"But I guess you're saying UGC has to make up the entirety of the game for this to be what Malstrom's talking about, right?"
No, things like levels, stages, missions, songs (for rhythm games), dungeons and overworlds, puzzles, etc.
The Sims is basically one big stage, for each game and expansion. What you do in there is your choice, but the content is still from the developers.
The problem with Spore was that the content was too weak, as you pointed out. The UGC was given emphasis first, while The Sims was content properly integrating UGC.
So in that sense, it's not UGC. It's UGC without good enough content.
Mario Paint was mostly UGC, but the content, which included the tools, was great. So was The Sims. And most games with editors still have loads of developer-made content.
Spore, Little Big Planet, and Wii Music were lacking. Not that they didn't have any, just not enough.
EDIT: Okay, I get it. It's using UGC as a substitute for content. The Sims was no substitute. The gameplay was all about having fun with your character, and that was the content.
A flashy-first game is awesome when it comes out. A great-first game is awesome forever.
Plus, just for the hell of it: Kelly Brook at the 2008 BAFTAs
