For those of you that were pissed as hell about Spore getting pushed back to 2008, there’s good news. According to Maxis VP of Marketing Patrick Buechner, the game is actually complete and all its undergoing is testing, albeit at an alpha stage. Speaking to IGN about the game, Patrick said:

Well, the game is looking really good and can be played all the way through so the bigger technical challenges are behind us. Right now the team is focused on polishing and tuning that experience. A lot of what we’re doing is putting players in front of Spore and allowing them to play the game all the way through for several hours. We watch them play, we talk to them about their experience including what they liked or what they didn’t like. Then we take that feedback and use it as part of the tuning process.

As the interview progresses, Patrick talked about the DS version of the game, which will be releasing simultaneously with the PC version, and that the game will be playable at the Leipzig Games Convention later this year. And the best news, it may not be pushed late into 2008 after all. Says Patrick, “It’s still around that time frame but for business purposes it’s being planned for next fiscal year, which begins April 1st… but not too beyond [that date].”

Oh good, finally more good news. April 1 doesn’t seem too far away… Oh, wait!

Read the IGN Interview here >>