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EA Sports Appears To Be Throwing In The Towel With NBA Live 13

by pastapadre
Posted August 31st, 2012 at 4:00 pm

Though the news of NBA Live 13′s impending release as a discount digital title doesn’t come as a surprise given the events of recent months it does reaffirm general pessimistic assessments towards the product and explain the disappearance of promotion by EA Sports. The tactic being employed is not one of confidence nor is it an attempt to gain marketshare on a competitor. It’s admission of defeat and could signal the end of basketball from EA.

Ultimately the only way EA could reestablish themselves as a player with consumers would be to release a quality effort whether full priced as a retail release or at a discount as a digital release. All signs point to the lower price not being a long term strategy but instead done out of necessity knowing that it would not be good enough to draw any interest when going up directly against an entrenched competitor.

EA however was fully aware that they would not gain ground on NBA 2K this year even if they delivered a stellar effort. The best they could have hoped for would be to build some credibility with consumers. They rebooted the series with this in mind and have failed to even achieve that lowest of goals.

It would not at all be surprising for this to be the last NBA game from the company – if it even ends up releasing at all. Going fully digital, regardless of price, is not some kind of grand strategy. Rather they are dumping the game on the market to die and this has been evidenced by every digital release from the company to date which have been barely advertised and rarely supported beyond release.

The development costs for such a project are significant – from the NBA licensing deal to the large development team and more – and can not be recouped with $20 digital releases. A strategy of offering additional modes for something like $5 each would be interesting but would require people actually want to own the base game first.

NBA Live 13 is in no way comparable to when 2K Sports dropped their line of 2005 titled games to $20 in an attempt to increase awareness. Live isn’t a quality series that just needs people to try it out. It’s a series that, in a span of three years, has gone from the very good Live 10 to an afterthought that one would have difficulty justifying spending even $20 on.

What EA might be looking for is hardcore basketball fans to spend $80 on the NBA this year – because they’re not going to choose Live over 2K13 – and that the casual crowd (that might not normally buy an NBA game) might have interest at the lower price. Neither is a particularly enticing scenario to be banking on.

EA Sports has bypassed opportunities to change the story on NBA Live 13 and the reasons are clear. They don’t have anything that’s going to change perception of the game and they may feel better letting it quietly release and hope that some will buy it without knowing any better. EA would have been able to stick with a loser that had potential with the future in mind, but they won’t do so when the challenges are overwhelming and the end game is clear.

Tags: latest news

http://twitter.com/Bgamer90 Brad D.

Should have just waited until next gen for the reboot. All the time they spent on this could have been used for the first next gen NBA Live.
- http://pastapadre.com/ pastapadre
  
  This would have been ideal…but I’m sure they had to massage their relationship with the NBA, who may not have been as supportive to say yeah, just take another year off from representing our league.
  - CruxTehFlumen
    
    David Stern does not care how many years EA takes OFF from representing the NBA. He cares that the game is presented in a good light.
    
    All that said, no amount of waiting can or will save EA sports from themselves. They simply don’t have the backbone to put out a good game. Opting for cheap thrills and frills is EA’s mantra, and that will never change.
    - Crimson
      
      After Oct 2, Madden 13 will be a distant memory to most people too. NBA 2K13 will easily kill off the desire to continue with EA’s Connected Careers nonsense for sure.
      - http://profile.yahoo.com/PRNYYXZW5CPECODQZM2VGFZKI4 Jwaan
        
        Yep, because the NBA is WAY more popular than football, eh? That’s some fanboy BS you let come out of your mouth.
      - da troof
        
        2k13 is WAY more popular than madden 13.
      - http://profile.yahoo.com/PRNYYXZW5CPECODQZM2VGFZKI4 Jwaan
        
        Please, enlighten me with proof. Because I’m pretty sure Madden annually outsells the 2k basketball series, at least for the past 3 years. Ask Keith to check the trusty ole VGChartz for you.
      - da troof
        
        I said popular, I didn’t mention sales.
      - CSaintSwag
        
        wasnt talking to you?
      - Keith.
        
        Madden’s sales lead over NBA2k has been getting smaller and smaller each year, which is crazy considering the NFL is way more popular than the NBA.
        
