What's to Become of NBA Live?

[Junior Moe]

I think the series moves on to mobile in the immediate future. All the while slowly working to rebuild the console game from the ground up. And that'll take years. But that's the only way Live will ever catch up to 2K; they're just soooo far behind at this point and it's not like 2K is resting on their laurels. They going in with or without Live which only makes Lives return that much harder.

[seanhazz1]

Re: What's to Become of NBA Live?

I think if LIVE team keeps to their word and actually makes Connected Franchise a focus, integrating the Pro-Am players, and it turns out even remotely like Madden's Connected mode, with the ability to use multiple personas, they have a winner.

A huge part Madden's success also lies in it's addictive Connected Franchise play, not to be forgotten with all of the Ultimate Team stuff being thrown around.

IMO, League Stat tracking and playing MEANINGFUL and competitive games against friends and strangers while building team and communities should be their focus, not some gimmick solo-player endeavor, IMO. Both basketball games have failed us here repeatedly, when its such an obvious solution to the "replay value" question. We, the community, didn't join the internet to play alone, or offline.

Combine that idea that with the Full-editing that the community has more than asked for, and we probably have a real race between the two basketball games, even if nothing changed graphically in the next version.

Solo content keeps you playing alone, multiplayer content will build the NBA LIVE community and the hype, like 2K did during multi-year Live's hiatus. 2K didn't see their online leagues as community building and skimped out and removed features from them the last few years, and Live could carve a serious niche there with full console, web and mobile app integration.

The ground I think NBA Live can make up to encourage fans going forward?, Just keep your word.

Also, I would keep a sharp eye out for their (EA's) competitive "cross-platform play" efforts, an endeavor that would surely payoff well should they succeed going forward. I also hope they would seek to combine their EA access and their Origin Access into one "All-Access" if they go this route, and it seems the direction they are currently heading, shortly before the rest of the gaming industry takes it in full stride, since they have deals with MS who is already doing it (Rocket League?), and as they look to replicate and improve upon the STEAM model.

I hope some people with EA Access pick up NBA LIVE to give devs new POSITIVE feedback, and encouragement. Keep Hope Alive!

[riichiieriich]

They need to go an arcade/street route. If they did NBA Street again it would sell like hot cakes.

[seanhazz1]

Re: What's to Become of NBA Live?

They need to go an arcade/street route. If they did NBA Street again it would sell like hot cakes.

Isn't the way people play Pro-Am already that, minus the absurd moves?

[Crunky]

Re: What's to Become of NBA Live?

I like Barbatrucco point they have to scrap the current NBA idea and focus on one or a couple of games. Competing against the competition is a huge hill to climb because their so far behind. Their 2yrs away from being 2yrs away and 2k is not resting because their competing indirectly against madden, mlb the show and fifa. NBA live to compete would need to hire more devs but I don't see that happening because they would lose money in a project their already losing money in. Even if they hired more devs they would need to train these guys, keep them up to date on the coding and engine of the game which cost time and time equals money so at the end of the day their still losing money.

The higher ups at NBA live see the dollar signs 2k is making and they want a piece of the pie but really they don't have to compete directly against 2k in order to make money. With Kobe retiring this is the moment to cash in, just focus your time, energy, resources on one game of Kobe the Box vs Lakers 10 finals game would do it. If you focused your time, energy and resources on that one game the level of detail, graphics and animations(mo-cap) would surpass anything 2k has done. It push the current Gen consoles to their limit to the point non sport gamers want to purchase the game. For the higher ups of NBA live it would be huge risk to scrap the current NBA but a huge risk worth taking.

[PopcornJones77]

Re: What's to Become of NBA Live?

This chart depicts how many units worldwide were sold by NBA Live vs NBA 2K since 2008: https://twitter.com/PopcornJones77/s...77770096852994

Data is drawn from vgchartz.com.

