Spore to hit the cinema?

EA wants to licence upcoming release Spore for use in movies and TV, the game’s developer Will Wright has stated.

"With Spore, we’re looking way outside the game space, such as TV, movies, etc. We’re basically planting the seeds to spread Spore out to a much wider group of people than would ever play a computer game," Wright told Reuters.

Wright added Spore was inspired by the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program in the United States.

The designer, who co-founded game studio Maxis, is best-known for creating The Sims series.

"We’re going to be much more intelligent about harvesting other market opportunities for Spore than we were with The Sims, which as big as it was in the game space, pretty much remains in the game space," added Wright.

EA has sold over 100 million copies of The Sims video game franchise over its 8-year history.

"Longer term, I think the brand of Spore potentially has a wider net to cast than The Sims did," he added.