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NBA Live 14 hitting the court November 19
NBA Live 14 will launch November 19, EA Sports announced via Twitter. It will launch simultaneously on Xbox One and PS4, and will feature EA Sports' new Ignite Engine, specifically created to cater to the needs of the publishers' upcoming sports games. This will be the first time a game in the series has launched in four years, as NBA Live 13 was canceled in September 2012, two years after NBA Elite 11 was canceled as well. NBA Live 14 will feature Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving on the cover and the BounceTek physics dribbling system.
NBA 2K13 sets franchise records, ships 4.5 million copies
The Bieber-licious NBA 2K13 has sold-in (i.e. "shipped") 4.5 million units to date, publisher Take-Two announced today as part of its third quarter financials.2K Sports previously noted NBA 2K13 sold 49 percent more worldwide during its first-week sales than previous record holder NBA 2K11. The franchise has now shipped over 15 million units since NBA 2K11.Part of the series' success has been the lack of competition from Electronic Arts. Last year's NBA Live 13 was canceled, after already being downgraded to a digitally distributed product. It was the third consecutive year EA dropped the ball and didn't show up to compete with a basketball game.
Preview: NBA Elite 11
There's a lot riding on NBA Elite 11. Now that EA has decided to retire its NBA Live series -- which graced consoles for the last 15 years -- and completely overhaul its game engine, it's hoping to reclaim the throne it lost to the NBA 2K series so many years ago. The first change that's apparent is the new controls. Gameplay is handled primarily through the use of both analog sticks -- the left stick acts as your feet, while the right stick represents your hands. It was jarring at first trying to link together moves in succession. But after only a few minutes, I was able to execute lay-ups, crossovers and even dunks. Once I really started to think of it in terms of feet and arms, it all really became intuitive. %Gallery-96126%
NBA Elite 11 trailer has a vision
It's one thing to talk the talk, but it's entirely something else to walk the walk -- and this NBA Elite 11 dev diary strolls gallantly. EA wasn't just yanking your chain when talking about the changes made to the series. Frankly, we haven't been this excited for a basketball game since NBA 2K1!
NBA Elite 11 officially announced
We reported on EA's plans to reboot its basketball franchise last week and, sure enough, the company has announced NBA Elite 11 today. Set to hit the retail paint in October, NBA Elite 11 boasts "an all-new technology base, a new control scheme and a real-time physics system." It's currently only in development for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and the new physics system means that players can now move around the court independently without being tied to another player. There's also going to be a new skill-driven shooting system that will require "accurate user input" and have its success tied into player orientation on the court -- no longer will there be "random dice rolls" to determine successful shooting. Finally, EA details a new "Hands-On" control scheme, which promises 1:1 movement, doing away with those long, annoying animations of the past. Overall, it sounds like EA Canada is rebuilding things from the ground up for NBA Elite 11. But if you're going to do that, why not call it Hoop McGee and the Spalding Boys 11 or Slam Dunkerstein: The Legend of Curly's Gold 11? Why not get a bit more creative, you know?
Report: EA retiring NBA Live name, replacing it with 'NBA Elite' [update]
According to the latest issue of OXM (via 1UP), EA is retiring the NBA Live name. Instead, the company will now be branding its franchise NBA Elite, starting with NBA Elite 11. We've checked the game's Twitter, blog and news feed to no avail. We did manage to get into touch with an EA Sports spokesperson, who offered this statement: "We knew it was time to leave the past behind. We have exciting and significant changes coming to our NBA game this year that will usher in the future of basketball videogames. We look forward to releasing information on exactly how we'll be doing that over the next few months." It's hardly confirmation of the name change, but suggests there's something to this whole NBA Elite business. Anybody have a copy of OXM to confirm this? We'd mightily appreciate it! Update: A tipster sent in an image of the OXM article in question. It looks like the news is legit: look forward to EA Sports NBA Elite 11 this fall.
