Last week EA announced there would be no version of NBA Live released on consoles in 2016. For fans of the series, or perhaps even fans of the sport, this is the latest in a series of heartbreaks.

The last time NBA Live went on hiatus, there was hardly a whisper in the wind as to its whereabouts. This time around, the announcement of a mobile version of the game (which, if EA is to be believed, is intended to expand the franchise to a "global" market) is most likely a move to keep the name alive and in circulation. Given the mostly sour efforts from NBA Live in the recent past, it's hard to believe the game sold copies on anything but name recognition. With that in mind, it would certainly behoove EA, if they ever intend on bringing the series back, to keep the name alive.

"The most logical answer would probably be that EA will feel out the mobile market and then wait for an opportune time to strike."

So will it come back? It's hard to say. EA's sports production is an enigma. Madden and FIFA are two of the biggest sellers. NBA Live has been squashed by the 2K franchise, and many of EA's other franchises (MVP Baseball and both of the NCAA franchises) have been canceled. It's hard to say whether they are phasing things out or preparing for a total revamp of their sports division. Given just how much potential money there is in sports video games, you'd have to assume that it's the latter.

But where does that leave Live, a series that has already undergone a fresh reboot? The most logical answer would probably be that EA will feel out the mobile market and then wait for an opportune time to strike.

But in what form would the series come back, or feel like there is a market to come back to? Well, there are a couple of possibilities. One, the game comes back with a totally revamped style of play that matches 2K in terms of quality and realism. Since that would require another refresh of any development, this seems unlikely. Another option would be that the game releases on PC and challenges 2K there. 2K is in a solid position on PC, but it's not as dominant there as it is on console -- given somewhat lackluster ports and difficulty at times to mod. So might EA see an opportunity in that emerging market? Probably not, as outside of FIFA, EA hasn't dabbled with the PC much either.

So the last, and perhaps most likely, option would be for EA to return the series as a free-to-play game that focuses on online play and micro-transactions. It may seem unorthodox, given that EA hasn't really tried anything similar with its major sports titles, but that doesn't mean that they won't try it. EA has had tremendous success with their Ultimate Team mode, so it's not unreasonable to think they might build an entire game around it.

"It's hard to say whether they are phasing things out or preparing for a total revamp of their sports division."

For now, basketball fans are going to have to be content with the NBA 2K franchise. The scare is that a lack of competition may place a hold on the incredible progress the series has made over the last decade, but with such a saturated market of video games, 2K is still competing for sales. If the NBA Live series does come back, it may be in a way we haven't seen before. Perhaps even packaged with a customized NCAA franchise?

The bad news is we don't know if there's a future for the Live series on consoles. The good news is that just about anything moving forward would be a welcomed surprise.