Cracked Spore “Reloaded” and Sporeism: Critical Failure or Bump in the Road?

Anyone who considers themselves a gamer knows about Spore (console gamers, you have no excuse).
Ever since that 30-minute gameplay video that we watched and shared with our friends so feverishly, we have all been waiting patiently over the last 2 years for the mind-blowing game to come out. We’ve all watched the video enough times to know that this game is procedural (if you don’t know, watch the video).

For those who don’t already know, a cracked version of Spore has been released on the internet with only days left before the launch. Apparently, an Australian vendor sold some copies a little earlier than the actual launch date. The result? As of this moment, the number of downloads exceeds 120,000. This does not include the number of individuals who have already pirated their copy.

Despite the anti-pirating software, SecuROM, the talented hacking team known as “RELOADED,” effortlessly worked passed it within a day. If “RELOADED” wasn’t previously known by non-pirates, this should put them on the map throughout all English-speaking countries.

But what will become of the Spore launch, which is less than 2 days away? A few possibilities:

Scenario 1: Critical Failure

The excellent marketing and hype has created an enormous fan population that was ready and willing to wait in line to fork over their $49.99+tax.  This would then be followed by an anticipated day-long game-a-thon so that they can get the full experience of the game.  With the the cracked version out, the individuals obsessed enough about the game have already devoted 6 hours to Sporeism. The cracked version of the game (which doesn’t support the online features) might be completely satisfactory without the massive downloading of other world creatures.  If that is the case, then the hype is completely quelled.  And the once eager fanboys, cash in-hand, are now waiting for a more financially sound time to purchase the full version of the game.

Scenario 2: Supersonic Push (the one I am personally rooting for)

The product is solid.  Everyone loves the game, and is craving more.  They have their taste for the Creature Creator (that some people were willing to spend $19.99+tax for), they’ve got themselves a handy copy of the Spore RELOADED, and now they want it ALL! They want the online connections with other worlds.  They want to scour the galaxy until they encounter the planet completely populated with SPorn creatures and their phallic civilization.  Find the Carebear or Pikachu civilization! (It’s worth a good laugh.)  This burning love for Spore spread to friends and family members, and suddenly the whole world is a Sporeism convert.

Personal opinion:

I appreciate many things.  I appreciate the amount of effort it takes to combine so many game types into one game.  I appreciate the courage and ambition to attempt such a revolutionary project.  I appreciate the fact that it was designed to appease gamers of different types and age groups.  So my personal choice is to purchase the game anyways, simply because I can only imagine the amount of effort and passion that was put into the creation of this game.  It was designed to be enjoyed a certain way, and I plan to enjoy it the way the creators wanted me to experience it.

Additionally, I have no real criticisms of RELOADED.   They saw an opportunity and a demand, and they filled it.  Simple as that.  Whether it is legal or not has nothing to do with the economics of it.  It was bound to happen. I believe this might be a bit of a bump in the road for Maxis, but I anticipate that Spore is an overall good product and thus in the long run will still continue to achieve their expected revenue.

I hope all of piratebay, minova, sumotorrent, newtorrents, torrenthound, btmon, fenopy, torrentreactor, megaupload, rapidshare, and Warez users are all going to continue to purchase the full version of the game despite the available cracked version.

Welcome to Sporeism.