Spore release date announced

Now for the most disappointing news of the day. EA has announced the release date for Spore. After months of saying that it would be released sometime this spring, a press release hit the streets today announcing a September 7 release. Yes, September.

I remember first hearing about Spore in 2005. Of course, I certainly understand that great games take a long time to develop, and few developers are allowed the leeway to take their time to develop the best possible game. Blizzard, with its golden touch, comes to mind, and Maxis. I also understand that Spore is a hugely ambitious game, and I will certainly buy it when it comes out. I may even buy a new Mac to play it on. But this game better be worth it. Three years is a long time to wait for a game.

Judging from all the screenshots and videos out on the web, the bulk of Spore has been complete for some time. To me that means the delay has either been caused by some sort of unforeseen technical problem or -- and this is what worries me -- it wasn't turning out to be much fun. It will still probably be a great game. Blizzard basically started over on Warcraft III when its original concept ended up being kind of slow. And that turned out to be a wonderfully entertaining game.

So, yes, I'd rather wait for a brilliant game than play a good one now, but sometimes it's just hard to be patient.