There’s no doubt that Spore will have to live up to a lot of hype when it’s released this September. And the answer to whether or not Will Wright’s universe-sim can effectively deliver the ambitious concept is definitely still up in the air. But if you choose to take the polling of analysts seriously, then Spore will sell 3-5 million copies this year, and will bring in 250 million buckaroos.

“Spore will do at least 3 million units as a packaged product, and if it’s as good as it looks, it has the potential to do twice that,” thinks Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, while Arvind Bhatia from Sterne, Agee & Lynch compared the game to Wright’s other franchise: “If Spore does half of what Sims does, it will be a great success.”

As for delivering the goods to the consumer, analyst Jesse Divnich believes Spore could fall “victim to the expectations that EA has set up for the title.” Meaning too much hype could kill the game.

[See also: Spore gallery]