NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

[Pogo27]

Re: NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

So, I don't really play basketball games, but I was extremely interested in Elite, especially after the demo (because I didn't play it enough to see the glitches I guess).

Knowing now that Elite is being moved from EACanada to Tiburon simply means I won't be purchasing Elite, or any EA Basketball game, for as long as the franchise remains in Tiburon's hands.

I like football too much to not play the NCAA games, but when it comes to sports gaming, with FIFA and the limited amount of NHL I've played, EACanada is definitely doing a lot of things right.

I'm very disappointed.

[jadert]

Re: NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

I get it.....EA is the big bad company, who is not necessarily known for great management...lol

But why when the big series change was announced, there wasn't a big outcry from us, the consumer? The management isn't the only ones that put faith in Littman and his new direction. So we should blame ourselves as well.

However, we expected the execution to be better. Can we blame management for the graphics, horrible animations, and glitches? Or does the developers take at least a little blame? I never said the management shouldn't have responsibility, but come on guys.....

[sroz39]

I get it.....EA is the big bad company, who is not necessarily known for great management...lol

But why when the big series change was announced, there wasn't a big outcry from us, the consumer? The management isn't the only ones that put faith in Littman and his new direction. So we should blame ourselves as well.

However, we expected the execution to be better. Can we blame management for the graphics, horrible animations, and glitches? Or does the developers take at least a little blame? I never said the management shouldn't have responsibility, but come on guys.....

Why wasn't there an outcry? I remember when Mike Wang's departure was announced, there was a lot of concern and frustration on these boards and many people wondered aloud whether this was the demise of the Live series as we knew it. And they were right, probably moreso than they could have imagined.

And by the time the big change was announced, what can we as consumers do other than what we did, which was collectively say "why didn't they just build on Live 10? Oh well, I'm cautiously optimistic this will work". We as consumers could have protested in front of EA's offices and nothing would have changed, it was April/May by the time we knew the full scope of the new direction the game was headed in. Nothing we did would have changed anything at that point in the cycle.

As far as putting the blame on the devs, like I mentioned above about the whole normal circumstances angle, devs would share in the blame under normal circumstances. These were anything but normal circumstances. This was terrible decision making by people paid very well to make good decisions. I can't reasonably put much, if any, blame at the feet of the dev team when they proved the year before they were more than capable of making a solid game. Maybe they didn't have the right personnel in some places to pull this type of game engine off, but even then, someone else is paid to make sure the right people are in place. Even that's a stretch though, as now we're making assumptions based on zero inside knowledge that this team was lacking in any areas.

I'm sorry, but in my eyes, this whole turn of events after Live 10's release right up until and shortly after the cancellation of Elite 11, falls entirely on the higher ups who seemed to have made one grossly miscalculated mistake after another. And continue to do so with this latest rumour of the mass layoff.

[JerzeyReign]

Re: NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

You dudes are comical.... who cares who makes the basketball game, its about the quality of the game... some of you take time out of your "busy" schedule to bash EA and its really pathetic... moving the franchise out of CANADA and into the UNITED STATES may HELP the franchise rather than hurt it... but then again none of this has been confirmed... I'm glad I'm not a gaming nerd yet where news like this bothers me

[atlwarya]

Re: NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

So, I don't really play basketball games, but I was extremely interested in Elite, especially after the demo (because I didn't play it enough to see the glitches I guess).

Knowing now that Elite is being moved from EACanada to Tiburon simply means I won't be purchasing Elite, or any EA Basketball game, for as long as the franchise remains in Tiburon's hands.

I like football too much to not play the NCAA games, but when it comes to sports gaming, with FIFA and the limited amount of NHL I've played, EACanada is definitely doing a lot of things right.

I'm very disappointed.

That's stupid. We have EA Canada Fanboys now. Sad . Well some of you guys act like moving the game to USA wont actually benefit the franchise. Yeah EA Canada is doing alot of things right. Basketball is just not one of them.

[Court_vision]

Re: NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

It's always sad to see people lose their job.

Having said that...the game was terrible and the producers seemed the ONLY people unaware of that.

I posted a message about how bad the late game AI was.........and one producer replied "we hadn't noticed the late game AI as we always play v each other and not the CPU".

Sorry to be blunt, but if you're the producer and don't even test the CPU AI..........man, you should be working in another field.

Terrible effort.

[Dalsanto0026]

Re: NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

I get it.....EA is the big bad company, who is not necessarily known for great management...lol

But why when the big series change was announced, there wasn't a big outcry from us, the consumer? The management isn't the only ones that put faith in Littman and his new direction. So we should blame ourselves as well.

However, we expected the execution to be better. Can we blame management for the graphics, horrible animations, and glitches? Or does the developers take at least a little blame? I never said the management shouldn't have responsibility, but come on guys.....

Both should cop the blame. The management for panicking and pressing the reset button yet again and the developers for trying to convince us that Elite 11 would be a fun experience when they knew full well that the gameplay was an unpolished mess, hence the delay/cancellation.

The developers didn't do a very good job of making a game that resembles real basketball so I agree with your comments.

