At the Leipzig Games Convention in August, the public got its hands on a playable version of Spore, the species-evolving/civilization-growing/space-faring game from game designer Will Wright. The appearance of the game came two and a half years after the game was first unveiled, and two and a half months after it was delayed yet again.

　　Spore's postponement marked the second time the game, originally due out in 2006, had been pushed back. According to Wright, though, the PC edition will still land in the rough Q2 2008 target window set by Electronic Arts executives during a post-earning-report conference call. (A scaled-down edition for the Nintendo DS has also been announced, though it currently does not have a release date.)

　　Saying Spore will be "roughly available in six months' time" on BBC Radio Five Live yesterday, Wright went on to explain the reasons behind the holdup. He said the game was undergoing "extensive testing" to ensure that it had the same broad appeal as one of his previous creations. "I'd like the people who played The Sims to be able to play Spore," he said. "I don't want it to be just [for] hardcore gamers."