NBA Live 18
| NBA Live 18 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | EA Sports |
| Publisher(s) | EA Sports |
| Series | NBA Live |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 4, Xbox One |
| Release date(s) | Fall 2017 |
NBA Live 18 (stylised as NBA LIVE 18) is an upcoming NBA basketball simulation video game by EA Sports, slated for release in Fall 2017. It will be the twentieth game in the NBA Live series (not counting cancelled titles), and the fifth game in the series to be developed by EA Tiburon. It will be the direct sequel to NBA Live 16.
Background & Cancelled Titles
On May 10th 2016, Executive Producer Sean O'Brien posted another open letter on the game's official website, announcing that the next console version of NBA Live would not be released until early 2017, and instead a new version of NBA Live Mobile would be made available in the Fall of 2016. In the letter, Sean reiterated that the development team was committed to the console version of NBA Live, suggesting that the decision was simply made to allow for more development time, rather than shifting the entire focus of the series to the mobile platform. It was later confirmed that the mobile and console versions of NBA Live are developed by different teams, thus the development of one does not interfere with the other.
Although references to NBA Live 17 had previously been made, in mid January 2017, leaked artwork and a game classification decision for Electronic Arts Korea seemingly confirmed a release titled "The Drive to NBA Live" for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A description of the release identified it as a sports simulation game, and a demo for the next iteration of NBA Live. This fuelled speculation that EA Sports would be skipping NBA Live 17 altogether, and instead releasing a demo or stripped down digital-only title as a preview of NBA Live 18.
During an investor call in late January, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson confirmed that EA Sports would not be releasing an NBA Live title in early 2017 as originally planned. Wilson indicated that due to the progress that had been made on the game, the decision was made to continue development on it in order to release it as a fully-featured title in the Fall.
Development & Features
NBA Live 18 will be be a sim-oriented basketball game, which aims to realistically portray the real National Basketball Association. It will likely retain features such as Dynasty Mode, ESPN presentation, right stick dribbling controls, Rising Star, Ultimate Team, NBA Rewind, BIG Moments, LIVE Pro-Am, and other established staples of the NBA Live series.
LIVE Pro-Am is expected to receive additional venues, as on February 16th 2016, Goodman League commissioner Miles Rawls announced that Barry Farms Coliseum in Washington, DC would be included in the next NBA Live game. Rawls' post on the Goodman League website also mentioned that the Drew League and Dyckman Basketball Tournament would be represented.
On February 19th 2016, basketball skill development coach and former Harlem Globetrotter Derick Grant revealed on Twitter that he has been performing motion capture for NBA Live, Tweeting out a short clip from a recent mo-cap session.
NBA Live 18 is rumoured to be utilising the Frostbite engine, joining EA Sports' other titles in moving away from the IGNITE engine. As of April 2024, this rumour remains unconfirmed.
Links
| Previous: NBA Live 16 |
NBA Live | Next: NBA Live 19 |
