NBA Live 13 News Post

If NBA Live 13 Doesn't Hit an Oct. 2 Release Date, It's as Good as Failing to Launch

09:32 PM - August 5, 2012 by Steve_OS

Strong words from Kotaku's Owen Good, in his latest NBA Live 13 article. This isn't Duke Nukem Forever or Half-Life 3, love it.

Quote:


	EA Sports has aggressively pushed the talking point that NBA Live 13 isn't coming off a three-year development cycle, and that's reasonable. Elite represented an entire year of wasted development. The project was reassigned to a different studio, and the new team had to tear it down and understand what it was working with. That accounted for a lot of 2011. But this isn't Duke Nukem Forever or Half-Life 3. The release date of a simulation sports video game is predictable years in advance. If NBA Live 13 misses that date, for any reason, the reaction will be swift and merciless. It'll be as good as failing to launch.

Source - For NBA Live, an Uncomfortable Silence Speaks for Itself

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Member Comments

# 21 DaveDQ @ 08/06/12 09:56 AM

The article mentions a possible digital release which would in turn potentially offer the game at a lower price. I think that is the only reasoning right now.

If this game repeats what it did with Elite, I don't see how it could rebound. The only thing EA's NBA title has going for it is that the 2K Series has dominated the market and some fans of basketball gaming may want to take a look at something from a different developer.

Other than that, what incentive is there to check in NBA Live? All the game has given in the last few years is speculation and wonder.

# 22 JBCAROLINAKID @ 08/06/12 10:37 AM

The advisory council is a good idea and all but i don't get why they don't get a group of community guys together to offer insight and advice at the beginning of the development cycle instead of near the end of it when there is little time to make meaningful changes to the game. If they did this it would allow them to go in the right direction from the get-go instead of wasting time on frivolous features most don't care about instead of concentrating on the core elements of the game and then having to push the release date back after 3 YEARS!!!

# 23 DickDalewood @ 08/06/12 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by captaintuna


	Shocking! OS taking another shot at EA and NBA Live. Yawn.

Lol, for years this website has been accused of "being in EA's back pocket". Now, they're reporting on what is clearly just an absolute pathetic effort by the Live team, and suddenly OS is anti-EA.

Remove yourself from your bubble that is the NBA Live forum, and at least do a little research before trying to throw an all-encompassing blanket over the entire site.

If you can't look at what is literally in front of your face, and see the kind of trouble that this series is in, then you are taking "apologist" to a whole new level.

Supporting a company is one thing, but defending them at every turn when they've already cancelled one iteration of this series, and are by all accounts on their way to doing the same in 13, is just embarassingly transparent.

Show me a sports game that has taken this type of development path in the past, and that has turned out to be good. This is not how quality titles are made, plain and simple. People have every right to express their opinions on the matter.

# 24 jwtucker710 @ 08/06/12 10:58 AM

Not sure why NBA Live 13 needs to be released at the same time 2K is. I think releasing it a few weeks later may be better for EA. Likely they won't sell as many as 2K, so give 2K the thunder for a few weeks and then step in. How I look at it. As long as the game is released by the start of the NBA season, they'll be fine. Hopefully EA will give us more game info by middle of August.

# 25 Altimus @ 08/06/12 11:13 AM

If they're as worried as we think they are then a few extra weeks isn't going to do much.

# 26 23 @ 08/06/12 11:39 AM

Im amazed at how many people still want to give this series a chance

If this was Sony, people would be dogging this effort out big time and saying they need to get out of the game

Within the last decade, we went from about 6 games on the market at once, including college games, to 1 game now, and im not sure exactly what that says.

All I know is, we basketball gamers deserve better than this... Its 2012 where you can talk to a cell phone and it talks back to you, give you directions, pinpoint your locaiton on earth, plugs in lika a computer and shoots video in Hi Def... and here we have a company who lost control of its bowels and doesn't seem to realize how to really clean up afterwards

I honestly dont understand

# 27 Altimus @ 08/06/12 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 23


	Im amazed at how many people still want to give this series a chance If this was Sony, people would be dogging this effort out big time and saying they need to get out of the game Within the last decade, we went from about 6 games on the market at once, including college games, to 1 game now, and im not sure exactly what that says. All I know is, we basketball gamers deserve better than this... Its 2012 where you can talk to a cell phone and it talks back to you, give you directions, pinpoint your locaiton on earth, plugs in lika a computer and shoots video in Hi Def... and here we have a company who lost control of its bowels and doesn't seem to realize how to really clean up afterwards I honestly dont understand

That's the problem... gaming has gotten more advanced and EA has gotten delayed in it. Now they're trying to make up ground.

# 28 NoTiCe_O @ 08/06/12 11:59 AM

I know i for one wanna give this series a chance because all the good memories I've had with this franchise over the years far outweigh the bad, even after this whole next-gen debacle.

I can remember going out the first night and buying NBA Live 2002 and going straight to my cousins house without even playing it myself and just being up all night playing and never getting bored. While I played 2k during those times too, it just didn't come close to Live for some reason.

