NBA Live 17 Delayed To Q1 2017 For Consoles

[JBHuskers]

EA SPORTS has just announced that they will be focusing on a mobile game for this fall, and will be pushing the release of the console version of the next NBA Live game to Q1 of 2017. Continue on to read the full article.

https://www.easports.com/nba-live/ne...anchise-update

Hey LIVE fans:

I want to share some important updates on what’s next for NBA LIVE and give you an overview of where we’re going with the franchise over the course of this year.

It’s important that you know that we are committed to NBA LIVE in the console space. While we won’t be shipping a product this Fall, we will be back on the courts with something new and exciting for you to experience in early 2017.

Our focus this year is to deliver an amazing, high-quality basketball game to a global audience. The best way to do that is through the fastest growing, largest, and most accessible gaming platform…mobile. As a team, we’re really excited about taking the franchise to new places with the worldwide release of our mobile game later this year.

More details to follow in the coming months!

Sean O’Brien
Executive Producer, NBA LIVE

You can view the page at http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/for...ive-17-Delayed

[bdoughty]

EA SPORTS has just announced that they will be focusing on a mobile game for this fall, and will be pushing the release of the console version of the next NBA Live game to Q1 of 2017.

Our focus this year is to deliver an amazing, high-quality basketball game to a global audience. The best way to do that is through the fastest growing, largest, and most accessible gaming platform…mobile. As a team, we’re really excited about taking the franchise to new places with the worldwide release of our mobile game later this year.

So we take a dump on the ones who have been buying and supporting Live on consoles, which also caters to a global audience. But all those beautiful mobile micro-transactions where you can trick 10 year olds into buying a bunch of stuff because dad forgot to password protect his (insert mobile device here). Quality marketing job! This reeks of discontinuing a series. Just pack that shit up and make a remaster of NBA Street V2.

[SmoothPancakes]

Man, they really want to kill this game. No one is going to buy it in the Spring, they'll all just buy NBA 2K this October and never give NBA Live a second thought when it finally does release after the season is nearly over.

[Rudy]

Man, they really want to kill this game. No one is going to buy it in the Spring, they'll all just buy NBA 2K this October and never give NBA Live a second thought when it finally does release after the season is nearly over.

My thoughts exactly.

[jaymo76]

I suspect you will NOT see another NBA Live game unless maybe it's a digital download.

[JBHuskers]

It won't be the spring, sounds like quarter one so January to March.

[Rudy]

That is still a disaster when 2k sells millions on week 1. Might as well take a full cycle off.

[bdoughty]

I suspect you will NOT see another NBA Live game unless maybe it's a digital download.

I have seen it tossed around that it could end up being one of those Free to Play games where they make their money on micro-transactions. Especially when they are prioritizing a mobile game.

Still I think the game will just be cancelled. It's NBA Elite 11 Redux.

[JBHuskers]

Sucks cuz Live 16 is good, the return of Live Run worked really well too. They just didn't promote this at all.

[cdj]

I have seen it tossed around that it could end up being one of those Free to Play games where they make their money on micro-transactions. Especially when they are prioritizing a mobile game.

It wouldn't shock me to see Ultimate Team be 'F2P' with the other modes being sold individually. Realistically, both basketball titles could (should?) be selling LIVE Pro-Am/2K Pro-Am & My Park, etc. as their own individual game for $10-20. The modes mentioned could be argued as having little to nothing to do with the NBA (aside from use of licensed logos/apparel) and their own game anyways.

[Hank]

This news only angers me more.
Why the EFF won't EA give up trying to force their basketball game down our throats and not make an MLB game?!?!?! There is no way anyone in EA can tell me that they make more money with Live than they would producing a new MLB title???

And it's clear they are trying to avoid the NBA2K release and praying that gamers will hopefully be bored by February so they buy Live 17.

However, the fact that they are focused on a mobile NBA game speaks volumes. They are effectively laying down, bending over and telling 2K to 'insert here please'.

[JBHuskers]

This news only angers me more.
Why the EFF won't EA give up trying to force their basketball game down our throats and not make an MLB game?!?!?! There is no way anyone in EA can tell me that they make more money with Live than they would producing a new MLB title???

And it's clear they are trying to avoid the NBA2K release and praying that gamers will hopefully be bored by February so they buy Live 17.

However, the fact that they are focused on a mobile NBA game speaks volumes. They are effectively laying down, bending over and telling 2K to 'insert here please'.

A baseball game from scratch on current gen consoles and you could replace every mention of 2K in your post with The Show.

