If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

[GisherJohn24]

I mean if they put a lot of resources and money into this game and it doesn't do well financially, could this be the last one?

[TDYRX]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

At this point, this question has been brought up 3 years in a row. Live is probably doing terrible financially, but it seems like EA is beginning to show a little faith in the product. We got a cover athlete and trailer WAY earlier this year than normal, (unofficial) gameplay videos at E3 and basically an unlimited trial 2 weeks in advance of release. From community impressions, it seems even the doubters are noticing that Live is a solid property now. I don't think it needs to do huge numbers to stay alive, I just think EA is playing the long game with it for now. Hopefully it pays off.

[Tonyattia]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

I hope not, cause I enjoy having variation. All their other sports games are so profitable that maybe they make up for live not selling so well?


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[GisherJohn24]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

I hope not, cause I enjoy having variation. All their other sports games are so profitable that maybe they make up for live not selling so well?


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To me it's a work in progress and hopefully the work, (years of work) will pay off for an extremely good product and the work will finally pay off. They know there is a lot of profit for basketball games if done right. The advantage of being EA, they have the resources to take financial hits, they jut really have to prove they love their franchise, and their fans to keep the game going.

[strawberryshortcake]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

Hope not.

Don't care if I have a preferred choice, but having two or more games to represent a sport is always, always going to be better for the consumer. I don't want to hear a company say something can't be done when the competition clearly shows that it can be done.

[nox]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

I hope not, not that I play live, but I have the feeling that there being 2 games inspires both companies to keep outdoing theirselves

[The 24th Letter]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

This is becoming an annual thread for you, lol

According to WTF, EA is behind them regardless of sales...so unless the numbers are just ridiculously awful...they'll be fine

[WTF]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

The answer is no. They knew where the product started that it would take a long while to get back to having the million unit + seller. Again, the free demo is to get the game in people's hands with no risk, and allowing them to try it for themselves. The online addition will probably add some sales to it this year, and in the coming years really fleshing the entire game out. It's not going anywhere.

[Basketball Nate]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

They killed the product for 4 years and still brought it back, I think that makes it pretty clear that money ain't issue here.

[Vic Viper]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

Units Sold

NBA Live 10 sold about 1.21 million units. NBA LIVE 14 sold about 310,000 units. NBA LIVE 15 sold about 260,000 units. I can see this year's game trending towards 500,000 units or more. I feel like this is going to be a great year in basketball, especially for EA Sports. We know what NBA 2K is going to do...I'm not even going to go into details about them. EA has put too much money in this series to just completely abandon it because of the low numbers.

The State of the NBA Live Series

I compare NBA Live Series to a person who is trying to learn how to walk again. The NBA Live Series suffered a major injury in 2010. They go through rehab to improve, but have some major setbacks and there is fear that they may never walk again. (2011-12) Finally, through a number of vigorous rehab sessions they begin to show signs of improvement with their leg motion. It's a first step, but they are only walking with assistance. (2013) Last year they started walking without assistance and people were impressed, but everyone knows they should be further along. (2014) It currently 2015 and the NBA LIVE Series is doing some light jogging. They have the potential to get to their previous form in 2009, but it's not a given thing. You have to earn it. I want to see them run and stay in peak form. No more self inflicting wounds.

Final Statement

Sales will start to climb each year. It's not about money....yet. It's about re-establishing faith in the struggling franchise known as "NBA LIVE". I believe they can do it, but the major numbers you are looking for won't show until the year 2017 or 2018. They should be close to 1 million units by then, but......

[ThaLiveKing]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

This is becoming an annual thread for you, lol

According to WTF, EA is behind them regardless of sales...so unless the numbers are just ridiculously awful...they'll be fine

I've heard things, but I don't believe them one bit. If EA was gonna fold with Live, they would have done that already

[GisherJohn24]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

Units Sold

NBA Live 10 sold about 1.21 million units. NBA LIVE 14 sold about 310,000 units. NBA LIVE 15 sold about 260,000 units. I can see this year's game trending towards 500,000 units or more. I feel like this is going to be a great year in basketball, especially for EA Sports. We know what NBA 2K is going to do...I'm not even going to go into details about them. EA has put too much money in this series to just completely abandon it because of the low numbers.

The State of the NBA Live Series

I compare NBA Live Series to a person who is trying to learn how to walk again. The NBA Live Series suffered a major injury in 2010. They go through rehab to improve, but have some major setbacks and there is fear that they may never walk again. (2011-12) Finally, through a number of vigorous rehab sessions they begin to show signs of improvement with their leg motion. It's a first step, but they are only walking with assistance. (2013) Last year they started walking without assistance and people were impressed, but everyone knows they should be further along. (2014) It currently 2015 and the NBA LIVE Series is doing some light jogging. They have the potential to get to their previous form in 2009, but it's not a given thing. You have to earn it. I want to see them run and stay in peak form. No more self inflicting wounds.

Final Statement

Sales will start to climb each year. It's not about money....yet. It's about re-establishing faith in the struggling franchise known as "NBA LIVE". I believe they can do it, but the major numbers you are looking for won't show until the year 2017 or 2018. They should be close to 1 million units by then, but......

Would 500,000 units sold be profitable ? I'm not good with numbers. I guess depends on how much they spent for devolopment ? Be curious on that.

[XxSpiritHunterX]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

Live is here to stay finally again. This is not the same NBA Live from 2010, or the same live from 14. It's a great thing actually because the game has been forced to make nothing but progress. The reason the game doesn't sell as good as the other one does is because you can pick up and play that other one (that and a heavy bias as of recent memory).

If the game's great and has a mode easily accessible for fun, it'll sell more for sure. Unless the heavy bias remains of course


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[Vic Viper]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

Would 500,000 units sold be profitable ? I'm not good with numbers. I guess depends on how much they spent for devolopment ? Be curious on that.

500,000 units is not profitable at all. They were in the red the past 2 years. You have to factor in the cancellation for 3 years worth of games. Marketing and Budget is also a factor. Madden and 2K have higher budget allowance when comparing to NBA Live, but they also rake in SERIOUS CASH.

NBA Live's development cycle is not that long and the man power was increased from previous years. I would say they have or will spend anywhere from $12-$18 million dollars developing NBA Live 16 on current generation. That's why they won't develop on PC. There is not a high fanbase for PC and they lose money, especially to pirating. It would be in the 8-12 million dollar range if were PS3/XBOX era. Games like Call of Duty are probably in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Here is a list of Budget and cost for the average game.....

Typical video game costs and budgets:

• production and development costs
  • developer salaries
  • voice acting
  • music and orchestra (as high as $500K)
  • licensing
  
  
• marketing and promotions
  • television advertisements
  • print advertisements (magazines)
  • online advertisements
  • events and launch parties
  
  
• manufacturing and distribution
  • console cartridge production (fairly expensive)
  • optical disc production (fairly cheap)
  • online distribution (very cheap)

You also have to take into account that they are probably making only $20

per unit. $20 profit per unit sold x 250,000 units sold + Add ons ? = $5,100,000

They will close the gap soon, but they need to be in the 1 million units sold range to stay relevant and stay in black. They can achieve this if they make leaps this year with Pro-Am, Ultimate Team and revamped gameplay. Next year has to focus on polished gameplay, more modes, revamped modes, EASBL, more innovation, advertisement and communicating with the gaming community. I say a million plus in year 2017 or 2018.

[Rockie_Fresh88]

Re: If NBA Live 16 doesn't sell well could this be the last Live?

Yeah we get this every year . They keep saying the potential market is there to be profitable but how long can they keep losing money