philippe
FYI, I chase trains.
To be honest, i can't see that this game may have a big, dedicated fanbase (unless it's for making creatures) for a long time. 

Look at the sales numbers in a few weeks. You may be surprised to find that it is selling well.
Saying it is a failure is subject to opinion. Since there are a lot of Spore fans here on CFC, the forum should stay open. Should the Civ I forum be closed? That can't be frequented that often now.
It is not a failure, same stages lack things but i have many people say they love a stage and hate the rest, but as shown by the Best Stage thread, there is a diverse range of love hate stages. Some people think it is a failure, some people love the game. It has already got many more post then some of the other games in the OTHER GAME forum.
I love this game, but then I can still play rail road tycoon and sim city for hours. I don't play games every day so maybe thats why it isn't getting on me that I don't like tribal that much, but the other stages more than make up for it to me.
A lot of people think civ 4 sucks, or think bts sucks.