Electronic Arts has reiterated the fact that Will Wright's Spore will see the light of day sometime in the early fiscal 2009 timeframe, but added that the ambitious 'life simulator' will not be released until it is completely finished.

During a conference call today the firm's CEO, John Riccitiello, and EA's games president, Frank Gibeau, explained that they had both spent time playing the long-awaited title and were "enjoying it a great deal," reports Next-Gen.

"It's one of those breakthrough products that might come across the industry every three, five, seven years... We could not be more bullish for the potential of the franchise as we are right now," enthused Riccitiello.

He added that he still expects the game to ship in "March, April, May" 2008, stating EA would much rather ship a better game than rush it out on time for an expected date, especially given the high potential for the franchise.

Spore (in development for the PC and Nintendo DS) was originally unveiled at E3 2005 and has suffered many a setback since, including rumours in June of this year that the ambitious title was delayed indefinitely.