NBA LIVE: PAST,PRESENT,FUTURE. - jordankobewade7's Blog

jordankobewade7's Blog

NBA LIVE: PAST,PRESENT,FUTURE.

Posted on August 25, 2012 at 01:31 AM.

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How It Began...

Back in 2005, NBA basketball video games were starting to take the shape of the sim games we know today, the "SIM" foundation that we now know was just getting the first bricks laid in place, and the future was brighter than ever for the NBA LIVE franchise. At that time NBA LIVE was the NBA game of choice for many. One would have never guessed with the seemingly clear skies ahead that NBA LIVE was in for a wrong turn it may never recover from.

I would argue that NBA LIVE 2005 was the best entry to date in the franchises' history with the 2010 iteration a close 2nd. I would have to give the edge to '05 because of the feature set, which for the first time included NBA ALL STAR WEEKEND in its entirety sans the skills challenge. The gameplay was awesome. It featured realistic collisions, the most "SIM" gameplay at the time which we hadn't seen since NBA INSIDE DRIVE on the xbox (which was way ahead of its time).

NBA LIVE 2005 seemed to have all the bells and whistles as far as the feature set goes and when it came down to the gameplay it was very solid. The freestyle stick seemed to be toned down with the crossovers slowed to seem more comparable to real life when lined up against previous entries in the series, which had dribble moves so fast they could barely be seen by the naked eye (lol). NBA LIVE had seemed to make the transition from arcadey fast gameplay with flashy dunks and speedy players to a slower, grind it out game that was more "SIM" than arcade. Flashy dunks seemed to come at more appropriate times, overall player speed seemed more realistic, there were very little if any parts of the gameplay that seemed to relfect the arcadey feel of all of the previous installments of the franchise.(LIVE '02-'04)

A Turn For The Worst.

Then came NBA LIVE 2006. After such a stellar release in LIVE 2005 I was wholeheartedly looking forward to the release of '06. All I remember from the ad campaign were the dunked on scenarios that were never before seen and being released that year. I was in college at the time living on campus and I didn't have money for a day one pickup. So my roommate and I called around, then found a friend of a friend who had bought the game.

The first thing I noticed were the visuals. They looked totally different to me, and I was taken aback feeling from the start that 2005 was a more realistic look. That said, I just wanted to see someone get dunked on, lol. Soon after, I got my wish, and it was amazing at the time. I loved that part about 2006, and looking back I just wish there was a way I could retrofit those animations into 2005 to make what I thought would be the perfect game. Then once I finally made the purchase myself and got some good time with the game, the gimmicks surfaced.

Both NBA LIVE 2006 and 2007 could be summed up as NBA LIVE's 1st step toward its eventual plummet into the depths. FREESTYLE SUPERSTARS were introduced and in a flash the entire NBA LIVE franchise took a turn right back to the arcade roots I thought were left behind with the stellar release of NBA LIVE 2005,which in my opinion put the arcade gimmicks right where it belongs: THE DUNK CONTEST (if anywhere,make it here).

Next gen NBA LIVE was downright beautiful upon its translation to the 360, but it was just utterly unplayable for me until at least the moderately playable LIVE 09. Then came NBA LIVE 10 which as I mentioned before is the 2nd best entry in the franchise. If they had only just focused on a better feature set with at least the exact same control set/feel in NBA LIVE 10 for the next iteration it would have at the very least snagged a bronze in the hearts of basketball gamers. Point is, they would have been down but not out in the race to take back the basketball crown it hasn't had a taste of since the aforementioned NBA LIVE 2005.

After the debacle that was NBA ELITE 11, footage of NBA LIVE 13 has surfaced to fans hungry for info on the game, or at least some hope that it would stay afloat. On a very brief good note, the commentary and presentation was spot on in the video. Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy sounded great together and I enjoyed hearing them just as I do in every broadcast they do (i miss mark jackson!). The ESPN integration was great to see with all the overlays.

However, the gameplay was horrendous. There was no footplanting for any dribbling or passing, the ball just seemed to float in a straight line from one player to the next when passed. None of the players could stand up straight, knees were constantly bent, backs hunched. There was no weight to any of the players, they were all skinny/lanky and physics weren't present at all in the least bit. I could go on, I'm sure if you are reading this and you've seen the video you are probably continuing on and on at everything horrible that you saw on your own (haha).

So Where Does EA Go From Here?

