NBA Live 2004

We have a new release for NBA Live 2004 PC today, as Roseblade13 has uploaded a 2018 season roster. It’s currently a beta release that uses default art files, but is intended to be the base for a full update project. If you feel like dusting off a classic, check it out at the link below!

Roseblade13
2017-2018 Rosters

Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and File Additions bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

Continuing to catch up on some recent additions of long-lost files, the latest batch features a bunch of mods for NBA Live 2004. From rosters to faces, to jerseys and front end artwork, enjoy these recovered patches at the links below!

EA Sports
PlayStation 2 Manual
Gamecube Manual

Jowe
2008 Atlantic Division Jerseys
2008 Central Division Jerseys
2008 Midwest Division Jerseys
2008 Pacific Division Jerseys

Karpo
And 1 Army Jersey

Tcrock
Utah Jazz 2004/2005 Jersey Patch

Lotto
Lotto’s Roster Update

Mikki
Dwyane Wade Face Patch
Udonis Haslem Face Patch
Draft Class Jerseys
Millenium All-Stars Add-On
2004 Rookie Challenge Roster
2004 All-Star Jersey Patch
Chicago Bulls Fictional Jersey Patch
Denver Nuggets Fictional Jersey Patch #1
Denver Nuggets Fictional Jersey Patch #2
Detroit Pistons Fictional Jersey Patch
Miami Heat 2004 Face Pack
Denver Nuggets 2004 Face Pack
Cartoon Front End Art

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at an old print ad and trailer for NBA Live 2004.

A few weeks ago, I was using the Wayback Machine at Archive.org to try and find a downloadable version of the official patch for NBA Live 2003. As I mentioned in a recent Friday Five feature, it’s a file that’s no longer available, and I was hoping that I could retrieve it via an archived copy of the game’s official website. Unfortunately I didn’t have any luck in that regard, but I did manage to find some old preview media for NBA Live 2004 and NBA Live 2005. Among them was a print ad featuring cover player Vince Carter, and a gameplay trailer.

NBA Live 2004 is definitely a classic, and I’m sure that long-time members of our community have many fond memories of it. Since we’re also in the thick of the preview seasons for NBA Live 18 and NBA 2K18, I thought it’d be fun to take a look back at how games used to be promoted in the lead up to their release. With that in mind, let’s take a look back…way back…

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Today’s file additions for NBA Live 2004 feature a re-upload of a classic release: Repole’s NBA Live Street mod! Download all the parts at the links below; a big thanks to ehlomint for uploading the files.

Repole
NBA Live Street Mod (Part 1)
NBA Live Street Mod (Part 2)
NBA Live Street Mod (Part 3)
NBA Live Street Mod (Jerseys)

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at some hidden content in NBA Live 2004.

Dummied out content and unused assets are hardly uncommon in all genres of video games. It usually takes the form of levels, animations, gameplay functions, and other features that were scrapped due to time constraints, dissatisfaction, or a myriad of other reasons. While such content can often be restored or otherwise put to use by modders, it’s not unusual for it to be in a mostly unfinished state. I’ve covered an example of this in a previous Wayback Wednesday article, specifically the hidden historical teams in NBA Live 08. Only the player data remained in players.dbf, and even then it was clear that it was a rough draft of a feature that was axed early on.

While I was working on an update for my 1996 season mod for NBA Live 2004, I was reminded that it was game that had a fair amount of usable hidden content. There are some interesting Easter eggs among that data, so let’s take a look back…way back…

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Our ongoing 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content isn’t just about retrospectives and feature articles. Whenever I’ve had the chance, I’ve also dusted off the old tools and whipped up some new patches for old favourites. To that end, I have a couple of new releases for NBA Live 2004 today: a new version of my 1995/1996 Season Mod, and a Hall of Fame records update.

The update for the 1996 season mod is fairly substantial, so I’ve called it v2.0. It now features final 1996 season rosters, corrections to jerseys, bodytypes, and skin tones, and some other fixes. There are a few more things I can do with the mod, so look out for another release at some point in the not too distant future. To celebrate the new release, I’ve made up a cover for the mod in the style of the original NBA Live 96 PC box art. I’m quite happy with how it turned out, so I’ve posted it below. For some reflections on the mod, check out this Wayback Wednesday feature.

