spore

Maxis releases 'Spore' cell-stage video

For those of us eagerly awaiting the release of Spore, from The Sims creator Will Wright and his Maxis studio, Tuesday was a day for whetting the appetite.

That's because Maxis, an Electronic Arts studio, released a little crumb for us, a video from the cell-stage of Spore.

The game, as you may already know, is an evolution game: It tasks players with growing their characters from little spore-level creatures step-by-step up the ladder to the tribe level and then on to cities, whole civilizations, and eventually on to the galactic level.

And it's clear that one of … Read more

Can any game break the 'GTA IV' sales records?

Though Halo 3 held the all-time entertainment industry record for single-day sales for eight months, it could be a long time before anyone bests the record-shattering sales achieved by GTA IV.

On Wednesday, Take-Two Interactive, which owns GTA IV developer Rockstar Games, announced that the new game had raked in all-time records of $310 million on its launch day of April 29 and $500 million during its first week. The single-day figure shattered the previous record, set last September by Halo 3, of $170 million.

And given how quickly Bungie Studios' Halo 3 was reduced to second place, it stands … Read more

'Spore Creature Creator' to see light of day in June

Attention gamers: If you're looking forward to the taking a hands-on role with the forthcoming Spore, you've got work to do starting June 17.

That's when Electronic Arts and Maxis plan to release the Spore Creature Creator, in both a free, downloadable demo version and a $9.99 retail version (or 9.99 euros, for buyers in much of Europe). The demo version will be available from Spore.com and also will be included with The SimCity, due to be released June 23.

The retail edition provides access to all the creature-making parts for Spore, while the … Read more

'The Sims' franchise hits 100 million units sold

If you lined up the boxes of the 100 million units of The Sims products that have sold since Electronic Arts' monster-hit franchise first launched in 2000, they would stretch from New York to Moscow.

Forgetting for the moment that many of those boxes would become awfully soggy if lined up like that, it's worth giving a curtsy of respect and admiration to EA and The Sims franchise for reaching the 100 million units sold mark, which EA announced Wednesday.

Originally, The Sims was a not-well-loved stepchild of Will Wright's hit games, Sim City and its brethren. But … Read more

Video: Moving pictures from iPhone app land

At Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., Thursday, the company officially launched the iPhone software development kit, which lets other companies create applications for the device. Here are a few videos from the event, courtesy of ZDNet.

Steve Jobs unveils iPhone App Store, where third parties can sell their iPhoneware.

Electronic Arts demos its new 'Spore' game on the iPhone.

Salesforce.com brings analytics, business intelligence apps to the iPhone.

iPhone update integrates AOL instant messaging.

Round up of iPhone applications

The long-awaited iPhone software development kit, which will be released in June, was finally unveiled Thursday.

And with it came a few applications, developed in a couple weeks by some very high-profile names in tech. Apple demonstrated seven new applications in a variety of categories: business, communications, and games.

Touch FX: Adds Photo Booth-style effects to a photo using your finger on the iPhone touch screen. Pinch or tap to introduce fun-house mirror style effects.

Touch Fighter: The first official game for the iPhone, developed by Apple engineers over two weeks. You fly through space and steer by … Read more

Hands-on with 'Spore'

Electronic Arts held a large preview event in New York yesterday. Among the various other titles EA has planned for the next several months, Spore stood out. The Sims and Sim City creator Will Wright's brainchild attempts to tackle the scope of the entire universe, from microscopic life to interstellar travel. On every level of the game, you can design exactly how you want your world to be, from microbes to animals to buildings to space ships. While there wasn't enough time to get a broad view of the entire game and all of its aspects, I managed to spend some quality time on the title's creature and space ship editors.… Read more

EA propagates new 'Spore' images

All of you out there who are eagerly awaiting the fantastical creature-creating delights of Spore will want to get a gander at the latest images from the forthcoming evolution game.

EA on Wednesday made available its broadest set of shots yet of the highly anticipated title, including screenshots from every level, as well as images of the tools used to conjure creatures, buildings, vehicles, and UFOs. This game is clearly a playground for fertile imaginations--your vision will be the only thing standing between you and the giant, triple-eyed, snaggle-toothed purple spider that roams your dreams.

In the latest game from … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 660: You're Twitter-fired!

EPISODE 660

Where Phil Ryan says you're nothing if you don't have integrity

EPISODE 35

Today we're talking about how writers are back on the job, Knight Rider and its disease ridden red headed step-child, Netflix on the Xbox 360/PS3, and Apple TV updating its software. Then we rant about Spore and its newly announced September 7 release date.

Listen now: Download today's podcast