[jadert]

Re: NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

Both should cop the blame. The management for panicking and pressing the reset button yet again and the developers for trying to convince us that Elite 11 would be a fun experience when they knew full well that the gameplay was an unpolished mess, hence the delay/cancellation.

The developers didn't do a very good job of making a game that resembles real basketball so I agree with your comments.

Bingo! All I'm saying is that both are to blame. I disagree with the reset (management's choice), but the implementation was horrible. If the developers would have made an excellent game, regarding their responsibilities of coding, graphics, AI, gameplay features, wouldn't this whole conversation be obsolete. We would be praising EA for going in such a bold direction. I mean, some of us already were

[yungflo]

Re: NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

EACanada is Fifa and NHL.

This actually might work. Tiburon's in Florida in the heart of a lot of basketball schools and professional franchises.

actually, we're one of the biggest footballs states and they did not get madden right

I guess, the team switch confirms cancellation? lol. How can a team that's never worked on a game before finish by march?

[Pared]

Re: NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

I guess, the team switch confirms cancellation? lol. How can a team that's never worked on a game before finish by march?

You'd be surprised how often this actually happens.

[yungflo]

Re: NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

You'd be surprised how often this actually happens.

Hm, did not know that lol.

I don't think EA is panicking like the way people on the boards do.

Its a loss, they probably accepted it and able to move on. You win some you lose some. They are trying to tap casual games

With peripherals like kinect, wii, and move, they can do that now!

So yeah, I don't think they're freaking out at all.

I think it was just cut throat business

If you told me, I was to lose 60 million dollars one year, and gain an steady 70 million, possibly MORE over the next few years, I would take it. Who wouldn't? Its one loss vs the opportunity for more

Madden is dumbed down on purpose so people can hail mary all game, because as you know, not many people understand the true fundamentals of football. I don't

but then again, I don't play football games, but I have a few gal pals that do(and don't understand football quite exactly)

that's what they want

[sroz39]

actually, we're one of the biggest footballs states and they did not get madden right

I guess, the team switch confirms cancellation? lol. How can a team that's never worked on a game before finish by march?

Just about to post this myself. This whole sentiment that moving it from Canada to the States is going to magically transform it into a better game is just plain silly. Canada is barely a top 100 ranked nation in soccer, yet FIFA 11 ( along with FIFA 10, 09 etc.) Turned out pretty good, most would agree. And like the quote above alluded to, Florida is one of the top football states in the US and yet before this year, when did Tiburon come out with a good football game? Madden 2005 on last gen? Location of the dev team is largely insignificant.

[Pared]

Re: NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

Location of the dev team is largely insignificant.

I would not say this is 100% true. I do not expect a team in another country to learn/know the little nuances we're exposed to here daily about the players and sports we enjoyed are covered.

Not saying this was the case for EA Canada, but I don't believe it to be a 100% tried and true formula.

[Boilerbuzz]

Re: NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

So, I don't really play basketball games, but I was extremely interested in Elite, especially after the demo (because I didn't play it enough to see the glitches I guess).

Knowing now that Elite is being moved from EACanada to Tiburon simply means I won't be purchasing Elite, or any EA Basketball game, for as long as the franchise remains in Tiburon's hands.

I like football too much to not play the NCAA games, but when it comes to sports gaming, with FIFA and the limited amount of NHL I've played, EACanada is definitely doing a lot of things right.

I'm very disappointed.

A couple of things.

1. Even if you played the demo one time, the problems should have been quite apparent. Since you admittedly stated you didn't play it often, how can you make the assessment that it would have been good enough to try? Because NHL and FIFA was good? It was that line of thinking that started them on the path that lead ultimately to their failure.

2. Ever consider that putting development of the game in a culture more in tuned with basketball COULD help it. Not saying it will, mind you, as Florida is a football crazy state, yet Madden still doesn't know a front from a coverage... But the chances are good.

3. Finally, EAC has had the Live series from the get go. In MY opinion, there were elements of the game that were great representation of the game. But there were many that were FAR from it. In all that time, the dev team, it seems, never even attempted to address these elements. So in MY opinion, while Live 10 was the biggest step forward I'd seen in a long time, EAC's version of basketball was a failure. When competition came along, the numbers showed as much. In short, they had years to get it right, and they didn't. It was time to move on.

So why should you be disappointed at all? There is no basis for it.

[Boilerbuzz]

Re: NBA Elite Being Moved to Tiburon, EA Canada Hit by Layoffs (Not Confirmed Yet)

I would not say this is 100% true. I do not expect a team in another country to learn/know the little nuances we're exposed to here daily about the players and sports we enjoyed are covered.

Not saying this was the case for EA Canada, but I don't believe it to be a 100% tried and true formula.

I think it's far from insignificant in this case. We're not talking about Chicago to Atlanta. We're talking Canada to US. If you have QA, focus testing, artist, engineers, designers, and marketing people growing up in a culture that is much more passionate about the sport, you'll see the different. Just look at NBA Street versus Live. Street is based off of the Live codebase, yet Street, for being an arcade game, was WAY more of a polished basketball game than Live. By far.