        I wouldn’t at all be surprised if this is the year that 2k13 finally outsells Madden. Their sales numbers have been going opposite directions for years — 2k’s going up and Madden’s going down.
      - CSaintSwag
        
        this year is outselling last years madden though so how do you figure.
    - http://pastapadre.com/ pastapadre
      
      There is truth to that yes.
Denis

I would say they embarrassed themselves enough without even releasing the game
EAHater

#RIP NBA Live…..
- 49ersfan1
  
  ahahah lol
Crimson

Awww so sad. Everybody give Daley and that CSaintSwag, a big group hug. They really need it.

Life is good.
David Stern

Just don’t ever buy the exclusive license, you freaking cornholes.
- Crimson
  
  On top of that, it would be nice if all the leagues opened up licensing to everyone at a fair price, and just allowed for competition. This would have made this generation of sports games a lot more memorable. It doesn’t mean every major developer would put out a sports game, but the idea of fairness and the challenge to compete with the big dog EA, would be a wonderful thing. I miss the old days of gaming. But hey, it is what it is. We now know who the weakest of the weak is, when no exclusive license is up for grabs.
  - Surprised
    
    Wow Crimson I am surprised at this post. It actually makes sense. This is comparing it to all the Madden posts that you make. Good job. Maybe you are growing up. We all hope so.
    - Crimson
      
      Sticks and stones. I’m glad you like it, but I could care less how much I impress anybody around here. Madden is still garbage, and I will still continue to call it exactly as I see it. If we don’t agree, oh well.
      
      But as far as anything else I’ve said previously…honestly sir, and this truly needs to be said, I really don’t give a fuck about YOU, or whoever the fuck “WE” is. How do you feel about that? Are you still surprised?
      - Surprised
        
        I hardly ever read the comments on this site anymore because of all the trolls on here. It amazes me… and I truly mean this, it amazes me that you spend your time trolling this site and blasting Madden and Pasta and you think the Internet cares.
        
        But I bet after every post you make you actually feel good about yourself. It’s more sad than anything else.
        
        You don’t care about me or ‘we’ and that’s fine. That’s actually expected. But remember that goes two ways. No one here actually cares about you or your opinion.
      - Crimson
        
        You do understand that everyone here has an opinion, right? Yours is no greater than mine. Your delivery may differ from mine, but that’s what makes us unique. There could be 100 people in this room that agree with Pasta about everything, and then there is me. I don’t care about those 100 people. These are opinions. We are not all republicans here. At least I’m not. I think EA Sports is a terrible game developer. I am angry about their football games being so lackluster for 8 yrs now. You don’t have to like what I have to say. I don’t care about your sense of morality or etiquette. I don’t care how you feel after posting. I read and I move on. I’m not gonna try and mold you, or change your opinions. You don’t like what you read from Crimson, move on asshole. Trolling or not. Everyone has something to say. Its called free speech. Its as simple as that.
      - Surprised
        
        Your post was fine until the second last sentence. And this just helps prove my point. People can post their opinions all they want, I would just rather it in a way which is not bashing. There’s a difference between saying you don’t agree with someone and calling them an asshole. There’s a difference between criticizing Madded and just trolling on Pasta being rude. To each their own.
      - Crimson
        
        Sorry I called you an asshole. You may be a bit condescending though.
      - trololololol
        
        ^^^^^^ bundle of sticks:)
      - Da Bully
        
        Another Gump…
      - Mighty Boom
        
        “Yours is no greater than mine. Your delivery may differ from mine, but that’s what makes us unique”
        
        Ugh… Shut, your equalist bullshit, up.
  - http://www.facebook.com/people/Iown-You/100000775565221 Iown You
    
    Well, this past generation of sports was memorable, but for all the wrong reasons.
Crimson

If “its in the game”, then we didn’t make the game. We can’t seem to figure out HOW to put “it” in the game this gen, so we’ve decided that it’s probably best to cancel the damn game.

“We see nothing to gain from releasing 2 incredibly bad sports games within months of each other. Damn you NBA, for not selling us an exclusive license. We don’t like competition from people that actually know how to make truly fun sports games. Well, I guess it’s time to end this conference call, and go fire some people.”

