During a studio visit today, Vu informed CNET that the highly anticipated title is slated to go gold within the next week--a phrase that indicates the game is done and has been sent off to manufacturing in advance of its September 7 release on PC and Mac.

In related news, EA CEO John Riccitiello today noted his hopes that the game's success could lead to a Spore publishing label, similar to the company's Sims division.

He also revealed that Spore is likely to receive multiple expansion packs and additional parts as paid downloadable content or microtransactions, but said that the studio was focusing on the game's launch before plotting too much.

"We've got a clear, obvious and very compelling post-launch monetization opportunity," Ricitello explained during a conference call. "This is a game where basically, the parts are what make the sum of the product work."

"Job one is to make the launch successful," he stressed, "and making sure we have the right to ask that question [about expansions and more content] down the road."

For more on Spore, scope out our recent hands-on preview of the game, in which editor Nick Breckon proudly proclaims that "Spore is great." And don't forget to check out the free Spore Creature Creator demo, which can lead to all sorts of horrid things.