Get ready because the Spore universe is set to invade your world sooner than thought! Maxis has announced that Spore Hero for the Wii and Spore Hero Arena for the DS are both launching to Earth this October.

Electronic Arts and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) will be hosting a panel entitled "Homophobia in Virtual Communities" to discuss methods on how to combat discrimination and hatred language in online gaming communities.

Maxis has revealed more info about the new Wii and DS entries in the Spore franchise. Check 'em out after the jump. These two new games -- Spore Hero for the Wii and Spore Hero Arena for DS -- are scheduled for release this year.

It's final. Will Wright, creator of The Sims franchise, is leaving Electronic Arts. This was confirmed on Wednesday by Mr. Wright himself, leaving a heavy shadow hanging low over EA's front lawn.

Outlining the future of the Spore franchise, Maxis has now revealed that new titles will be heading out. Four new installments are confirmed. If all DNA replication goes well, they may be out by this year. Other than that, there's also the possibility of eventually seeing Spore hit the PS3 and 360 - and the good thing is, if ever they do, they're definitely veering away from the "oh just port it from the PC version" scenario.

It's been a long while since we heard anything about Oddworld Inhabitants' movie and game project, Citizen Siege. It's been two years, in fact. OWI has confirmed that the project is still in development - but unsurprisingly didn't provide any other details.

At least we know it hasn't turned into vaporware. That's something.

If you live near or in San Francisco and have some free time on your hands tonight, you may want to head over to San Francisco's Apple Store to watch an hour-long demo of the full game of Spore (PC, Nintendo Wii, DS, Mac, and Mobile), as hosted by Will Wright. The full details after the jump!

This issue is another one of those weeks where you could selectively stave off from spending hard-earned cash, but then there are millions of gamers who need their gaming fix. Gladly enough, third-party publishers on the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii have addressed the casual gaming populace, and that pretty much sums up this week's retail release line up. On second thought, no - we still have an MMO, EA Maxis' pre-Spore sampler, a formerly retail, now PSN game, plus the release of Rock Band on the Nintendo Wii. Check the full story for details.

Heads up, Oddworld fans. We've now got additional confirmation for an upcoming Oddworld game, courtesy of Oddworld Inhabitants president Lorne Lanning. Learn more about this development after the jump!

Wondering when something that can top the graphics on games like Crysis  will come along? The co-founder of Maxis has some answers. He says he and the team over at OddWorld Inhabitants (OWI) are working on a new game with CG movie-like visuals. Full story comes after the jump.