Sincerely,
The CEO of the worst company in the world.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/PRNYYXZW5CPECODQZM2VGFZKI4 Jwaan
  
  Yeah, I’m sure EA is the worst company because their sports games don’t meet your standards.
  
  Let’s just disregard the fact that they put out great games like Battlefield 3, the Mass Effect series, Medal of Honor, etc. Also, Madden sells millions each release – pretty sure that shows people like the game.
  
  BTW, was EA voted worst company, or EA Sports?
  - HOT WANNA
    
    SO, EA SPORTS IS NOT UNDER EA??WTF YOU SMOKING
    - Skopin
      
      He was saying that EA Sports is not the whole company. What are you smoking?
      - http://profile.yahoo.com/PRNYYXZW5CPECODQZM2VGFZKI4 Jwaan
        
        Basically. If he knew how to read he’d see that the point I was making was that EA – not EA Sports – wasn’t voted the worst company in America because of a damn video game that’s largely irrelevant in the basketball gaming landscape ANYWAY.
        
        That’s just fanboy BS. And it’s idiotic to say because it makes no sense.
      - CLEfan4LIFE
        
        jwaan you’re a faggot and you know it.
Hungryandrew

Like I said before, NBA DEAD 13
Reckoner

EA needs to focus on online play, as that’s the one area 2k is susceptible. Probably too late, though. Or, they could come out with a FIBA basketball game- something that 2k doesn’t have, as 2k has offline NBA basketball figured out for the most part.
http://twitter.com/Starfoxleon The Great Leon

Good they should drop that side all together. Basketball is just not their strong point anymore. They should give the money they spend on NBA to NCAA and Madden they still need a lot of help to be the best possible game. Maybe they can go back into baseball.
CSaintSwag

This is BS pasta.NOWAY.
- CSaintSwag
  
  Love you too son.
daley7199

Wow Pasta did you get all that from your crystal ball? Seriously Pasta if you don’t have any legitimate news to shed light on then simply say so but to fabricate some fluff piece just to take up blog space is irresponsible. Perhaps if you had done your reasearch you would know that Peter Moore addressed EA’s future digital plans on Aug 12. His thoughts were that in 2 to 3 years EA’s digital sales would out pace its boxed sales. He furthermore assured gamers that in no way would that mean that retail box copies of games would cease and if gamers still wanted boxed copies of games they would be there.

Pasta your assertion that EA knows that they can’t overtake 2k is quite true, but to suggest that there isn’t a market for a #2 is rediculous. If that were the case then MLB2k would be gone by now and we all know how shitty that franchise is. FiFA soccer is clearly the best soccer game yet that doesn’t stop PES from releasing each year. You are trying to create this fictitional war between 2k and EA that just doesn’t exist…..literally, it just doesnt exist.

EA can and will release NBA live 13 and while it won’t beat out NBA 2k13, it doesn’t have to. As long as at the end of the day EA makes a profit off the game or gains some market traction its all good.

I really don’t understand why 2k fanboys are so obsessed with a game they don’t play nor intend to buy. Does it really matter at the end of the day if live releases or not. Are you benefiting in any way from a Live cancellation or release. You very same clowns that preach how competition is needed when it comes to football are the same ones who are praying for Lives failure. The hypocrisy of 2k fanboys is dumbfounding to say the least much the same way Pasta’s sudden propensity to 2k dickride has become center stage.
- Guest
  
  ”
  You very same clowns that preach how competition is needed when it comes to football are the same ones who are praying for Lives failure. ”
  
  The difference being that 2K is satisfying the mass majority of NBA video gamers, while Madden may only be satisfying 50% at the moment. NFL 2K5 was one of the best NFL games ever released, and all of a sudden Take Two was forced to stop producing it, while NBA Live has had a slow painful decline down to irrelevancy. Competition is needed to revitalize the substandard football games released today, and competition will be needed in basketball if Take Two/2K decides they will start spitting out $60 roster updates every year.
  - Skopin
    
    Um, NBA 2k has been the same game for the last 3 years. All they have added are “historic” rosters, which have been created by the community. So essentially, they have been $60 roster updates.
    
    2k also released APF 2k8, which was a rehash of NFL 2k5, without the ESPN presentation.
    
