A shockwave went though the gaming world, as it was announced that Will Wright, best known as the father to the Sims and Spore, will be leaving Electronic Arts/Maxis to head (of all things) an entertainment think tank.

The new entertainment think tank is being called Stupid Fun Club, which on the surface might seem like a poor choice for a name, but Wright has been funding this operation, which is located in a Berkeley, California warehouse, for about a decade. Stupid Fun Club has been focused on the building and designing of robots and creating video productions based on these robots.

From what we have been able to uncover, Wright and EA will co-own Stupid Fun Club and the company will be tweaking its focus to include cross-media IP for games, movies, TV and toys. EA, of course, will have the rights to develop games based on IP that emerges from the think tank. Both Wright and EA will have an equal stake in the company itself.

Some may question Wright’s decision to move in this direction, but he has always been a maverick and has expressed a desire to move in a new direction to create something different; and this will give him the ability to do so. In the meantime, Maxis will continue to develop the legacy that Wright leaves behind, along with EA’s Play label.