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EA expects to publish for current systems through 2017
Speaking at the Stifel 2013 Technology Conference in New York this week, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said that EA plans to publish games on the current generation of consoles through 2017 at least. According to Gamespot's report, Jorgenson also discussed EA's exclusive Star Wars deal and specifically referenced fan favorite Star Wars: Battlefront. "The opportunity to do a new Battlefront, for example," Jorgensen said, "is very exciting." He added that none of EA's planned Star Wars games are film adaptations "per se," though their releases may coincide with upcoming movies.
EA tweet points to NBA Live at Xbox reveal
EA Sports' official NBA Live social media accounts sprang to life as recently as May 17 after being on hiatus since late September 2012. A recent tweet from the NBA Live team's Twitter account indicates that the game may be part of today's Xbox presentation, teasing fans with the words "Countdown to tip-off." It wouldn't be far-fetched to believe NBA Live will have a presence at today's event, given the expectation that both FIFA and EA Sports UFC will be shown, or at least teased in some capacity. NBA Live was also listed among the publisher's 11 games planned for fiscal 2014, and will be a next-gen title. This comes after NBA Live 13 was canceled in September 2012, two years after NBA Elite 11 was also canceled and the same point at which the NBA Live team's social media accounts stopped updating. That brings us full-circle, like a basketball.
Gibeau: NBA Live coming in fiscal 2014 [Update: Planned for next-gen systems]
EA will launch a game in the NBA Live series in the 2014 fiscal year (April 2013 through March 2014), President of EA Labels Frank Gibeau said during EA's fiscal 2013 year-end investor call. Gibeau listed NBA Live among the publisher's core sports titles as one of 11 games the publisher is planning for the fiscal year. The standard launch window for NBA games is in October. EA canceled NBA Live 13 in September 2012 after opting to "sit out the full year and stay focused on making next year's game great." The series has had a lengthy history of not seeing publication, starting with NBA Elite 11 being canceled in November 2010. Update: Gibeau listed NBA Live as one of the games that EA has planned for next-generation consoles. He also noted that the publisher has a "brand new engine from EA Sports," that will be seen at E3 in June.
NBA assured by EA next NBA Live will meet 'mutual standard of excellence'
The NBA said it will "continue to work together with [EA] as we always have," when recently asked about the cancellation of NBA Live 13.John Acunto, VP of Marketing Communications for the NBA told Joystiq that the NBA has "had a great relationship with EA for more than 20 years. We are obviously disappointed that EA will not be releasing NBA LIVE 13 this year, but have been assured by EA that the next release of NBA LIVE will meet our mutual standards of excellence."EA's Executive VP Andrew Wilson said the team plans on "making next year's game great."Take-Two recently revealed record sales for the other major NBA licensed game this year, NBA 2K13, which sold 49 percent more in its first week than past games in the series.
Canceled NBA Live 13 noted as downloadable title, EA has 'no comment'
EA Sports' canceled NBA Live 13 was going to be a digitally distributed product on Xbox Live Arcade. The word of the XBLA release comes directly from Microsoft community guru Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb. It had been rumored before that NBA Live 13 was going to be a digital release for $20."NBA Live 13 was supposed to be today's XBLA title, but EA made the decision not to launch it today," wrote Hryb on Twitter. He then directed queries on the topic to the September 27 announcement of the game's cancellation.Checking with Hryb to confirm he meant to say XBLA and not Microsoft's retail Games on Demand section of the Xbox marketplace, he noted the information was "unclear."EA Sports responded to our request for clarification with a "no comment."EA Sports had been sketchy about NBA Live's status ever since its absence from the company's E3 press conference, finally mentioning in mid September the game had been delayed. This will be the third year in a row the company skipped or canceled its basketball game due to quality concerns. Meanwhile, Take-Two's NBA 2K series has the run of the court.Update: Added EA response.
NBA Live 13 canceled by EA
EA Sports has canceled NBA Live 13. The company plans on taking a full year off to work on the next game in the series."But making great games is not easy, and we're just not there yet on NBA LIVE 13. Having continued to look at the game over the past few days, it's clear that we won't be ready in October," EA Sports Executive Vice President Andrew Wilson wrote in a news release today. "And rather than launch midway through the season, we're going to sit out the full year and stay focused on making next year's game great."The news comes after an announcement on the game's delay and its absence from EA Sports' E3 showing. More notably, the cancellation of NBA Elite 11 makes this the third year in a row that EA's simulation basketball series has failed to see publication."We're committed to delivering new innovation in online, and our progress in the visual presentation of the game continues to take big strides. We also know that a great game starts with great gameplay, and this remains a huge priority for us," Wilson wrote.
NBA Live 13 delayed, no release date in sight
NBA Live 13 has officially been delayed, and won't launch at the beginning of October as expected. EA hasn't given a new release date for the game yet. Competitor NBA 2K13 is still set to drop on October 2, and the NBA season is scheduled for a start on October 30 of this year.EA decided to cancel its basketball series back in 2010. NBA Live 13 was supposed to be its triumphant return, but EA hasn't shown much of it.The same announcement of the game's delay contained the trailer above, so it certainly seems to be on its way to reality. We'll stay tuned for any more information on a possible release.
NBA Live 13 footage leaks, shows basketballs are still full of air
Some leaked footage of NBA Live 13, claimed to be from a pre-alpha build, has appeared just as we started to doubt the sports game's existence. Aside from some wooden commentating, the above video from Operation Sports shows off 10 minutes of gameplay between the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder.Kotaku followed up with EA, who did indeed confirm this as NBA Live 13 footage – albeit early footage. A rep said the video "appears to be captured from a pre-alpha build months ago and is not an official EA Sports release. It does not represent a final build or feature set for NBA Live."
NBA Live not at EA's press conference because 'it deserves its own time'
EA Sports is resurrecting its basketball franchise this fall, yet oddly it is absent from E3. With only months to go until we're in that fall timeframe, the decision was made to hold back NBA Live 13 from E3. "We have some really cool and aggressive stuff we have planned for NBA Live, and we felt it deserved its own time," EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson told me.
EA's next basketball sim is NBA Live 13
Back in 2010, EA released a demo for an upcoming reboot of its basketball sim series, NBA Live. It was called NBA Elite 11 and the demo was, well, pretty bad -- bad enough that EA decided to cancel the game outright.Since then, we've been bugging EA about when it's going to offer another basketball title -- heck, we didn't even know if EA would get back into the basketball game-making game, period. And with the NBA 2K series dominating, it's an even steeper uphill battle for EA. But this fall, EA is bringing its basketball series back.The EA Sports Twitter account revealed today the series would return as NBA Live 13. EA says it had Cavaliers beat writer Joe Gabriele and Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving out to the studio to check out NBA Live 13, but neither could offer more info. We'll have to wait for EA's announcement for more.
