Like it or lump it - and anyone playing Spore using a Vista-powered laptop will probably fall into the latter camp - Will Wright’s galaxy-spanning evolution game has officially become a super soaraway success.

You want evidence? How about a cool million sales and counting since Spore launched on September 7th, that’s across PC, Mac and DS platforms. In addition to that the title has recently topped the US PC gaming charts and some 25 million user-generated creatures, buildings and vehicles have been uploaded to the ‘Sporepedia‘. Not bad, eh? Especially for a game with a reputation so tainted by those oh-so contentious digital rights management (DRM) issues. But let’s not get steamed up about that all over again.

"Spore is a hit," says Frank Gibeau, prez of the EA Games label, modestly. “We're off to a great start moving into the holiday season and believe Spore will deliver a platform of creativity for gamers of all stripes for years to come."

Years to come? Is that a threat or a promise, we wonder? Probably both if Spore follows in the footsteps of Will Wright’s other magnum opus, namely The Sims. It’ll certainly be interesting to see whether Spore is treated to the same number of lifespan-extending expansions and spurious spin-offs as its peer. With EA driving the publishing juggernaut and their fondness for milking every ounce of cash value from their licenses that’s pretty much guaranteed...