Spore Creature Creator, beyond a videogame Options

[csven]

I assume most everyone here is aware of the upcoming videogame Spore, and also aware that earlier today the official "Creature Creator" demo was made available for download. I've been following Spore since it was first unveiled, mostly because I see something besides just a funny game. There are three general areas of interest to me:

1) impact on 3D applications in general - reference Link 1
2) impact on public perception of 3D modeling - reference Link 2 (next parts haven't been posted yet)
3) the intellectual property issues which might arise from this tool - reference Link 3 & Link 4
4) long-term impact of these under-appreciated advancements - reference Link 5

I'd be interested in hearing thoughts on any of the above as well as what these tools (along w where CAD has been headed lately - reference Link 6) might mean for the design profession.