While Spore has been among the most anticipated titles of the past few years, it has also been among the most delayed. EA CEO John Riccitiello said during summer of 2007 that he hoped that the game would release between March and May of 2008. However, Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey recently predicted another delay for the usurper of all simulation titles until late 2008.

While the recent conference call following the Q3 2008 fiscal report could have cleared the issue up, EA remained noncommittal. Saying only that Spore is set for release in fiscal 2009 (which starts in April), Riccitiello commented that he expects the game before the holidays. He added that he is very optimistic about the title, saying that the company pays "enormous" attention to it.