    Every game needs competition to keep it fresh.
    - Jesus
      
      No no, the difference between 2k10 and 2k11 was amazing. 2k10 was a decent game, 2k11 might be the greatest sports game ever created, and while I enjoyed 2k12 it was a step IMO. But they have not been roster updates. Not at all.
      - 49ersfan1
        
        agreed, the only bad thing about 2k12 is nba blacktop and the allstar week. in 2k11, blacktop had 21, 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, etc.
- BANE
  
  I love how morons like you toss out the “fanboy” insult when it’s clear where your loyalties rest. It’s pathetic. Everything you post is a waste as your bias bleeds into your argument. I mean give it a rest. You aren’t some center aisle consumer, you’re, at best, an EA Sports blowhard. Your arguments might be solid if you were just intelligent enough to cover your slant.
- mcmax3000
  
  I don’t agree with your comments towards Pasta’s post, as I think it was a fair analysis of the situation. The stuff he’s predicting may, or may not, end up being what actually happens, but he makes some fair arguments.
  
  However, I do 100% agree with your comment about how people want competition, but are cheering for Live to fail. If they really do want true competition, they should be hoping for Live to succeed, and get better, even if just to make sure 2K doesn’t get comfortable with what would be their default exclusive license (like they did with MLB 2K, which was a great series before they got the exclusive license, then it went to shit).
- Guest
  
  R u mad? LOL
clubsteve

this is hard to believe….i mean, live 10 was going in the right direction and now this? there really must be some drama going on behind the scenes at ea right now.
Conway Twitty

The clowns at Operation Sports, like that douche bag Pared, are crying and pitching a fit because of this.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Iown-You/100000775565221 Iown You
  
  Parrot is a punk bitch. Fuck Operation Sports, fuck the lame ass “Game Changers” who don’t change shit but have convinced themselves they work for EA and just suck their ass for a free trip every year or for the hope of being hired to do a low-paying nothing ass job there.
  
  And finally, fuck MMChris who I swear is the dumbest “writer” on planet earth. I wouldn’t hire that clown to write or edit a kid’s menu.
smsixx

I sometimes wonder what the fuck happened with EA…
If you were a kid/teen like I was in the mid/late 1990′s, Madden and NBA live were the premiere sports titles. Every year they improved and added some new feature that just made you go “wow!”.
Back in those days their were no “patches” or “roster updates” (unless you did them yourself)…Gaming companies had to make sure they put out a quality finished product.
Sometimes I miss those days and feel bad for this generation of gamers…Back then when you opened a game…you knew it would be killer…these days…not so much.
- smsixx
  
  BTW…has anyone else noticed the “10-11 champions banner” behind Lebron James? I understand this could be the Eastern Conference banner, but nowhere on it I can see “Eastern Conference”.
Cameron

It’s kinda sad. I grew up with only playing NBA Live. Now I’m not saying NBA Live is better than 2k, it’s definitely not. The only EA sports games I play is Fifa and Madden->(only because there’s no other alternative). But it’s just sad seeing a childhood game I used to play so much fade away slowly throughout the years prior and just die now. Oh well, at least NBA 2k continues to get better.
Keith.

Tiger Woods and NCAA football will be up next on the chopping block.
- mcmax3000
  
  I’d say NCAA is already on the chopping block. I don’t think it has much time left.
  
  I’m not as convinced about Tiger Woods as you are. 12 sold pretty well (pretty much solely for The Masters), so I don’t think they’ll consider dumping it after just one bad year. I think Tiger Woods at least makes it a couple of years into the next generation.
  - Keith.
    
    You may be right about Tiger. But I keep thinking back to all the licensing costs involved, for both the players and the courses. Can’t be a cheap game to make, and I’d think the poor sales could be a big problem for the series.
    - mcmax3000
      
      Oh, poor sales, if they continue, will absolutely be a problem for the series, but I think it would be at least a few years before they seriously think about dropping it.
      
      The one thing that might save that series,meven if the sales aren’t fantastic, is that it has a significant DLC component, which a game like NCAA doesn’t, so that will help mitigate some of the lower sales.
      