To add context for how EA may financially see NBA Live today, EA's Star Wars: Battlefront sold 14 million units as of May 2016: http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/05/...top-14-million

[dubbduces]

Honestly, if they made a fleshed out mobile game next year (stat tracking, franchise, etc) it would corner the mobile market. NBA Live Mobile(Soft launched in Canada right now) is fun and while i'm playing it all I ever think is "Man this would be awesome if they had a full complement of modes rather than just ultimate team modes"

[kadzier]

Re: What's to Become of NBA Live?

Gotta be frank.

If EA ever wants to put out a game to compete with 2K in the basketball simulation genre, they're going to have to suck it up and pour full resources into multiple (2-3) years of development on a new game. None of this try and play catchup one year at a time stuff. 2K is already too far ahead for someone to seriously build a contender in the space of one year

[Crunky]

Re: What's to Become of NBA Live?

I've done the math NBA live is really 4yrs behind 2k I messed up when I said their 2yrs away. Remember they canceled elite 11, 12, 13 and they started from scratch with 14. That's really a whole lot of ground to make up even with a delay it won't be possible to catch up to 2k. I don't see the competition letting up anytime soon since their competing indirectly with madden, mlb the show and fifa. Now I can see why they switched focus to mobile is to salvage the NBA live brand. For all these years we finally see where NBA live heart truly lies and that is the casual gamer everyone's Sim wishes were for not basically ignored each and every year. They might as well abandon an NBA game and just come out with an alternate to 2k, make it a street game. Delaying it for 1yr won't really make a difference unless it was 2 to 3yrs I could see the point. But even that doesn't make any sense because you wouldn't be making any money for those yrs.

[Junior Moe]

Re: What's to Become of NBA Live?

This chart depicts how many units worldwide were sold by NBA Live vs NBA 2K since 2008: https://twitter.com/PopcornJones77/s...77770096852994

Data is drawn from vgchartz.com.

To add context for how EA may financially see NBA Live today, EA's Star Wars: Battlefront sold 14 million units as of May 2016: http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/05/...top-14-million

Looking at that it's clear that the better team just won. Outright. At one point it was neck and neck, then 2K just took off and keep going. They didn't just capture the NBA console game market, they expanded it. Live has no one to blame but themselves. What's really sobering is that EA approached the NBA about an exclusive license back when they were gobbling up the NFL, Arena Football and NCAA. Could you imagine Live as the only NBA game option knowing what we know now?

[Mike Lowe]

Re: What's to Become of NBA Live?

I think Nba Live, right now, to mark a turning point, should initially focus on a single game. Faithfully reproduced. And, I repeat, faithfully, in all its forms.
Take a match, for example 1993 Ncaa Final Michigan vs Norh Carolina. Scan every single movement of every single player in the field through a program that manages to capture the movements of the players from a video.
Then commit to play these exact movements. And, with respect, accurate. In 3D models. And then offer your product online on Steam, about 10 dollars.
But must be reproduced all faithfully. From the interviews before the game, players ' warming. Television shots. Focus only on a single game and play it to perfection.
Personally I'd play the final of the 1993 among the Fab Four and North Carolina if it were reproduced exactly as we see it in the video. And I repeat: exactly.

This sounds like a sports game for Sega CD. I say that in all honesty-it truly does, some football game w actual video you just watched that I forget the name of.

In my opinion, it'd be far too repetitive.

[Barbatrucco]

Look at this These are merciless numbers. Devastating. NBA Live Street is something already seen. It something old. Also, it can't minimally compete with Nba 2K MyPark. No. For EA Sports it takes a real revolution. And the only way, for me, I already said in other post, is to propose, via Steam, a single match. All forces, and the space of game that EA focuses on an entire game, now we must concentrate on a single match. Where everything is faithfully reproduced as we see in every Youtube video of every Nba Classic Game. Every single player movement. Every single reaction. Every single facial expression. All the engineers at EA, rather than reproduce hundreds of movements of players and play thirty arenas, must concentrate all their efforts on only 24 players and one single arena. But everything has to be reproduced down to the smallest detail. Choose a game, reproduce it faithfully, and sell it via Steam. Only in this way, focusing on a single game, will surpass every Nba game 2 k. Take, for example, game six of 1998 Nba Finals and reproduce it. In minimal detail. Perfectly. In M I N I M A L details. EA, i want to see something like this in that game. http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploa...NBA-Finals.gif You have one year and all your engeneers to reproduce perfectly, in graphics, fluidity, movements and everything, this game. If all of your engeneers cant do this working one year to do only one single match, they cant do anything to overcome Nba2K.

