After years of playing third fiddle to the rest of the world, finally Australia was going to be given first shot at a major title courtesy of EA and Maxis’ Spore. Set to release on September 4 down under (and September 7 in most of the rest of the world), Australians were ecstatic… And, blew it.
Reports have been circulating all day from gamers in Australian naming several stores which have broken the street date, releasing Spore early. One obvious side effect? The Aussies have leaked Spore to the Internet. While it’s impossible to get the full Spore experience (since you need to be online and no one can be online without being perma-banned before the game’s release), I’m sure the issue has caused EA to question their decision to release Spore first in Australia.
I’m still waiting for an official statement from EA or Maxis on whether or not the leak did come from Australia (or a former employee which is often the case), but until they do release a statement (if ever) it’s safe to say the next big EA title most likely won’t be coming to Australia’s gamers first.
In the meantime, any of our Aussie readers manage to snag one of their local store’s copies?