As you may know, the previous award winners and champions listings in NBA Live 2004’s Hall of Fame only go back to the 1999 season. Since the data is stored in DBF files, I figured it would be simple enough to update. That turned out to be the case, and I’ve updated the records all the way back to the very first BAA/NBA season. I haven’t added all the old All-NBA, All-Defensive, and All-Rookie teams as yet as that’s a huge undertaking, but if I get the time, I might look at doing that and releasing another update.

Download the new releases here:

• 1995/1996 Season Mod
• Updated Records

I’ve also started a release and support thread here in the NBA Live 2004 section of the Forum. If I release any more work for NBA Live 2004, you can be sure I’ll post it there. Enjoy the new updates, and please see below for a few preview images, as well as the 95/96 mod cover. Stay tuned for more 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content!

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We have a new update for a classic game today, as GNGGRIZZ27 has uploaded the final version of his 2017 court pack for NBA Live 2004 PC. Download it at the link below.

GNGGRIZZ27
2016-2017 Courts (Final Version)

For more coverage of NBA Live 2004, be sure to check out my retrospective, which is part of our ongoing 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content. I’ll be picking that up again soon with a retrospective of NBA Live 06, so stay tuned!

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content.

Last week, I wrote an article talking about the lure of roster modding. As I explained in that feature, while modding in general is something I don’t do as much as I used to, there’s always the temptation to get back into it. I really did enjoy making those current roster updates for so many years, as well as the occasional special project. One such project was my 1996 season patch for NBA Live 2004, which thanks to the contributions of some of our best art modders at the time, turned out to be reasonably comprehensive…at least compared to some of my previous retro season patches.

To this day, it remains one of my favourite patches that I’ve made for NBA Live 2004, or indeed, any other game. I recently came across some old preview images of the patch in my archives, and figured it would be fun to share them, along with a few reflections on the mod. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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My NBA Live 2004 Dynasty with the Chicago Bulls remains one of my absolute favourite experiences with a basketball video game. I maintained a story thread (which you can check out here in our Hall of Fame), and played through the entire first season: every single regular season and Playoff game, on twelve minute quarters. I won the championship, then simulated through most of the second season, ultimately winning back-to-back titles.

In some respects, my NBA Live 2004 Dynasty is something of an oddity for me. I double-dipped with the PC and PlayStation 2 version of NBA Live that year, and because the PS2 version came out first, I ended up starting a Dynasty game on that platform. Even though I did spend a lot of time with the PC version of NBA Live 2004, I was so hooked on my PS2 Dynasty that it’s one of the rare times I spent as much time (if not slightly more) with the console version of NBA Live, at least when a PC version was also available.

Aside from winning 64 games and capturing the NBA championship in the first season, one of the most memorable aspects of my NBA Live 2004 Dynasty was my trade for Kevin Garnett, in a highly unlikely deal. Just for fun, and as part of our celebrations of the 20th Anniversary of NBA Live, I thought that I’d recreate my NBA Live 2004 Dynasty on the PC, and see what kind of results I got upon simulating the games. Let’s take a look!

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Episode #189 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! News is slowing down with the holiday season upon us, but Arcane and I still have a few things to talk about this week, including another exciting win in 2K Pro-Am, further thoughts on Patch 1.07 for NBA 2K17, and the passing of a broadcasting legend.

On this week’s show…

• Patch 1.07 is out now for the PC and Xbox One versions of NBA 2K17. Once again, we can’t help but remark on the difference in size between the three patches, despite them all containing the same content and fixes.
• The next eSports tournament for NBA 2K17 has officially been announced, with another $250,000 up for grabs. We’re not able to take part, but that might actually be for the best.
• In Our Week in Basketball Gaming: a clutch victory with unexpected heroics in 2K Pro-Am, and dusting off a couple of classics.
• The NBA and Players Union have come to terms on a new agreement, thankfully avoiding a lockout at the end of the season (or so it would seem).
• We wrap up Episode #189 of the NLSC Podcast with a discussion of the late Craig Sager, and some of the beautiful tributes from players, coaches, and broadcasters in the wake of his passing.

