NBA Live 09 preview and screenshots
by 
IGN has released the first hands-on preview and screenshots of NBA Live 09. You can read it in full here and see the first screens of the game here (ignore the Lakers-Celtics ones which are from 08).
Interestingly IGN states that the game will have Be A Pro mode, which was denied late last night by producers on the official forum. Details are scarce though and it sounds as though it could be limited to a one game experience such as was the case with FIFA 08. Hopefully we can get clarification on this soon.
More details on the game can continue to be found in the game’s official forum, and more updates are sure to come from media and producers in the short term.
June 17, 2008 at 5:12 pm
thats sweet it will have superstar mode
June 17, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I wonder what the ground breaking feature is
June 17, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Player models look retarded as usual.
June 17, 2008 at 5:17 pm
2k9 thats all I have to say gameplay gameplay gameplay who cares about features when the animations sucks and the AI is horrible. Live been making upgrades just not as big enough to catch up with 2k
June 17, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Something that amuses me is IGN, as well as now TeamXbox, has talked about the “new” five on five online team play. Shows how much they pay attention.
June 17, 2008 at 5:35 pm
groundbreaking feature is NBA Academy maybe??
June 17, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Be A Pro limited to 1 game would be bad…
I wouldn’t hate the mode if I couldnt create a player also, I would take a rookie or a pro and truck on, that could be fun times.
NBA Academy sounds AWESOME
June 17, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Are you sure the Celtics/Lakers are from 08? They have cheerleaders under the basket but finally the people in the crowd actually look real
June 17, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Those should be the same ones they released from 09 when the Finals started
June 17, 2008 at 6:25 pm
most of the players look good but they do look a lot like 08 and the crowds look horrible just look closely at the ones that show the crowd and i am not being a troll I’m just speaking the truth
June 17, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Meh I thought the crowds looked amazing in the new pics but thats just me
June 17, 2008 at 6:51 pm
i just hope that when the game is a blowout or it is late in the game the crowds leave and i just want better crowd sounds and they also all look and do the same things but i know they can’t really fix that but the game sounds very good
June 17, 2008 at 6:51 pm
EA needs to go back to having fun. the more stupid things they come up with to make it more realistic, the worse the game is. Back in 2004 and 05, no one even spoke of the 2K series. Now Live is horrible and will continue in 09
June 17, 2008 at 7:28 pm
i hope the ‘game changing’ feature isn’t Live Academy…that’s pretty lame…
June 17, 2008 at 7:31 pm
EA needs to stop making basketball games and stick with working on Madden and College Football. Live 09 player models look terrible, compared to 2K’s. Steve Nash and TMac both look like they are on crack their so skinny,
Give it up EA, stick with Fight Night and the Football games, cause your NBA Live series is light years behind 2K’s..hey you can’t win them all…
And you better not go out and try to buy the NBA players license, just to get rid of your competition, like you did with the NFL..
June 17, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Let me just start by saying that I have no bias opinion towards neither Live nor 2K. That being said, Live is so far behind 2K in the gameplay department it’s not even close. It’s probably going to take Live at least 2 to 3 more years to fully catch up with 2k’s gameplay. I’ll give a couple examples. Live has signature moves while 2K not only has signature moves but every single player plays like their real life counterpart. Not only do they shoot like their real life selves, they have their real life tendencies. It’s not just star players but also bench players. That’s how detailed 2K is. Live has “quickstrike ball handling” but every player dribbles the same way in Live. Not every player dribbles the same way EA. In 2K players actually have signature dribbling styles. Players also drive to the basket with signature moves as well. My point is that while I appreciate Live’s improvements that they’ve announced, I hope that they realize how bad the gameplay needs to improve before adding all of these so called features. I would’ve been happy if EA would’ve just spent the whole year improving gameplay instead of adding new features.
June 17, 2008 at 7:59 pm
It looks like they’ve improved the players shorts but players arms & legs still look too skinny (especially their upper legs). I hope it’s not too late to correct this. You would’ve thought that after last year this would’ve been one of the 1st things they corrected.
June 17, 2008 at 8:14 pm
2k9 would be perfect if they had an allstar weekend instead of black top mode, they could add a few more animations(like kobe’s jumper). besides that gameplay is perfect it wouldnt hurt if they could add a story mode since 2k is very good at those like don king presents prizefighter.
