As visionary as Will Wright is, I think Spore has been compromised by his commercial sensibilities — or those of Maxis’ marketers. An interesting article in this month’s Seed suggests that the game was originally less commercially viable than it is now, and the original vision was muddied somewhat by the need to reach a wide audience. Unfortunate, but perhaps inevitable.
But this? Once again the expansion monster rears its ugly head. Not that we don’t expect it after the decade-long cavalcade of Sims expansions, but… really? Releasing a “Cute and Creepy creature parts” expansion a month after the game is released? Real classy. It’s almost as if the content was ready when the game shipped, but you decided to withhold it and sell it later for extra! I understand it’s a business, but when even Spore can lose its magic due to industry pressure, it’s a sad day indeed.