Click Play to listen to the show!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 45:23 — 22.7MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Have some thoughts on the latest episode? Sound off in the comments below, or here in the Forum. Also, if there’s a topic you’d like us to discuss on the next episode of the NLSC Podcast, feel free to hit us up in this thread.

To mark the 20th Anniversary of NBA Live, we’re posting content for every game in the series, including retrospectives, patches, countdowns, and more. Whether you’re a long-time basketball gamer who grew up with the NBA Live series and would like to take a drip down memory lane, or you’ve only recently started playing basketball games and would like to learn a little about what they used to be like, we hope that you enjoy the 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content here on the NLSC!

After NBA Live 2003 was skewed too much towards an arcade style of gameplay, NBA Live 2004 was a very welcome course correction towards being a far more realistic sim game. It was also the beginning of a very solid three year run for NBA Live on the PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox, before the series began to struggle with its transition to the next generation. NBA Live 2004 was generally well-received in its day, and remains a favourite for many long-time basketball gamers. Read on to find out how the game was a return to form for the NBA Live series.

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On the heels of yesterday’s Wayback Wednesday piece about Dynasty Cutscenes, and ahead of my next retrospective, we have a new file addition for NBA Live 2004 PC. GNGGRIZZ27 has released a new version of his 2017 season court pack for the game, which you can download at the link below.

GNGGRIZZ27
2016-2017 Courts (Updated to v2.0)

Once again, don’t forget to check out the most recent Wayback Wednesday article, and stay tuned for my full NBA Live 2004 retrospective!

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content.

The next game that I’ll be looking back on as part of our ongoing (and belated) 20th Anniversary of NBA Live celebrations is NBA Live 2004. It’s one of my all-time favourite games in the series, and a title that I know a lot of other long-time basketball gamers also remember fondly. As I’ll discuss in my forthcoming retrospective, NBA Live 2004 did a great job in correcting course after NBA Live 2003 was skewed too much towards a casual style, with more realistic gameplay and the inclusion of sliders for the first time in the NBA Live series.

If there’s one thing that most people remember about NBA Live 2004 though, it’s the cutscenes in the newly rebranded Dynasty Mode. Whereas reactions to the “Courtside Comedy” cutscenes in NBA Live 2003 were mixed at best, it seemed like most of us felt that the Dynasty Cutscenes really added to the atmosphere, bringing life to events that were taking place in the menus. Given that it’s such a memorable part of the game, I thought I’d talk a little bit about it, ahead of my full NBA Live 2004 retrospective.

Let’s take a look back…way back…

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Today we have some new file additions for NBA Live 2004, a fine game for its era and a title I’ll soon be taking a look back at for our 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content. In the meantime, GNGGRIZZ27 has released some 2016-2017 season court updates, which you can download at the links below.

GNGGRIZZ27
2016 Los Angeles Clippers Court
2016-2017 Courts

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content.

The first couple of weeks of free agency tend to be the most exciting part of the offseason. Twenty years ago, Shaquille O’Neal departed the Orlando Magic for the Los Angeles Lakers, signing one of the first $100 million dollar contracts. Six years ago, it was LeBron James’ turn to shock the basketball world, when he took his talents to South Beach. Just this week, Kevin Durant has just stirred up a mix of excitement and controversy with his announcement that he’ll join the Golden State Warriors. Of course, we’ve been able to make our own shocking signings in video games since Franchise Mode in NBA Live 2000, which became Dynasty Mode in NBA Live 2004.

Speaking of NBA Live 2004’s Dynasty Mode, it featured a couple of quirks when it came to free agency. While the mode added some nifty features that its predecessor lacked, it was afflicted by a couple of issues that did detract from the experience…or enhanced it, depending on how much you cared about realism and challenge. Thankfully, those issues were resolved in NBA Live 2005, but while we were all still playing NBA Live 2004, they were something that Dynasty gamers would consistently encounter.

Which issues am I referring to? Well, let’s take a look back…way back…

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