      They need to seriously consider working on building a DLC platform, similar to something like Rock Band, where you buy the DLC once, and it carries forward though, if they intend of DLC helping carry that series, because people are already getting tired of having to buy the same courses every year, and that’s only going to get worse with each new game.
FOXDIE

As far as the NBA games go 2k has got it’s foot on NBA LIVE’s neck and they can’t breathe
mcmax3000

While it’s unfortunate that this seems to be the game to do it, given the almost unanimously negative reaction to the game (I don’t know enough about basketball to really judge that gameplay video that came out either way), I would like to see more experimentation in regards to distribution in the sports genre.

Whether its selling the game cheaper as a digital download, selling the base game cheaper and letting people buy the modes they care about, selling the game full price up front and then selling yearly updates for less to fund continued development, or something else. I would just like to see this genre get away from releasing a slightly updated game each year for full price (and that applies to all of the sports game developers, not any one company in particular).
Mark

WOW. This is beyond ridiculous at this point. I was one that was willing to give Live a shot (being a Live fan since the Sega days), but that’s it. Even if they sell it for $ 20, I’m getting 2K instead. And they call themselves Video Game developers… With all the technology they have on their hands now, there’s no excuse for all of this.
Jesus

Keith, do you think its possible that another company comes in to make another college football game? Such as 2k sports? Do you thinks its possible that even EA can keep making games?
- mcmax3000
  
  We had a discussion about that topic when the terms of the class action suit came out (it’s in the comments of that article). Pretty much everybody was in agreement that it’s very unlikely any other company will take that license on after EA loses exclusivity.
  - Jesus
    
    Ah. Shit. I honestly hope EA does continue if thats the case. I need at least one college football game and to be honest I actually like NCAA usually although I decided to skip this year.
Jesus

I don’t really hate EA sports as much as I hate the team that makes Madden and NCAA. I love the NHL series, I love Fight Night, MVP Baseball was one of my favorite baseball games, hell I even really like FIFA and I’m not a big soccer guy. I could care less about live because, well I always loved 2k basketball. And when it comes to Madden and such, I always used to get Madden and 2k when both were amazing game. The two greatest football games ever created are NFL 2k5 and Madden 2005. No doubt. Next gen though, Madden has been terrible.
- http://twitter.com/TreyIM2 TreyIM2
  
  Never hated EA, myself, neither, but have disliked many a decision by them with all their sports games, not just Live or Madden.
  
  Funny cuz I still have both 2K5 and Madden 05. I thought Madden 05 trumped 2K5 in terms of gameplay and trying to advance football game controls compared to 2K5 (all the NFL 2Ks and All Pro 08, as well) and it’s archaic, arcadish charge up your moves controls and “run round the invisible pole” movement as well as that floaty passing. Almost every thing else in 2K5, WHOA, destroyed Madden 05, pretty much. I kept both because they were stand outs in their own rights but I am a control guy and all the other greatness of 2K5 really didn’t keep me coming back. I mainly played Madden 05.
  
  As for this Live 13 debacle, sheesh. I don’t think I even have anymore words for EA on this front but I will say, they can always turn it around down the line IF they decide to continue with this series, which I believe they most likely will. 2K just won me over with the advent of the new controls coming down the pike. One of the main reasons I kept buying Live along with 2K, usually, was because of the controls as well as the playcalling, the graphics (NBA2K used to SUCK, graphically with players not even coming close to their real life counterparts, til about 2K9 where they started improving them) and the atmosphere. I ALWAYS hated isomotion but just dealt with it and even then, I would lose interest in the games each year, early.
  
  Anyway, let’s see how this Live 13 DLC turns out. Hopefully it’s decent and I will give it a shot IF there is a demo or, at least, word of mouth is strong. That leaked vid was horrible, tho…
  - Jesus
    
    Yeah I basically agree with all of your statements though I actually liked 2Ks game play more, while I though Madden 2005 had an awesome franchise mode with the newspaper, the tony bruno show, game plans, training camp and such.
    - http://twitter.com/TreyIM2 TreyIM2
      
      I’m so sleepy right now but talking about that is making me wanna put them both in my PS3. Let me take this nap, first. Lol.
    - Khadeem
      
      yea man…i played like 11 seasons on Madden 2005…I played so much that DeAngelo Hall who was a rookie on that game actually started to go down because of age…Speaking of Madden 2005 I miss performance based progression and training camp…that is what made Madden franchise mode fun to me
- Khadeem
  
  Madden 2005 was definitely the best sports title in my opinion. I could play it today if I had updated rosters
Sam

Wow, EA really managed to die twice. what fascinates me most is the fact that a game could make it to this stage of development without someone saying “No no no wait, this game looks awful”…. seriously, those EA developers must be blind and not having any idea about bball…
- WL19
  
  It fascinates me that people don’t believe EA when they say that the leaked gameplay footage was a pre-alpha build.
  
