'Spore' hits a million copies sold since launch

Spore, the new evolution game from Electronic Arts, has sold a million units since its September 7 launch, the publisher said Wednesday.

The sales figures are for copies of the game on the PC, the Mac, and the Nintendo DS.

The results are impressive and important for EA, especially given the heavy expectations that awaited the game, which was first announced in 2005 and was first expected in 2006, and also because the game has been beset by some controversy surrounding its DRM (digital rights management) restrictions.

And early indications from retailers around the country showed that the game was selling well in its first few weeks on store shelves.

However, the sales numbers don't match those delivered by recent hits like Grand Theft Auto IV, from Rockstar Games and Guitar Hero III, from Activision, which sold multiple millions of copies right off the bat.

Still, for a game with what some might see as a wonky or overly intellectual theme--the evolution of species and the colonization of space--a million copies sold in just 17 days is a good sign.

The big question, of course, is whether Spore can continue to sell over time and justify EA's stated hopes that the game could end up becoming a full-scale franchise along the lines of The Sims.

[Renegade Knight]

Franchise? With the DRM making it so I regret having bought it. There will not be a Spore II in my future. Nor any other game with online activation required. Online activation has failed me in virtually all software that has required it.

[Fission25]

No offense, but DRM is unfortunately needed. Its just far to easy to pirate games with a PC. I'd like there to be a better solution, but if there is I haven't heard of it. As for the game itself, Spore has more than lived up to the hype and beyond in my opinion.

[Seanathome]

Guess what? No matter how much DRM they put on their game, it will still be pirated. In fact, Spore was cracked a day before it's release. EA should just stop using it, and then they might make a bit more money from people without internet access. (which is necessary to activate the product...)

[Imalittleteapot]

What does DRM have to do with stopping piracy? The pirated version doesn't have DRM in it. Only the store bought version has DRM in it. Only the people that paid for the game are affected by DRM. The people that steal the game have another version with no DRM in it. So how does that stop piracy?

[Jack K1]

I want it. I'll buy it - when the DRM issue is resolved. Heck, I'm still playing my paid-full-price Diablo II, Civ II, and Civ III games. If they had Spore's DRM, I'd be S.O.L. - and not very happy.

[Sativaa]

If DRM is truely needed them why is spore on this list of the most pirated games? Sounds like it does not work and in all honesty SecurRom installs itself in the kernal of an OS without users authorization and by that definition is a Virus

[jon_cnet]

1 million copies in 17days I think is a major FAIL. Considering if it is compared to GTAIV and even The Sims2. I can tell you that my wife has had to install The Sims 2 at least 4 times on various machines because either the machine died or the hard drive died or I had to reinstall Windows for some reason or another. If it is doing this poorly so soon, it won't be long before it dies completely. Yes there were high hopes and I was even moderately interested, but with the DRM, I will be staying away. I could imagine how well this game would have sold without any DRM. Sorry EA, you F'd up BIG TIME on this game!!! I feel bad for Will Wright. Maybe Sims 3 will be DRM-free and sell boat-loads.

[rucknrun]

Should games with draconian DRM have warning labels for the consumer? I think they should. I am not buying Spore because of it. I reinstall games all the time, I would be out of installs in 6 months.

[HighwayHome]

"No offense, but DRM is unfortunately needed. Its just far to easy to pirate games with a PC. I'd like there to be a better solution, but if there is I haven't heard of it. As for the game itself, Spore has more than lived up to the hype and beyond in my opinion."

How much did they pay you for this comment? You forgot to mention that malware is also necessary - you're slipping...

The only way to send EA a loud message is to stay away from the game and any other games with garbage installed in them. Let's face it, they screwed up big time here.

[kattenijin]

"No offense, but DRM is unfortunately needed. Its just far to easy to pirate games with a PC. I'd like there to be a better solution, but if there is I haven't heard of it. As for the game itself, Spore has more than lived up to the hype and beyond in my opinion."

The pirated version was available an entire 4 days before the commercial release date. So, please explain to me how exactly the DRM prevented piracy? The only thing the DRM will prevent is the re-sale of the game, and the ability to enjoy playing it more than a few years from now without buying a new copy. Oops! Did I just reveal EA's new business model? If you can't stop the pirates, make your paying customers PAY MORE!!! Great way to do business. Maybe after they have to go through the same anti-Spore sentiment for the upcoming Warhammer, Harry Potter, Sims3, etc. they may wake up, but by then it will be too late for them.