Now I just want to see this franchise that was once at such a high point at least return to being relevant. I'm a fan of T-Mac so it's a similar feeling, although now that I'm older I don't really have a favorite player anymore, but I'll always root for T-Mac just like I'll always root for Live.

# 29 23 @ 08/06/12 11:59 AM

EA was never with it

Live 06.. broken promises, no features...full price

Live 07.. broken mess

Live 08, halfway decent of the 3 but I played it and it felt like ripping your
intestines out playing that game longer than 10 minutes

Live 09 seemed like a first effort at trying something that might work, but then Mike Wang came

Live 10... the most positive responses and direction of the game took a 2k dev and his team to make

e-Lite, " ........"

They've blown this entire generation and you still can't figure out why

That doesnt even include whats happening right now

Beyond that... they've blown this

# 30 Championships @ 08/06/12 12:12 PM

I'm not eager to see a game that isn't ready just to rag on it and create new meme's.. I honestly don't mind a new release date being announced.

# 31 bigeastbumrush @ 08/06/12 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altimus


	That's the problem... gaming has gotten more advanced and EA has gotten delayed in it. Now they're trying to make up ground.

It's not EA because they actually release good games.

It is EA's commitment to the sport of basketball why this has happened.

How do you have animators on your staff who don't know the difference in moves between players? If we had the technical ability...I'm sure every single one of us would be willing to go to a company and help work on developing a game seeing how passionate we are for basketball.

They should have never let Mike Wang exit the building while they had him there. Now the people who are left have no clue how he did what he did and it showed in Elite 11. And it showed at E3. And it's showing with the delays.

Hire capable people. The community wants to see good games. There are thousands of people who would give their input. EA just doesn't want to listen when it comes to basketball.

# 32 jwtucker710 @ 08/06/12 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altimus


	I think the biggest problem is the decision to launch a 13 version. I've taken on IT projects which we have taken over crippled ones, had to fix and rebuild in a short period of time. It rarely finishes as a perfect project. Actually it never does... This is the same problem the current team is facing. They were probably excited to take on this task but soon realized what they were taking over in Elite 11. Now you have to make a game to catch up to whatever 2K13 is cooking, plus redo the engine from 11, fix the bugs, add new content, and a lot of other things. I think they were overwhelmed and now they're running out of time and EA is stuck in the middle of not knowing what to do. Do we release a broken product that will do bad in reviews and take a chance of fixing it via patches later? Or do we cancel, take a lot of backlash and come back next year with a solid product. You have to decide which one will take less damage and I think it's canceling. However, I would hire more developers and announce a March Maddness 2013 coming out in February. Cancel Live 13 and continue to work for NBA Live 14. That way you have a foundation of your game out there, and a lot of people would be very happy with a college basketball game out there.

Good post, would love to see a new college bb sim this coming season, either by EA or by 2K. Does anyone know if there is one? In 2K 12, you can actually download college rosters and use created courts/gyms and run a college sim. Not the same, I know, but it's kind of neat.

As for LIVE 13, they've had a year in a half to develop it. Unless EA decided to give the green light nine months ago to start, but they've had enough time to put a decent NBA game out there. No excuses. My understanding from reading a few articles on it, is that they scrapped Elite entirely, and have kept some of LIVE 10's mechanics. Which I think makes sense. It was a decent game. I enjoyed playing 10. So, moving forward, hope 13 is released sometime in October. I think it will. EA is just being coy about it. After all, they have NHL and Madden coming out soon.

# 33 Altimus @ 08/06/12 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigeastbumrush


	It's not EA because they actually release good games. It is EA's commitment to the sport of basketball why this has happened. How do you have animators on your staff who don't know the difference in moves between players? If we had the technical ability...I'm sure every single one of us would be willing to go to a company and help work on developing a game seeing how passionate we are for basketball. They should have never let Mike Wang exit the building while they had him there. Now the people who are left have no clue how he did what he did and it showed in Elite 11. And it showed at E3. And it's showing with the delays. Hire capable people. The community wants to see good games. There are thousands of people who would give their input. EA just doesn't want to listen when it comes to basketball.

I'm talking about EA, those responsible for the sports and basketball aspect of it. Not EA as a whole.

Maybe it's not listening but what you mentioned, hiring the correct staff and that usually starts at the top with project leads. Who knows, I'm sure they have good programmers and designers but maybe not the right people leading the ship.

# 34 King_B_Mack @ 08/06/12 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigeastbumrush


	It's not EA because they actually release good games. It is EA's commitment to the sport of basketball why this has happened. How do you have animators on your staff who don't know the difference in moves between players? If we had the technical ability...I'm sure every single one of us would be willing to go to a company and help work on developing a game seeing how passionate we are for basketball. They should have never let Mike Wang exit the building while they had him there. Now the people who are left have no clue how he did what he did and it showed in Elite 11. And it showed at E3. And it's showing with the delays. Hire capable people. The community wants to see good games. There are thousands of people who would give their input. EA just doesn't want to listen when it comes to basketball.

