[CujoMatty]

I downloaded this again on ps5 after reading this article. I forgot how fun this game is. I played one game and was instantly interested in starting a new franchise. I was not thrilled with what I found so I decided to make a different list. I'm still going to enjoy the game but these do hamper the experience.

Here is 5 reasons why the game can be hard to enjoy 4 years later:

1. No roster share feature. Obviously this is a big deal if a game can establish longevity. If anyone wants to play with current rosters, each individual would have to update the roster themselves. Many sports games keep people playing years later by having dedicated fans create yearly rosters.

2. Only 135 create player slots. So even if you did decide to update your roster it's near impossible to get all the players added that are missing from a 4 year old game.

3. You've come to terms with the roster limitations and can compromise not having 100℅ accurate rosters. Let's get it as close as possible. Nope. There was unfortunately a create player glitch that started in Live 18 and continued in Live 19 where after a certain amount of created players were made, in game they would revert to the 1st created player face on the list. Essentially you get a bunch of chunky bald white guys. The game gave a warning that it would happen if there were more than 8 created players on a team but it actually was happening with far less. I read about a user that had reported it after only creating 3 total players.

4. Cpu lack of 3 point attempts. This was an issue back in 2018 when the game first released and the issue hasn't gotten better. The NBA continues to be a 3 point league more and more every year so it can be hard to come to terms with the shockingly low amount of cpu attempted threes. That especially rings true in 2023.

5. No shoe editor. Ok this one is a bit of a reach and it really doesn't hamper ones enjoymenent but for me having everyone running around with shoes from 2018 that all match their uniforms is weird. In the real NBA 90℅ of players wear shoes that aren't team colors. I love in NBA 2k having that level of authenticity which is possible with a shoe editor. In all fairness to EA though, they did include an impressive amount of shoes.

I did struggle to find 5 severe enough issues to make me not want to play. The game is still really fun and I've been enjoying it a lot again. The first 3 issues though are bad enough that unfortunately it will probably only be a short visit to the return of Live 19 into my life.

It's a shame. Classics become more classic when they are the end of an era. Many people still play college hoops 2k8, NCAA football 14, NFL2k5, and MVP 05. All of those games have something in common. They are the last versions of the series and dedicated fans keep them updated, current and relevant. Hopefully when PS4 emulation becomes readily available and modding becomes possible, NBA Live 19 joins that list and is worthy of a consistent spot in someone's rotation but as of now NBA Live 19 isn't worth much more than a temporary visit for short term nostalgic fun.