With the help of our readers and EA, we had an opportunity to interview Todd Batty, Producer of NBA Street Homecourt.

Operation Sports:  Are there any differences between the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions?

Todd Batty:  Both Xbox 360 and PS3 fans will be getting the same amazing experience.

Operation Sports:  We see the love for the Xbox 360 fans, but are there plans on releasing a Playstation 3 demo?

Todd Batty:  Not at this time.

Operation Sports:  Why is there a delay in shipping the Playstation 3 version?

Todd Batty:  We developed both the Xbox 360 and PS3 game in parallel.  There are slight differences in the manufacturing cycles for the two platforms.  We’re excited to bring NBA Street to the PS3 in early March. 

Operation Sports:  Are there plenty of animations in the full retail game that we haven’t already seen in the demo? 

Todd Batty:  Yes, there are definitely more animations in the full retail version of the game than in the demo. There are also more Master Skills to discover in the retail version that showcase player abilities not seen in the demo, and these can have a significant effect on game strategy.

Operation Sports:  What can we expect for online play? What about game modes, game types and rankings?

Todd Batty:  Online allows for match ups against other users (1 v 1).  Although we don’t offer game modes that are unique to online, you can use all of the great offline modes when playing online. We also offer rankings / leader boards and there are achievements on the 360 specific to online.  In addition users can take their created ballers online to compete against other users created ballers.  We also track a King Of The Court streak online.  This is your unbeaten streak and is a weighted leaderboard stat unique to Homecourt.

Operation Sports:  In regards to the create a player feature, can we make a generic looking baller from scratch, similar to previous versions of Street,  or do we always have to mix 3 NBA players together to create a baller?

Todd Batty:  For Create Baller in NBA STREET Homecourt we wanted the user to be able to take pieces of their favorite NBA Stars and mix them together to create their own unique look.  The user is able to customize their face through the user of our morph stick.  The morph stick allows you to mix 3 baller faces into a unique combination that is all your own.  It's literally impossible to get the exact same face two times in a row. It's also a lot of fun to experiment between 2 very different looking NBA players (for example Shaquille O'Neal and Dirk Nowitzki).  Body type is also customizable and we offer various options for Guards, Forwards and Centers. Hair and accessory styles mirror the variety that you see daily in the NBA.

Operation Sports:  Are there plans to update the rosters?

Todd Batty:  We put together what we think are the best players at the time of the development cycle. Unfortunately we won’t be able to update rosters after the game ships.

Operation Sports:  Can we create own custom homecourts?

Todd Batty:  Our hometown courts were inspired by real places from different parts of the country and will look equally impressive and photo real as the bigger more well-known courts. The focus for them was definitely quality over customization for us. We want people to look at the courts and say “That looks like a place I saw in New York, or LA or Pennsylvania.” We felt that this court is a starting point for Anywhere, USA. We want the player to feel like this could have been in my town and feel passionate about putting it on the map. 

Operation Sports:  Can three people play on the same team against the AI?

Todd Batty:  Yes.  We support as maximum of 4 users total and they can be arranged in any configuration (2 v 2, 3 v 1, 1 v 3, 3 v AI, etc). This is somthinig that I would really recommend as it is such a blast to team up with another user and take on the AI at the highest skill level.  To boost someone off your back, or to hook up together for oops and hook ups are so much fun. And then of course all of the off-ball physical play like setting picks for your teammate.

Operation Sports:  How many camera angles will there be? Or is the camera used in the Xbox 360 demo the only available camera?

Todd Batty:  We have 3 cameras total - Sideline / Spectator / Default cams.

Operation Sports:  Are there any unlockables?

Todd Batty:  Totally. There are unlockable courts, teams and gear. So there is definite motivation to play through Play now and Homecourt Challenge to find some cool stuff.

Operation Sports:  What's planned for Xbox Live and the Marketplace?

Todd Batty:  We will have both free and paid downloadable content available on Xbox Live Marketplace, including courts and characters. They won’t be out until a while after ship though, because we just couldn’t get to it in time. So it is all still being developed, so it is truly additional content.