  But hey, boo EA, yay 2k, boo Madden, yay NFL 2k5 (AP2k8 never existed), boo Live, yay NBA 2k13 (Are they really selling a $60 roster update with DLC-level gimmicks like the Dream Team and All-Star Weekend?).
  - http://twitter.com/TreyIM2 TreyIM2
    
    I think it’s hard to believe because it looks closer to being finished with all the interfacing and menus being there PLUS the guy who took the vid downloaded a game that has yet to even release.
    
    Honestly, I think it’s an MS demo certification person who was putting games/demos due to come out soon through it’s paces meaning that footage is of a game OR demo that is DONE!!…but it could just be the demo which coulda been pre-alpha, afterall! Who knows…
    - http://twitter.com/TreyIM2 TreyIM2
      
      Actually, all the teams looked selectable in that footage, on second thought. I really think it’s the final build of the game, dude…
  - Sam
    
    when picking your team, the record of each team was shown, which means it must be a build from at least april 28 (reg season ending)… that is five months away from release. considering they took two years off, which means they were working 19 monts on that build, it looked terrible… Not hating on EA, im hating on their non existing effort and passion to bring back the live serious, which slowly began to die in 05…
    - optimusp76
      
      Began in 05 yeah 05 was excellent yeah but ..what you talking about Live was on the rise after 07 and 06 and 07 was bad games and if you notice and if you played the games you would see the progression of the game from 08 to 10 they just decided to destroy the game on there own and Live 10 was the best Live out of all of them and if you say 10 was not that means you never played it or didnt even take your time and the play the game at all. So all yall do your homework this is Prime signing off.
      - Sam
        
        youre a moron if you say live 08 and live 09 were good. they were terrible. YES LIVE 10 WAS THE BEST GAME. AND YES, I DIDNT PLAY IT CAUSE 2K10 WAS STILL BETTER. I dont play that cartoonish shit with stupid animations…
http://twitter.com/TreyIM2 TreyIM2

I don’t think EA is thinking that they are going to steal anybody away from purchasing NBA2K13 with this Live 13 DLC. I think they are definitely hoping for raised eyebrows, in a good way, so it can help lay the foundation for Live 14.

If this out and out bombs, I doubt it but it just possibly mean the end of this series. I would hate for that to happen but, again, I doubt it because I don’t think it’s apart of their plan, to begin with. Remember what Peter Moore said way back last year about this series? They already know what’s up. This was the best they could do, for now. Another hiccup.That’s life but that doesn’t mean all is lost. We all fail at points in life but that doesn’t always mean u give up at something. Some things are insurmountable and some are not. This is not.

EA has been in the NBA bball game game since Lakers vs Celtics. THAT’S some longevity and I don’t think a couple errant passes are going to deter a huge corporation like EA. If something like this happened to 2KSports, oh, yea, it’d be a wrap. We’ve already seen it from them with a few sports games AND they don’t have the deep pockets nor establishment of an EA Sports.

I don’t know what EA needs to do internally to right this ship but they have time. It’s not a race.The sport of basketball isn’t going anywhere and neither is EA, at least for the moment. Lol. Just like anything else, ppl can grow weary of a single product and want to look elsewhere so it’s not like they can’t get a hefty piece of the pie back from NBA2K and completely take over. They’ve done that in two sports arenas, already – NHL and FIFA.

And just like Live 10 raised MANY eyebrows and even had some die hard NBA2Kers giving it props and even buying it, it can still be done going forward. Ppl are finicky, too. Do the right things and produce a good product and ppl come a callin!