June 17, 2008 at 8:38 pm
what the hell – the picture of the guy guarding delonte west is terrible – they both have faces like they just saw the video from The Ring. West has NO tats despite having them all over his arms and neck in real life, and maybe 5% of the fans in the stands are actually looking at the play – everyone else is looking far left or far right.
i haven’t played a basketball video game in years but i really expected more from an eye candy perspectve
June 17, 2008 at 9:04 pm
The player models still look like complete trash. As someone else said, EA just needs to give up trying to make a basketball title, they havent put a game out worth a damn in, well, ever. Pasta, i hope youll pay as much attention to 2K9 as you do Live, hell you might as well just drop all coverage of Live and focus only on the 2K series this yr, i mean its gonna be a no contest….again
June 17, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I am ok with people being fans of 2k games but when you mention Don Kings Prizefighter sillyness then you lose all cred
That game looks HORRIBLE
June 17, 2008 at 9:22 pm
The best thing that could happen, is if 2K sports would just disappear. 2K basketball is just terrible….play by play is the only thing 2K can offer.
The game hasn’t changed in years. Do us all a favor and do like your College series.
And for EA, thanks for at least trying to change NBA Live….. although the game has be poor the past few years, it’s making strides
June 17, 2008 at 9:25 pm
the player models look great now all we need to fix is the way they run and different players with different free throws and a lot more dunks
June 17, 2008 at 9:52 pm
noles fan ur a retard to even say 2k can just end their series. they do a good job evry year on there game and they actually listen to consumers. well at least live is trying. and lawl the reason why i mentioned the boxing game is because they made a pretty bad game but they did do a great job on the story mode which nba 2k9 could implement some of those features from prizefighters story mode into their superstar mode. dumb ass!!!
June 17, 2008 at 10:09 pm
That’s great, lets get a story mode for a basketball sim
Yah thats not lame at all
good idea.. fail
June 17, 2008 at 10:27 pm
honestly everybody talks about how GREAT LIVE graphics are & they are very GOOD but if anyone watches the review for NBA LIVE 06 at GAMETRAILER.COM you can clearly see they did a much BETTER job with different player body types from guys like SHAQ, MELO, AI, WADE where as someone previously said everyone now appears to have tayshaun prince body type
June 17, 2008 at 10:33 pm
haha…at lawl…
June 17, 2008 at 10:35 pm
and one more thing somebody mention the crowd and how great they looked but none of them have a home team jersey on.is there anybody walking the stands or anything?
June 17, 2008 at 11:44 pm
lawl act like it wouldnt be fun to play a superstar mode aside from allthe sim talk, u could take a rookie from college hoops and lead him on his way through the nba.
ur a weird kid if u didnt enjoy that
June 18, 2008 at 12:48 am
Enough about 2k this is a were talking about live. Nba 2k has gameplay flaws
too, not as much as live. 2k7 and 2k8 werent really a major upgrade it really was
the same game with better graphics and better gameplay.
June 18, 2008 at 12:50 am
Enough about 2k were talking about live. Nba 2k has gameplay flaws too, not as much as live. 2k7 and 2k8 werent really a major upgrade it really was the same game with better graphics and smoother gameplay no new modes. At least lives
trying
June 18, 2008 at 2:38 am
2K is pretty much the same game it was in 2K5…the game…presentation…menus…nothing has changed…while i suppose it doesn’t have to as long as it is the best basketball game on the market…but honestly, this year i am looking forward to anything that is different (and a great game)…and if that game is Live this year…then more power to them (though i still fail to see how the weakest of all sports franchises is going to change the landscape of all sports games)…but i don’t really see myself purchasing a roster update for NBA 2K unless something spectacular is revealed in the near future…
June 18, 2008 at 4:02 am
+ Look the detailed floor, it is great
- Take a look at Alston’s ass from side… It is a cabaret, or what?
- Still no cloth phisics… It is so difficult to create?
- These shots looks exactly like live 08
- Worst thing: Look the players (Gasol or Kidd) leg above the knee, under the short… LIKE A PIECE OF BONE!!!
- These looks like EA is on the same way: little changes year by year, NBA LIVE 09 SHALL BE ONLY A PATCH OF LIVE 08! The article started like this: “polishing touches”. The Live serie needs much-much more…
-Go for the $, EA!
June 18, 2008 at 4:40 am
wow, looks xactly the same as last years
June 18, 2008 at 7:23 am
still pumping up live LOL, another coaster if you cop this…
Man…
June 18, 2008 at 7:28 am
See this is the problem I have with EA. They have a tendency to change things just to later realize they need to go back to the very thing they changed in the first place (so called going back to the basics) and call them NEW.
Proof: “Some of these skills relate to some of the adjustments that have been made to this year’s game, such as shot timing. Instead of relying upon hitting the shot button and keeping your fingers crossed that the ball will go in, success or failure will be tied to the release at the top of your jump.”
