CV,
Two things with your post that I'm going to immediately clarify. First off Marcus wasn't forced off of NBA LIVE. Marcus was offered a great opportunity with another game team and he accepted the offer. Marcus has done a lot for the NBA LIVE team and he's definitely an example I look to regarding being a good community leader. I aspite to do the same good work that Marcus did for the community and I know he's been great with all of you here on OS.
Secondly, your point regarding Mike being let go is
NOT true at all. Mike chose to leave EA on his own and go back to the US. This was HIS decision and no one pushed him to leave the company. Mike is an awesome guy to work with and he has a TON of passion for what he does. It was definitely disappointing for me to hear that he was leaving but in the end he had to do what was best for him and for his family. Mike's contributions to NBA LIVE have been huge. You only need to look at where LIVE 10 is compared to where LIVE 09 was. He brought a lot to the team and the team worked well with him.
Although Mike has left EA, a lot of you believe that the NBA LIVE series is done and you all couldn't be further from the truth. While Mike definitely brought a lot of great ideas for NBA LIVE 10, it took a TEAM to get the game to where it is right now. Everyone on the development team was united in the vision that they wanted NBA LIVE to be back among the elite of sports games. LIVE 10 took significant steps towards that goal and NBA LIVE 11 will take even greater strides. We have a great team of people that want to see this game back on top, they're all committed to seeing this game succeed. Although Mike is not on the team anymore that doesn't mean that the game has no hope. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James couldn't win championships by themselves it takes a TEAM to do that.
I understand a lot of you have a great deal of respect for Mike, I feel the same as all of you. Mike is amazing and he does his job better than anyone, however we still have a great team here working on the game and they are committed to giving you a basketball experience you all deserve.