[Hank]

A baseball game from scratch on current gen consoles and you could replace every mention of 2K in your post with The Show.

I'm not sure about that.
The Show sells a meager 500K copies a year. NBA2K sells over 4M.

MVP 2004 sold 2.5M copies back in the day.
I think EA could poop in a case, slap MVP '17 on it and it'd sell 1M copies on the Xbox platform by itself.

[Rudy]

Plus the Show isn't on xbox. Huge difference.

[bdoughty]

I'm not sure about that.
The Show sells a meager 500K copies a year. NBA2K sells over 4M.

MVP 2004 sold 2.5M copies back in the day.
I think EA could poop in a case, slap MVP '17 on it and it'd sell 1M copies on the Xbox platform by itself.

The baseball market is not what it once was in regards to video games. The Show only sells around 500,000-750-000 and that is on the most popular console, with most baseball fans having moved over to Sony due to no baseball on the Xbox One.

MVP 17 would struggle to meet the sales The Show has. Don't you think that is baseball was such a gold mine EA would have done something to get the license 2Ksports gave up on?

[Rudy]

That is the current market because the Show is virtually the same game for the past ten years. i personally think people do want something different and EA was the highest selling baseball game on ps2. Can they regain those sales? I don't know. NBA 2K grew their market share a lot starting with 2k11 so it's not like the markets are always stagnant. But you can certainly bet they would do better in the baseball market with no competition on xbox than going up against NBA 2k.

[bdoughty]

Yeah, they would have a better chance in baseball but that still does not meant the numbers are there. While there is a void, EA has not been jumping up and down to capture it and it is a sport that falls well into their Ultimate Team Card game wheelhouse.

I think it is a bit disingenuous to say MLB The Show is basically the same game the past 10 years.

[Rudy]

The Show has had the same feel for a long time. It has a small development team and the feel and game play hasn't changed very much at all. The last big change was the new pitching interfaces over the last seven years (pulse and analog). Matty V should have been replaced years ago for a fresh feel if nothing else.

[Hank]

Yeah, they would have a better chance in baseball but that still does not meant the numbers are there. While there is a void, EA has not been jumping up and down to capture it and it is a sport that falls well into their Ultimate Team Card game wheelhouse.

I think it is a bit disingenuous to say MLB The Show is basically the same game the past 10 years.

I think an argument could definitely be made that The Show has been largely unchanged over the past 5 or 6 years.
I played the crap out of '09 and '10 and have barely played the series since because it feels like I'm playing the same game.
Even watching video's of '16, it's like I'm watching a touched up version of '10.

The biggest issues is the player models and animations. They're no different and it makes the game look very dated. Same can be said for the commentary. Very little has been altered in the way of sounds.
The only major gameplay mechanic they've really added over the past 5 years is Pulse Pitching. And that's weak sauce compared to 2K's analog pitching.

I would bet my last dollar that EA would outsell The Show 2:1 if they came out with a game tomorrow.
Right or wrong, the masses know the EA brand. And there are many baseball gamer's dying for a change of pace. I know I'm one of them. I am completely bored to tears of The Show's brand of baseball.

The reasons I see EA refusing to make a baseball game in favour of a basketball game are these:
1. The NBA is clearly a hotter sport than MLB. The ratings and money earned show this.
2. NBA 2K is selling 4M+ every year. Who wouldn't want at least half that market?
3. The Show, which everyone seems to believe is the 2nd best sports game on the market, only sells 500K per year. So maybe EA believes the market isn't very good.
4. EA is still bitter that MLB went exclusive AND chose 2K over them.
5. MLB overvalues their license.

I think point 5 is a major one. At one time there were 4 or 5 different balls games produced every year. Now there's only 1?
You can't tell me that there aren't interested companies who want to make an MLB game. I believe MLB's price tag is scaring off potential buyers.

I also think a lot of companies, including EA, are misjudging the market. Every year we hear about how baseball is dying, especially with young kids, and yet it only generates close to $10B a year.
It's become almost cliche.

There are many ball fans out there dying for something new. Slap EA's name on it, and it'll fly off the shelves.
You only have to look at MVP's last numbers on the PS2 compared to The Show's. They clearly outsold them. The same would happen again if EA were to revitalize the series.

[cdj]

After it appeared the game may be rebranded to a 'non-year' NBA LIVE, the game's Twitter account has been referring to the game as NBA LIVE 17 and says they will have details on the game "soon." (That answer came in response to a question on if the game will be switching to the Frostbite engine.)

We will have more details about LIVE 17 soon.

— EA SPORTS NBA LIVE (@EASPORTSNBA) June 20, 2016