Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

[inkcil]

Re: Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

Even if EA doesn't make another hoops title, it will have no impact on the quality of NBA 2k... THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN COMPETITORS.

Live is rated E... 2K is rated M

The demographics don't even understand one another... hence the vitriol.

2K isn't hyper-realistic because of ANY pressure from EA sports
EA isn't actively trying to recreate Double Dribble because of ANY pressue from 2K.
Their respective targets are COMPLETELY different.

Those with no affinity for authenticity and get pleasure from casually breaking ankles and fantasy dunking have a game to play.

Those who, above all, want to recreate the NBA experience also have a game to play.

2K isn't taking customers away from NBA Live... NBA Jams is (because it's the same game as NBA Elite... just 2 on 2)... and that's fine with EA because the money stays home.
rEAnimator said it himself, "the goal is 70% ARCADE / 30% SIM"... and the 30% is just the NBA license so gamers can have familiarity with the teams/rosters.
So if we would all just LISTEN (including me), we would understand that EA has never had any intention of competing in the SIM market... they have their niche.

I agree with you 100%...that is why I played both NBA games in 2010. I love what Live 10 was doing, even though it hadn't reached its full potential. EA baseketball USED to be good at doing what they do best - creating the 70/30 game. Now their game will go down as one of the worst sports gaming blunders of this console generation.

[YoungEz1]

Yo on the real I rather whip out a Sega Genesis and play Bulls vs Blazers then ever play this again................
If a game sucks it suck no matter what company makes it

[yopis]

Re: Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

They could not win the against 2k so they tried to devalue everything 2k has done better with this whole process. This was a shameless attempt to buy more time to put out the same old (we are in year 1 of a process excuse). They lost plain and simple, im not jumping up and down for 2k or sad for EA , I don't own stock in either company. I hope in a few years they can get something going but the corporate culture of EA will have to change for sure. Smoke in mirrors only last so long. Maybe this will be a triple play to MVP story but maybe not time will tell.

At this point of a consoles life I don't want to see things started over anymore. System shock games gave us Bioshock. Kotor gave us Mass Effect, all those live games gave us a complete do over and more waiting. This is a failure in every sense of the word. Basketball games didn't need to go this route, they (EA sports) were just not good enough to compete at what was working.

Since the course was set I hope they can make something of this down the road. Who is to say they wont just start over again? This is a desperation move for sure. All these post talking about feeling sorry for the dev team are crazy. That's what they want you to think so they can buy more time for the shortcomings of the game.

The dev team is responsible as the other parts of EA for the games failure over the last few years. Im in no way attacking anyone personally from the team but on a professional level all areas (from the suits on down)are part of the blame for this franchises fall.

Hope they can turn it around but it's not 2005 and im not buying year one of any sports franchise again until the next cycle of consoles. If value outweighs price then a person will buy the product, it's not at that point for me yet.

[Dachozen1]

Re: Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

I just don't know the direction they wanted to go with this, sim, arcade... they're trying to tone down the free throw line dunking, but they're just focused on ball handling and not team basketball...so which direction are they going??..and it just feels unrewarding to learn the ball contol to play a bad basketball game... Besides Live 10... NBA Street was EA's best basketball game this decade, so maybe they should bring that type of game back if they're going arcade.

[Kaanyr Vhok]

Re: Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

lol the last part was directed to the people who absolutely want their bb game to LOOK good. indeed elite is not for them but if you want a very deep experience the game is for you. I mean it took me 10 hours to understand how I could use fisher momentum against him if I used the right move at the right moment. I'm still discovering things . I can throw running hook shots on a consistent basis now but my post move game is far to be completed. The AI didn't get a steal during 1 on 1 since a long time and ,now i know which distance is mandatory to shoot for all my players so I rarely get blocked . I still haven't mastered how to use the transition between the post game and the face up, but the AI put some nasty moves on me with gasol that make me try harder, I haven't really pratice the post move defense, I still have a hard time to contest with 2 hands but it's very efficient against kobe . The slide on defense demands skills (with time i will make ron look like a baby on D ) so I just switch a lot right now, I can't throw the layup I want yet in traffic (right or left hand) cuz I'm slow to react to the help d and the situation is never the same ( most the time i'm looking at fisher cuz I just badly broke his ankles rare moments there). I doesn't recognize everytime the opportunities when I can jump in a defender after he bite a pump fake to get a foul i'm too slow but I did it with kg 4 or 5 times.I haven't worked on the triple threat or the gathers (I can't spin) or the freestyle pass or the oops yet, lol. there are so many things to learn in this game . it's so fresh, you have to think about all the subtleties of bb. Done is the time when i knew all the canned animations so I knew what was going to happen . I feel all the work the team put in this game so I understand why this reviewer is excited
YEAH now i get what you meant when you said you have to feel it reanimator, now i get it

