The Austin Chronicle newspaper has interviewed Will Wright on Spore, talking a lot about the multiplayer aspect of the game. They also muse about how successful Spore will actually be, versus the likes of the Sims, another experimental game created by Wright.

A company like Electronic Arts has a stable of franchises that produce for them year after year. The Sims and Madden are two examples. Because of those predictable successes, it buys you the option to roll the dice on a few unpredictable projects like Spore. If it fails, you haven’t lost your company.