Oh, damn. I wrote a fuckin lot. Lol. I’m sleepy.My bad but u should get the point…
jwaan]

NO WORRIES LIVE WILL BE BACK,BUT FOR NOW MADDEN13 IS THE BEST SPORTS GAME EVER!!!!!!
- Khadeem
  
  yea and Rex Grossman is the greatest quarterback ever
  - Steve Spurrier
    
    at Florida.
ParedsucksDick

Those EA butt-kissers at Operation Sports are practically in tears, especially that douche bag Pared.
Odog

Hell, I gotta lifetime ban at operation sports for dissin live and madden.
- Jesus
  
  lmao don’t worry. Just create another account.
jastone837

it’s amazing to think in three years time where EA sports has gone…they had a top quality NBA, NCAA, Tiger Woods, Fight Night, and Madden…some would debate the top quality of the Tiger Woods and Madden franchise…i feel they both have declined in the last three years…but there’s almost no doubt amongst fans of sports games that NBA, NCAA, and Fight Night are just about dead and buried…i think this might be what gamers refer to when they say they won’t tolerate bullcrap games from as highly touted a developer like EA…i used to have Fight Night every release up until Round 4…i stopped getting basketball games when college basketball stopped being released..Tiger Woods has become a DLC money grab with so much of the same content being DLC year after year…and they keep reducing Madden’s gameplay options every year..there was more content in the last original Xbox version than in this one..the only franchises they seem to have gotten right is NHL and FIFA..neither of which is an American TV favorite…what has happened?
BOB

throwing in the towel is probably not the right word choice. It’s a smart move on their part since it will cost them much more for a non-digital release and if the game isn’t close enough to the great gameplay in 2k why do it? It’s smart because they can use it for better feedback on their gameplay and still run the department so that in the future when its at least comparable they will release it. Calling it throwing in the towel means that they are done with the nba, its more like giving up one round so that you can regain composure and stamina to finish the fight.
thraxxx

Hey Pasta , picture of LeBron under the headline containing throwing in the towel is awesome, just missing out the Cavs jersey lol
http://www.facebook.com/roberteugio Rob Eugene

Hey pasta ,

You know this thing is getting a digital release. This is EA we are talking about the same company that spends 20mil on advertising their game. Where is the advertising?
49ersfan1

why are comments closed on the line drive?
Franny33

Now just give up on your “football” games, and and get out of the sports game business all together
49ersfan1

from the picture up there, u can tell nba live sucks. that looks nothing like leblowjob james.
daley7199

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npXSG2Ls_Xk&feature=related

I don’t know about you but this video indicate to you that EA is throwing in the towel. It would seem to me by the guys use of the word surprise that EA is intentionally keeping things close to the vest. Just like 2k kept Jordan’s inclusion in 2k11 under wraps.

What bothers everyone is that we are all used to getting a steady dose of info by this time in the development cycle and a demo. As I see it EA has nothing to lose and everything to gain by NOT showing anything. First off by not showing off anything it keeps the 2k trolls from nit picking and casting an overall negative shadow over the game, much like they did with Elite. Secondly, not showing anything will build up anticipation for what they WILL show and if in fact they do have some big surprises in store for us then the waiting will have more impact.

Just look at how irrational the 2k trolls were over the leaked Pre Alpha video that hit Youtube. Seems to me that 2k trolls are more interested in being right than they are in having a good basketball game or perhaps 2 good basketball games. At this point the trolls already know they are going to buy 2k13 so trolling EA is just for sport and EA is well aware of that.

Also we must not forget that its not Live’s time yet. Madden just released and NHL13 will follow on Sept 10 followed by FIFA13 on 25 Sept. These games will be in the forefront for the next few weeks. Lives time will come and I suspect we will have our info after FIFA13 releases.
Bud Selig

They should have been focusing more on trying to get back into baseball instead of making this crap anyway
thbends

Sounds like NFL Gameday. A once promising title that just disappeared.
Trustruggle

Truthfully Live has been disappointing since 04 I saw this coming after that fiasco. My last NBA Live experience was a loss on a Jason Kidd dunk over Kevin Garnett to end the game in boston, and at that point I was still buying both games. Live is for people who like arcade type gameplay so they can do everything with everybody no skill involved. 2k Sports has a proven track record. While their games aren’t perfect they are more realistic and less cartoon like as far as gameplay. EA sports is also losing its grip on the football gaming community, if not for license rights 2k football would be taking out Madden.