NBA Live 09 Review

[ExtremeGamer]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pared

That's a very fair assessment. I think many who appreciate Live can still agree with that.

Agreed.

[RaychelSnr]

Quote: Originally Posted by PaulZweber

The thing about that is, if someone isn't a hardcore, or huge fan of the NBA, do they really care about 365? That seems to be included for more sim fans who want every update asap. EA might have closed the gap, for me, that isn't good enough. If I am going to buy a game I want a great experience. I have no problem buying two basketball games if they both offer great experiences that don't frustrate. Maybe it is still too early to judge Live, Madden wasn't very good on release date, but patches have definitly made it a better game. I don't know if that is going to be a trend in all upcoming games, but it seems like they need more time than they are given to complete a game, and it just releases incomplete. Opinion?

I don't think that's a bad view to have at all, but it's not like companies are releasing perfect games right out of the box. It's just the trend of games today. Companies get extra ambitious with their plans and get the games largely working well before they are released and then tie up any loose ends on post-release patches. It's the same thing we saw/see in PC gaming.

As I said before, casual NBA fans are going to appreciate Live because it plays decent enough and it's atmosphere is about as good as I have seen for NBA games. Hardcore fans think it's all about the gameplay but it's really about more than that for casual players. People go watch Hollywood movies under the same premise, they don't care if the actual avionics of that jet can do that...what matters is that they feel entertained by the whole package. Live does a good job of that this year, it just doesn't play the best game of basketball possible, hence why it was scored where it was.

[Pared]

It really is the nature of the beast with sports games and the yearly cycle.

With always updated player movements, yearly renewal of league licenses and cut-throat competition, we may never see the mammoth undertaking of a 3 year developed sports game again.

[PaulZweber]

I know it isn't just EA doing this, but it seems like they do it a lot. PC games have done it for years due to internet connection and hard drive, and we are really seeing an increase in console patches. Getting a game "largely working well" before it releases is not a good goal to have. I understand ambitions and deadlines and all that jazz, but there are some games that are released basically broken. It is sad that games are not required to be finished, or actually work, before they are released, and unfortunatly that makes patches a neccesary evil.

[PaulZweber]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pared

It really is the nature of the beast with sports games and the yearly cycle. With always updated player movements, yearly renewal of league licenses and cut-throat competition, we may never see the mammoth undertaking of a 3 year developed sports game again.

Hopefully VC is working on a football game as we speak. They can be working on player modeling, Mo-Cap, interface, code, plays, everything. I would love to hear about them working on a football game to hopefully compete with EA in the future. In a perfect world, 2k would snatch up the NFL License, or at least get a share of it, and they would already have a game 75% complete, with a whole year to polish. I can dream can't I? :0

[RaychelSnr]

Quote: Originally Posted by PaulZweber

I know it isn't just EA doing this, but it seems like they do it a lot. PC games have done it for years due to internet connection and hard drive, and we are really seeing an increase in console patches. Getting a game "largely working well" before it releases is not a good goal to have. I understand ambitions and deadlines and all that jazz, but there are some games that are released basically broken. It is sad that games are not required to be finished, or actually work, before they are released, and unfortunatly that makes patches a neccesary evil.

Unfortunately it is definitely the nature of the beast nowadays. As companies continue to try to figure out what makes them the most money, we'll continue to see the process change, but the vote that really matters in this is the consumer. Unfortunately, EA's games continue to sell well so they have zero incentive to change how they do business.

Honestly, when EA's sales even begin to slip a little (Madden, FIFA, Live) you see them redouble their efforts to produce better games quality wise

[RaychelSnr]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pared

It really is the nature of the beast with sports games and the yearly cycle. With always updated player movements, yearly renewal of league licenses and cut-throat competition, we may never see the mammoth undertaking of a 3 year developed sports game again.

I think money talks in this case. There is more money to be made making small yearly updates than releasing one epic game every 3 years

[Pared]

Yeah, to put it frankly it "sucks."

We're the ones to blame as well... the consumer.