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manny3118 · 09-21-2010, 06:05 PM

7 years ago, EA Sports released NBA Live 2004, which I'm sure many members here think about in nostalgic terms. In reality though, this might have also been the game that has arguably set back a franchise we've been familar with for years now, and might have effectively placed sim-gaming to the backburner in ELITE.

Live 04 introduced freestyle dribbling, a mechanic which sounds awfully alot like EA's Total Player Control being introduced today. The user was given the ability to dribble using the left analog stick at will, giving what was thought more control and flexibility to the user. But there was a problem with this-- the players all had the ability to use specific dribble moves at any time, and the differences between individual athletes were not pronounced. Players slipped and slid around the court as a result of players implementing these dribble moves with little consequence, and as a result, the user was given a basketball game which rewarded dunks and blocks with overexaggerated sound effects. Rocket dunks, the introduction of the pro-hop, the overuse of that same pro-hop, all of that eerily similar to what ELITE has showcased up to this point. An arcade game which was fun to play, but not fun to look at in simulation terms.

Now imagine if that game had online capabilities? Can you imagine the preverbial cheese online? The exploitation of the control of the freestyle dribbling, the exploitation of the glitches of the freestyle dribbling? And would any of that resemble basketball? Of course not. But the business model worked, and made the series sucessful in respect to the last generation consoles. I'd speculate that ELITE could very well fulfill that dream.

The next gen system brought, however, new expecations; players are not prioritizing realism. EA, however, sees promise in the multiplayer arena, and is obviously trying to capture the magic of the last gen business model-- appealing to more of an arcade style game. The question I propose is this-- do the users here at OS feel that the LIVE 04 business model can be successful like it was before, or are users more mindful in respect to realism than they were 5 or 6 years ago?

09-21-2010, 06:05 PM	#1
manny3118 Banned OVR: 0 Join Date: Sep 2010	Live 04 and ELITE comparisons 7 years ago, EA Sports released NBA Live 2004, which I'm sure many members here think about in nostalgic terms. In reality though, this might have also been the game that has arguably set back a franchise we've been familar with for years now, and might have effectively placed sim-gaming to the backburner in ELITE. Live 04 introduced freestyle dribbling, a mechanic which sounds awfully alot like EA's Total Player Control being introduced today. The user was given the ability to dribble using the left analog stick at will, giving what was thought more control and flexibility to the user. But there was a problem with this-- the players all had the ability to use specific dribble moves at any time, and the differences between individual athletes were not pronounced. Players slipped and slid around the court as a result of players implementing these dribble moves with little consequence, and as a result, the user was given a basketball game which rewarded dunks and blocks with overexaggerated sound effects. Rocket dunks, the introduction of the pro-hop, the overuse of that same pro-hop, all of that eerily similar to what ELITE has showcased up to this point. An arcade game which was fun to play, but not fun to look at in simulation terms. Now imagine if that game had online capabilities? Can you imagine the preverbial cheese online? The exploitation of the control of the freestyle dribbling, the exploitation of the glitches of the freestyle dribbling? And would any of that resemble basketball? Of course not. But the business model worked, and made the series sucessful in respect to the last generation consoles. I'd speculate that ELITE could very well fulfill that dream. The next gen system brought, however, new expecations; players are not prioritizing realism. EA, however, sees promise in the multiplayer arena, and is obviously trying to capture the magic of the last gen business model-- appealing to more of an arcade style game. The question I propose is this-- do the users here at OS feel that the LIVE 04 business model can be successful like it was before, or are users more mindful in respect to realism than they were 5 or 6 years ago? Last edited by manny3118; 09-21-2010 at 06:09 PM.