Later this week, Electronic Arts Inc. will release Spore, one of the most anticipated games ever. The game will be released in Europe on Friday and in North America on Sunday.

The company’s hopes for getting back on the right track are closely connected to this release, as for the past six quarters it has been nothing but downhill on a financial level. The problem, that the company’s executives should have anticipated, is linked to the fact that they put way too much emphasis on developing sequels for their best sellers, which got old really fast. From time to time, gamers need a new scenario, new characters and a new experience.

This is exactly what Spore is expected to bring. The game has been in development for more than 3 years under the supervision of game guru Will Wright and its innovative ideas and graphics are believed to significantly boost EA’s revenues and also restore its reputation.

The game was initially announced for release more than a year ago but the company explained that the delay was demanded by their efforts to polish the game and work on certain features that will significantly improve it.

Spore will allow users to model the evolution of every little thing included in the game, from tiny organisms to mature creatures to planets and galaxies. What makes it all so unique is the fact that these changes are experienced not by the creator, but by all the users. There are several issues with this type of game-plan and Will Wright explained it: “When you give players creative control, you have to expect they’re going to do the unexpected,” the video game designer said, adding that “Some of it’s really good for what they were shooting for. It’s amazingly explicit, especially when those creations are animated. We just have to make sure those people aren’t messing up the experience for others.”

EA will have to find a way of promoting the game without presenting it to be too complicated. "If you told somebody you were going to be playing a game where you controlled life from a primordial soup to intergalactic travel and you have responsibility for the entire galaxy, that can seem like a pretty daunting task," says Patrick Buechner, vice president of marketing for EA's Maxis unit.

Even though the company did not provide any details about the marketing budget or the exact amount of time spent with the development process, there are many rumors and opinions. Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities, estimates that EA spent $50 million to develop the game. Considering the fact that besides the initial costs, EA must take care of the marketing campaign, the manufacturing procedures and also the game’s worldwide distribution, it would demand at least $75 million in sales to be on the safe side.

The game will be initially focused on PCs, with no news about an upcoming version for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 or Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3. Still, there is a plan to offer the game on Nintendo’s DS hand-held system and also mobile phones.