[Crunky]

Re: What's to Become of NBA Live?

I agree with Barbatrucco this is the only way with this way they will surpass 2k in the level of detail they have in their game. This idea will push the current gen consoles to their very limit graphically due to focus, time and resources put to use on one or couple of games. All they would have to do is focus on gameplay and animations since their won't be any features to the game. If the NBA live devs can't deliver something that surpasses 2k in the level of detail, graphics and animations by focusing on one part of the game then they were never good to begin with. They would have all the time in the world to mo-cap the animations so there'll be no excuses their. It will be a bug/glitch free game too since there'll have alot of time to fine tune the game with game testers. This is the only way for them to WOW us at this point, gamers love a good game even when they lack features and replay value.

[seanhazz1]

Re: What's to Become of NBA Live?

It's more and more apparent that LIVE team's biggest obstacle is the disgruntled fans. People who had jumped ship 4 years ago, or are planning to jump, and won't jump back for just a name or a promise, They require specific, likenesses to their current game of choice, and won't be happy until Live produces a virtual clone or a NBA street child.

I don't think that will happen in the near future.

In steps Frostbite 3. If this didn't excite fans of NBA Live series then nothing ever will, as it is also already seen in the graphical quality and detail of Star Wars Battlefront, Rory McIlroy's PGA Tour, Need for Speed, Battlefield 1, Mass Effect Andromeda, Dragon Age, etc., some amazing, highly rated, and highly acclaimed EA distributed games, some of which are already out. THAT is where my hope lies, that adaptation to "Frostbite 3" with improved physics and graphical detail will be a more than present surprise. Go look at those EA games released Last year using it, and compare it to any other game in its genre. Frostbite 3. In contrast 2K has been using the SAME engine and its definitely showing its age, so maybe they saw a window of opportunity to improve their backbone, a year before 2k is forced to support a new console (PSNEO or new Xbone). With the history of Frostbite I'm positive the graphical changes will be a definite, and noticeable improvement.

Some just won't accept Live as a worthy alternative behind 2k (and it is) for any reason. If 2k Studios suddenly went hiatus (for whatever reason)and Live was the only game released, people would definitely buy it and enjoy it, and bash 2k.

Let the mobile plan develop along with the cross platform stuff, Frostbite improvements, and wait and see. Too much negative feedback, but understandably so based on a few years ago, but that's the past to a rapidly growing gaming future. To contrast, Live has been constantly supported and improved with roster updates and patches like it never was in the past, even if they weren't vocal about it, and that should also encourage fans.

I just can't see them (EA) ever willingly giving 2K the monopoly some people here seem to be asking for in the Basketball genre, by saying they should them to bow out of the NBA sim market. They have supported Live 16 continuously, even if they don't tell us what they are doing, we are seeing it in the many improvements already set in front of us all, especially from 14 to now.

If this "inconvenient"(?) delay leads to a much better release, and more revenue for future NBA Live development, then I am all for it 200%, and will remain so until its officially cancelled, as I will be patient. Two game companies competing means two better games just about every time, and the improvement from 14 to 16 is night and day, literally.

No, I'm not a fanboy per say, I do own both games on both consoles, but I also enjoy a freedom to choose. I pay attention to details within the tech industry as a whole(part of my job). The industry we knew is rapidly changing, and if EA is choosing to change with it now, something they aren't known for here with all the forum bashing, then that's a good thing right?...especially if they can gain significant ground on a 3yr lead they gave to 2k.

Keep Hope Alive!

[noshun]

Re: What's to Become of NBA Live?

You guys/gals can sure post some of the most well thought-out excuses...