Once upon a time EA had a basketball game series. It was called NBA Live. It competed year-to-year with Take-Two’s NBA 2K games. Last year EA decided to shake things up. NBA Live would become NBA Elite. It was supposed to revolutionize NBA games!
…and then the demo came out. It was, by all accounts, unpolished and full of glitches. EA originally delayed the game only to cancel it altogether months later. The Elite name was tarnished before it ever hit store shelves. So EA decided to return to the Live name. 2012 was supposed to be EA Sports’ big return to B-Ball. But it was apparently just not meant to be. EA has once again cancelled basketball for 2 years in a row, giving the 2K franchise another year free of competition.
Andrew Wilson, EA Sports Executive Vice President confirmed the cancellation saying:
“…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.” Wilson continued, “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.”
Just like Elite, Live ’13 was delayed earlier this month, signifying possible trouble in development.
Check back in 2013 for next year’s cancellation announcement.