AT LONG LAST, 'SPORE'

When The Sims creator Will Wright announced Spore back in 2005, every gamer in the world had the same reaction: "I can't wait to get my hands on that." Turned out we could wait three long years, as Wright tinkered with his universe-spanning evolution simulator and publisher Electronic Arts kept our appetite whetted with countless demos.

The thing's finally finished, and it will be available (for the Mac and PC) Sept. 7. But the evolution of Spore is far from over. There are already two scaled-down spinoffs, Spore Creatures for the Nintendo DS and Spore Origins for mobile phones, due out the same day, and future expansion packs, downloadable content and user-developed material are inevitable. Alas, there's no word yet on Spore for home consoles.

FIRST AND 20

Another branch of Electronic Arts, the EA Sports label, is celebrating with the unstoppable Madden NFL juggernaut having reached its 20th anniversary. EA marked the occasion with two parties: a VIP soiree at a Hollywood club, featuring "celebrities" like Lauren Conrad and Tila Tequila, and a huge blowout at Pasadena's Rose Bowl for those of us who actually play the game.

At the Rose Bowl "Maddenpalooza," hundreds of gamers got the chance to play the game against National Football League stars such as Warren Moon and Marshall Faulk. Appropriately enough, EA enlisted Good Charlotte -- led by brothers Joel and Benji Madden -- to rock the stadium.

For those of us who are nowhere near California, Gamestop and other chains held midnight tailgate parties all over the country. It's a safe bet that many people who picked up "Madden" at one of its late-night launches called in "sick" the next day.

NEW IN STORES

After nearly a decade in development, Microsoft's Too Human finally makes it to the Xbox 360. ... Atari serves up Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and more than a dozen other pros in Smash Court Tennis 3, for the Xbox 360.

-- Lou Kesten, Associated Press

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