Honestly. I'm a guy who believes in karma and 'what goes around comes around' that sort of thing. EA stuck it to gamers with that exclusive football license and trying to license every single sports game possible and it's coming back around on them with this generation of basketball and the fact that the deal ended up being a burden on them for the life of it in the end.

Anyway it's just a sad sight to see EA Basketball go from

to...

all the way to just looking for the game to launch on time if at all? Absolutely pathetic what it's come to.

# 35 Behindshadows @ 08/06/12 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King_B_Mack


	Honestly. I'm a guy who believes in karma and 'what goes around comes around' that sort of thing. EA stuck it to gamers with that exclusive football license and trying to license every single sports game possible and it's coming back around on them with this generation of basketball and the fact that the deal ended up being a burden on them for the life of it in the end. Anyway it's just a sad sight to see EA Basketball go from all the way to just looking for the game to launch on time if at all? Absolutely pathetic what it's come to.

First off bigeastbumrush is correct on everything he's said....

And no need to post old games, we are talking about this generation! From Live 06 to Elite 11.

The only good title they had was Live 10, and that was because of community input and Mike Wang, listening and fixing things because he gave a damn about what we said.

Before him and after him all titles were mediocre and crap like titles. EA basketball division can not get it right and there is where the problem lies. As BigE said,"they do make good games" Just not in the basketball category.

And they don't listen to us and could care less, because if they did, they would know that graphically they got the game right with Live 07 and Live 10.

But in all the titles the primary focus point should have went to animations and movements, in which they never got right and never will. They spent a whole development cycle on altering the controls, and feel of the game. Controls were never the issue, the game has never controlled bad. It just looked bad in motion and this is where they continued to overlook over and over and over again!!!

They don't listen, don't care! EA's focus on the BB titles isn't the same as the football titles as they are 100% dedicated to every little detail of getting things right and listening to community input and opinions. And they fix it.

There is no type of respect with the NBA Community!

# 36 jwtucker710 @ 08/06/12 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King_B_Mack


	Honestly. I'm a guy who believes in karma and 'what goes around comes around' that sort of thing. EA stuck it to gamers with that exclusive football license and trying to license every single sports game possible and it's coming back around on them with this generation of basketball and the fact that the deal ended up being a burden on them for the life of it in the end. Anyway it's just a sad sight to see EA Basketball go from to... all the way to just looking for the game to launch on time if at all? Absolutely pathetic what it's come to.

NBA LIVE 2005 was one of the best ones on the previous generation consoles. Took steps back with 06, 07, 09 ... 08 '10 were decent. Come on EA, step up your game!!

# 37 DaveDQ @ 08/06/12 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 23


	Im amazed at how many people still want to give this series a chance If this was Sony, people would be dogging this effort out big time and saying they need to get out of the game Within the last decade, we went from about 6 games on the market at once, including college games, to 1 game now, and im not sure exactly what that says. All I know is, we basketball gamers deserve better than this... Its 2012 where you can talk to a cell phone and it talks back to you, give you directions, pinpoint your locaiton on earth, plugs in lika a computer and shoots video in Hi Def... and here we have a company who lost control of its bowels and doesn't seem to realize how to really clean up afterwards I honestly dont understand

This post can be applied to gaming as a whole. At one point, I can remember 2K and EA having their B-ball games out and then came in Inside Drive with XSN sports on the Xbox. You really had this sense that there was this competitive atmosphere where one game had a positive and another game a different positive.

Now you have EA in this odd scenario where it seems like NBA Live is in this berserko development nightmare where they simply can't pull it together.

# 38 bxphenom7 @ 08/06/12 08:35 PM

nba live 10 improved soooo much and then they messed up smh honestly, ea just needs to hand nba live to a competent developer that knows basketball. making a basketball game can't be this difficult for professionals. ea's biggest mistake was not taking 2 years to develop nba live 13. on the bright side, new engine, so one can only hope....

# 39 bxphenom7 @ 08/06/12 09:03 PM

I started thinking more and more about NBA Live 13's silence and maybe they're just working hard at the game right now and don't need to slow progress on unnecessary advertising or whatever. If the game is coming out, they will release info eventually but maybe they need this focus and silence to put as good a game as they can out there. I've been with 2k since 2k5 on ps2 and I've hated the little competition basketball games have had. (And I could go on and on about how much I hate EA for forcing 2k to stop making football games). We need to have patience. Live has a new engine and new talent so I hope their game is competitive. NBA Live 10 was competitive and a HUGE improvement so they should focus on improving from that game and get rid of whatever they had with Elite.

# 40 bxphenom7 @ 08/06/12 11:41 PM

EA, why have a game made by developers who don't know basketball? screw it, EA only cares about Madden and FIFA and don't need NBA Live since they're making alot of money already. Same way how 2k doesn't care about MLB 2k. In addition, EA doesn't even deserve to have the football market all to itself smh. No one deserves to have a market without competition.

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