I don't see how you could find such depth in a game with such base AI. I played one game on superstar where it was tied with 22 seconds left and I'm bringing the ball up with Rondo. Fisher strips him. Its still tied. The Lakers inbound the ball and Fisher jacks a three right away with like 20 secs on the clock and sinks it.
Everything about that was pure BS. First a defender is not going to reach on Rondo in that position. You not going to risk putting him the line to win the game. Second the protect the dribble animation shouldnt be a constanst baby sitter and third its freaking Rondo!!!
Then the Lakers show no clock management at allllll. The game is tied with 20 secs left you dont burn 3 seconds and jack a three. Kobe wouldnt take it if he was wide open but Fisher took it contested. Thats just one example the game has Dreamcast AI. I dont see how you can find depth in the RTP. I wouldnt even know it was there if they didnt sell it. I would think the fouls were just turned off (which is another problem).
Backbreaker had depth from its physics. Thats a real example of a game with physics. If thats what you want play Backbreaker. It has flaws but those physics are real and they had a real affect on the gameplay.

[dwanestar]

Its funny when people keep talkin bout 2k. this is a forum for nba elite...
2k got nothing to do with ea failing. i thinks its true that they hit the panic button
when the producers talk in there vids it looks like they aint that happy bout the game
u can c it in there eyes. why change the name just change the game....u can c that they tried to make a good game thats true and the game doenst truly suck but whats the problem is that people expect a game to be better then 4 years ago. and even nba live 2000 that is still there best game hasnt had competition from there own game. they never should have change the buttons. No speed button.? they messin up things that u should never touch when its not broken. become a legend is a great idea but when u are live and change the name to elite focus on makin the basketball game work first instead of competin with 2k. just focus on basketball my guess is they feelin that 2k is takin over and they aint lookin at the quality no more just to make sure we get what 2k gamers get. Next year next chance

[jmarcguy]

Re: Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

Someone said people want Elite to be like the competition & that's why they're complaining. I want Elite to be better than the competition!! I want A good game period!!

[StankonYa]

Re: Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

I buy NBA-Live and 2k every year...you know just for change of pace. Now since the 360 and ps3 came out, I've liked 2k better...... every year since then. To me Live was always fun, IDK ............It just had that swagger. But IMO Live (now Elite) has lost thier identity trying to keep up with NBA 2k. I remember Larger than life dunks, taunting, lots of fastbreak plays, big-time blocks thrown into the stands, good player faces, and the easy right stick cross-over controls on the ps2 and xbox 1 is what made EA's game Fun......and just easy to pick up and play. I've never thought of any live game save live 10, as a sim nba game. Come to think of it i never even paid for nba live 10 like i did all the others.........yeah i rented it, kept it ...and still have it ,but thats because i can't find it.....so maybe i don't have it after-all. Anyways I think I'll get elite when it drops to $40 bucks or something like that, but from the demo no way is it worth 60-plus $$$$$$$

[Jasong7777]

Re: Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

EA will never catch up to 2K. Not when it comes to basketball. Hell, they still have not caught up in football.

[Muzyk23]

Re: Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

EA will never catch up to 2K. Not when it comes to basketball. Hell, they still have not caught up in football.

Completely agree and moreso since I saw Elite 11 in action for the 1st time. EA's basketball title will never catch up. Never.

[yopis]

Re: Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

EA will never catch up to 2K. Not when it comes to basketball. Hell, they still have not caught up in football.

Never thought about it that way but you might be right.

[phant030]

Re: Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

EA will never catch up to 2K. Not when it comes to basketball. Hell, they still have not caught up in football.

I don't know bro, they were only a year or two away with Live 10. Maybe not now, but they should get it together over time. Last year Live was my game of choice, 2k was the more complete game...but Live brought me back. There is always room for growth and improvement as well as staleness and regression...in other words, there's always a chance that ANY game can be better than its predecessors. Second, everything 2k makes isn't gold, and everything EA makes isn't crap.

[oOausarOo]

Re: Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

The only reason EA never caught up in football is because they ended up not having to try and catch up. If NFL 2k were still around I'd bet anything Madden would be twice as good as it is right now.

[da ThRONe]

Re: Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

It feels like EA is charging us 60bucks to be a beta tester for next years game.

[econoodle]

Re: Chris' Blog: Playing the blame game with NBA Elite 11

great article as usual Chris.

Sadly, they should have stuck with 10's gameplan. Flaws and all it was at least headed in the right direction.


Elite? no comment.
lol

Can't fault them for wanting to try something new. Thats how breakthoughs are made and new paths are blazed, but something went very very wrong during the devlopment of this title.

No sale from me and the Ea hoops goodwill has just been given the death knell.

Its all memories now.