Spore Nets Time's 20th Best Invention of 2008, Wii Fit Among Gadgets of the Year

EA Maxis' sim-evolution game Spore (PC) has been named as Time magazine's 20th best invention of 2008, with the publication referred to it as "the everything game."

Writes Time:

It's blasphemy, brilliance or both to take the entire evolution of a species--from a single-celled animalcule in a drop of water to a space-faring, galaxy-exploring sentient being--and turn it into a video game. But that's exactly what Will Wright has done. Wright is the man who created The Sims, a game about everyday life in suburbia, but apparently he found the vast panorama of human experience too confining, because he then spent seven years creating Spore, in which players design their own life-form and then manage every aspect of its progress through the centuries, from savagery to civilization.

For reference, the best invention of 2008 was awarded to 23andMe's retail DNA test, which came to the market care of co-founders Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki. By the way, Wojcicki is the wife of Google technology president Sergey Brin.

Meanwhile, Nintendo's Wii Fit is listed among Time's Top 10 Gadgets of 2008, with the publication asking readers to vote for device that deserves "Gadget of the Year."