My point: Are you F-ing serious I think everyone on this board can agree that this is OLD rehashed technology that has be used for years now and EA is putting it back in as if they have stumbled upon something special or new. It should have never been taken out in the first place.
who cares about screenshot, give us gameplay!!!!!!!!!!
June 18, 2008 at 8:23 am
Please EA come up big this year…i like 2k but really its the same game with updated rosters…..EA…PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE step up and give us better gameplay with better models..and for the love of god can we get some realistic player intro..ie Chicago and stuff..why is that soo hard when it would be soo cool…and i hate the bulls but put it in the game…
June 18, 2008 at 8:39 am
i agree with the player intro especially in the playoffs and mdye the star spangled banner like the pistons routine with rasheed wallace that would be cool and unique apart from 2k9
June 18, 2008 at 8:53 am
I did have to laugh about the shot timing, considering they had it in 07 and specifically took it out for 08 so that release timing wasn’t a part of shooting, and now its back.
June 18, 2008 at 8:54 am
of course the game looks the same, a game dosen’t change its player mmodels every year..
June 18, 2008 at 9:38 am
Look, All of you 2k fans go the hell back in your ******* hole where you came from. THIS IS A FREAKING NBA LIVE 09 BLOG ENTRY AND NOT SOME OH I’M GOING TO BASH NBA LIVE’S GRAPHICS BECAUSE I’M EMO AND NBA 2k’s GRAPHICS LOOK LIKE SHIT YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT.
June 18, 2008 at 9:39 am
Look, All of you 2k fans go the hell back in your ******* hole where you came from. THIS IS A FREAKING NBA LIVE 09 BLOG ENTRY AND NOT SOME OH I’M GOING TO BASH NBA LIVE’S GRAPHICS BECAUSE I’M EMO AND NBA 2k’s GRAPHICS LOOK LIKE **** YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT.
June 18, 2008 at 10:05 am
Pasta one of the devs answered me about the game difficulty from LIVE08 and how it was too easy even at it’s hardest.
“-Leglockfan – The way the game is right now even Starter is tough to beat. We’re actually trying to make it easier. We know last year was too much of a cake walk for everyone. And, sorry about Superstar mode. Hopefully you’ ll understand when we talk about that new thing at E3. ”
Interesting..
And when they removed shot timing it made a lot of people think that they were NBA Live gods lol, this year is going to be a bad wake up call for some people online and off
June 18, 2008 at 10:33 am
“-Leglockfan – The way the game is right now even Starter is tough to beat. We’re actually trying to make it easier. We know last year was too much of a cake walk for everyone. And, sorry about Superstar mode. Hopefully you’ ll understand when we talk about that new thing at E3. “ Quote from lawl post.
Here’s the thing and it seems to be a distinct difference in the two titles. Where live fails to have the balls to not be afraid of appealing to it’s most loyal fans (the hardcore basketball gamer) by constantly dumbing down the game year after year to appeal to a younger crowd that could careless in the long run, NBA 2k isn’t afraid of offering it’s loyal fans what they want, a challenging game that keeps you interested for an entire association mode.
The guys at EA really need to stop promoting things that are on the level of things we’ve always had ie. jump shot timing. Thats not moving forward, and to be honest we get it the graphics are great. How manny time can you polish the same old car and try to convince us it’s new.
I want nothing more than for EA NBA Live to pass up 2k but until they decide to involve a staff that clearly appreciates the game of basketball 2K will always be in the drivers seat.
June 18, 2008 at 11:30 am
There’s no question that they have to improve the quality of the gameplay, they’ve lost sales to the 2K series and obviously they know they have to do something to get back on top and react to why that has been happening. I don’t think they have to cater to a specific base necessarily, whether that be hardcore or casual. It just has to be an enjoyable experience for the majority to play.
June 18, 2008 at 11:41 am
Yea the bad thing for Live this year is NBA 2k9 is going to work on the one thing that was bad about it and that is presentation. Live had 2k beat with the announcing but now 2k addressed that with adding Doug Collins ito the booth. If 2k9 sounds as good as live then live will get trashed because 2k would have addressed their biggest flaw and the one drawback people had on the game.
June 18, 2008 at 12:03 pm
cp3,
very interesting…… I didn’t know that they addressed the issue of presentation and specifically the horrific commentary. I’ll have to look for the article. With thats said I’d have to agree with you but they still need to work on the graphics a bit more. The upside is they have the room to do so since they don’t have to reinvent the wheel every year.
It’ll be a nice showdown between live and 2K
June 24, 2008 at 9:01 pm
live used to be wayy better than 2k.
but now 2k straight out kicks live’s ass!
haha.