Year-over-year growth for the month of September, however, should not look as good, since September 2007 saw the blockbuster release of Bungie's Halo 3.

Sebastian's guess may well be in tune with publisher Electronic Arts' own expectations. EA Games president Frank Gibeau said yesterday, "[Spore] carries a level of expectations for quality and, frankly, success." EA, however, may not be so focused on the game's sales numbers as the company's ability to monetize Spore as a platform.

The money will start to be raked in this Sunday, September 7, when the evolutionary life-sim goes on sale for PC and Mac alongside a stripped-down Nintendo DS version.