of fiscal year '08 or early in fiscal year '09. The company's fiscal year '09 runs from April of next year until March 2009. An EA representative said the following in a phone call to video game news website Next Generation:

There seems to be some misinformation flying around. Nothing's changed since our call on May 8, where [CEO] John Riccitello specifically said that we were moving Spore from fiscal '08 to early fiscal '09.

EA has yet to reveal a definite release date for Spore, but the representative also added that the game is "progressing and it looks great".

 

Seems like Spore may not be able to make it to the PC nor the Nintendo DS anytime soon. According to Game Informer, Spore has been "delayed indefinitely", quashing the hopes of many gamers waiting for the release of the much-hyped create-your-own universe sim game.

Electronic Arts said that "Spore has slipped out of fiscal 08 and into fiscal 09" in relation to the Game Informer report. Gamers better stop holding their breaths then since they won't be seeing this gem anytime soon.

Despite the spiffy-looking demos that were presented by Will Wright, Spore is still nowhere near completion, though the reason has not been apparent as of the moment. After all, the game demos looked like they've got a solid game in their hands already.

There are many possible reasons, but we'll just have to wait and see what they are. Cue the Duke Nukem Forever jokes now.

When we last heard about Spore, we learned that Electronic Arts was no longer counting on revenue from Spore for this current fiscal year. Based on that information, this means that the earliest we'd probably see Spore is at least until after March 2008 (the current fiscal year ends then). This delay though doesn't mean that EA has stopped marketing the anticipated game. In fact, EA has something for fans of the "god-game" genre.

Load up The Sims 2: Pets, and have your sim go use his PC. You'll find out that the pixel and polygon sims aren't bound by the constraints of real-world release date delays. Your sim can play Spore. You can't. Not yet at least.

Click play on the video below to get a better idea of what we're saying.

 

The reason why Electronic Arts will miss its estimated profits for this fiscal year? Well other than the wider quarterly loss, it's because an anticipated game won't be coming out, at least not until this current fiscal year ends by March 2008. The anticipated game that is delayed? Spore.

A Reuters report notes that EA has said that it was no longer counting on revenue from Spore for this fiscal year. What's worse is that EA adds that the game could be delayed until fiscal 2009.

A lot of hopeful folks are now screaming "NOOOO..." A lot of the more cynical ones are making jokes about the game being bundled with Duke Nukem Forever.

So sad, this is.

Soren Johnson, recognized for his work on Firaxis' Civilizations series, is "moving back" to the fold of Electronic Arts to join creative genius Will Wright's staff on the ambitious cross-platform project Spore.

Johnson was a former EA intern while he was taking up graduate school in Stanford University in California. He has a bachelor's degree with honors in history and has an MS in computer science, making him ideal for the Civilizations series.

He was Lead Game Designer in Civilization IV and Co-lead Designer in Civilization III. The Civilizations franchise rose to prominence in the late 90's and has been one of the most respected names in the real-time strategy genre.

Spore, on the other hand, is described by its developers as a massive single player game. How it works out is still uncertain, but we'll update you as soon as news is forthcoming.

GameVideos calls this the Spore"Planet Attack" trailer. Yeah, ET in this case isn't as ginormous as those city-killers from "Independence Day", but here's to hoping your (game's) life has evolved far enough for planetary defense capabilities.

Wait - does it look like the player's controlling the Martians in this trailer? Will, this be like a controllable disaster like back in the Sim City day?

If you want to play creator in your own little world, then Spore is the game for you. From primordial sludge, err - unicellular creatures to your very own creature.

Will Wright from Maxis looks like he's created another Sims, only bigger. At the South by Southwest (SXSW - an interactive festival held annually at Austin, Texas), Wright gave a keynote and showed a demo of Spore. The shaky footage shows how creatures are made, how NOT to eat something that's bigger than you are, and how to create (or destroy) your own virtual world with a little help from a laser mounted on a UFO.

Anyway, we hope to see more of Spore as it's shaping up to be another uber-addicting title from the Sims master. Watch the video as there are some interesting bits there - including Wright's creatures getting gobbled up and mangled by bigger things. Enjoy!