Now, as a whole EA and the entire NBA LIVE franchise has to return to the drawing board once again one final time. They have to look back at the success of previous entries and what kept them ahead of the game at that time. NBA LIVE was always known for thinking of the best features first. For example, freestyle dribbling was revolutionary at the time and its now being looked at as the future of basketball video games almost a decade after its debut on NBA LIVE 2003. Also, the aforementioned NBA ALL STAR WEEKEND integration featured in NBA LIVE 2005 was the first time we played anything but the ALL STAR game in a basketball video game, and its still probably going to be better than the guitar hero control dunk contest yet to be featured in NBA 2K13 this year. Even having MJ as a playable character was first available (in a 3D player model) in LIVE 2001.

NBA LIVE has to get back to being the revolutionist it once was and not the distant follower it has now become. There is speculation that NBA LIVE will now only release as a downloadable game on the Xbox Marketplace and PSN. While others are quick to chastise this direction I have given it some thought and I have come to the conclusion that THIS IS THE FUTURE OF SIM SPORTS VIDEO GAMES.

Rather than have an annual release of a given franchise, why not make it a subscription through XBLM and PSN? I think they should charge $49.99 per year for NBA LIVE, which is an attractive yearly price point, and have the base product be downloaded via XBLM or PSN. Then on a monthly basis add patches and DLC to the game based on user feedback. Create the system so that anything within the game can be edited or changed in either a patch or DLC.

Then, who cares if the game sucks when it comes out? Any problems could be, and eventually would be patched away. As long as user input was directly related to patch and DLC choices it would be a monster hit. Imagine a constant flow of new animations, features, roster updates, and more every month. This would be a first for any sports game and would revolutionize sports gaming as we know it. We could have features added to the game on demand. New animations added to the game on demand. Anything deemed wrong with the game could be tweaked, fixed, or removed altogether on demand. THIS IS THE FUTURE.THIS IS THE NEXT STEP FOR THE LIVE FRANCHISE. The only thing left for NBA LIVE is to put all of its chips out on the table, and hope for a ROYAL FLUSH.

thx for reading, constructive comments and ideas welcome.

Comments

# 1 bxphenom7 @ Aug 25

I like your idea towards the end since it seems perfect for the consumer. How would publishers and devs make money though? Everything in any business is done for money.They just wouldn't allow this. Developers don't add everything they can at once into one year's game because then it would be too difficult to have a big improvement/feature to drive the following year's release. I wouldn't mind if they charged for the patches and DLC but I'm afraid they'd overprice or just ignore this idea because they would make less money (EA's mindset 24/7 is $). Developers are able to pack so much into a game that we wouldn't need a new sports game until the next gen consoles, where it would still be pretty much fine tuning and roster updates unless a developer had a genius idea. Unfortunately, they won't do this since they'll obviously lose money. We can just hope.

# 2 bxphenom7 @ Aug 25

To add, the "perfect or close to perfect" sports game would take at least 2 years to develop so they would lose money missing out on a release.

# 3 SkillzKillz719 @ Aug 25

I don't think it's the future, but certainly wishful thinking.

And I love looking back on the history of the releases to spot trends as well.

I have done this and more in depth with NCAA Football as well.
Kind of interesting when you compare them.

# 4 jordankobewade7 @ Aug 25

It would be a subscription service either monthly or yearly so they would make the same amount add an annual release..I'm sorry I didn't make that clear

# 5 RUFFNREADY @ Aug 25

@Jordan; the subscription service would be great, but at a lower cost of $30.00 to make it a bit more attractive for such an ugly looking game; but as long as the gameplay is tight, i wouldnt have a problem with the NBA LIVE series once again! Lets face it; we have been spoiled with some really awesome looking and playing games on this next gen console; and it would be a let down if the game didnt look like it belonged to that stellar looking club. Ah Snap; EA has produced some great looking games, so why can they share some of the beauty, and great gameplay mechanics?
Cheers
btw, i really liked the retro look at the NBA LIVE series.

# 6 jordankobewade7 @ Aug 25

Thx, I go way back with basketball games,I remember playing bulls vs lakers on sega, which I loved. I skipped out on early nba live entries in favor of arcady games like showtime and jam, but picked back up with live in 02, all I remember doing was trying to get on add many fastbreaks as possible just to see the outrageous number of dunks that game boasted.if I'm not actually playing Basketball, you'll probably find me on the sticks haha

# 7 Elgin2311 @ Aug 25

i Like the entry but for me its hasnt come close to Live 95. They need to address the foundation and work on the little things. Any new feature is gonna be looked at like a gimmick. I hope they get it together, its sad because I know where nba live has been.