NBA Live 13

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at the fall of NBA Live 13, and its lasting impact on the NBA Live series.

When I covered NBA Elite 11 and NBA Live 13 for our 25th Anniversary of NBA Live content, it wasn’t the easiest article to write. Not only was it delving into major low points for the series in the midst of celebrating a milestone, but it’s talking about games that didn’t come out and most of us have never played, apart from the NBA Elite 11 demo. Of course, the full version of NBA Elite 11 has since leaked online, which has given gamers the opportunity to play it via emulation. There are some mixed opinions, but the general consensus is that it’s on par with the demo.

To that end, there’s a reasonably clear picture of NBA Elite 11: a full preview season, a widely-panned demo, leaked copies in the wild that people got their hands on, and a ripped version that finally gave more gamers a hands-on look. Conversely, NBA Live 13 remains more of a mystery. The previews were mostly vague about details before they stopped, and not much else has been revealed about the cancelled game except that it wasn’t close to being good enough. Still, despite being canned, NBA Live 13 had a lasting impact on the series and community. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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To mark the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live, we’re taking a look back at every game in the series with retrospectives and other fun content! This also includes re-running some features from our 20th Anniversary celebrations, with a few revisions. Whether you’re a long-time basketball gamer who grew up with NBA Live and are keen on taking a trip down memory lane, or you’re new to the series and want to learn about its history, we hope that you enjoy celebrating the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live here at the NLSC! Next up is a look back at NBA Elite 11 and NBA Live 13.

I was originally going to write separate articles for NBA Elite 11 and NBA Live 13, but they’re obviously closely connected, being back-to-back cancellations. Since I haven’t played the full version of NBA Elite 11, and have no hands-on experience with NBA Live 13 at all, it occurred to me that there isn’t really enough I can say about both games to fill two articles. Nevertheless, when we look back at the history of the NBA Live series, it’s important to cover these two titles. Needless to say, they played a significant role in the series being in the position that it’s in today. As such, there are cautionary tales to reflect upon, as well as a couple of “What Ifs”.

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Welcome to Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! This is a feature where 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.

It’s been revealed that NBA Live 17 won’t be shipping in the Fall of 2016 as expected, as a new console version of NBA Live will instead be dropping in early 2017. Naturally, this has led to disappointment and speculation that the series will be moving in a completely new direction, abandoning the AAA model in favour of being a mobile-only game. At this point, those of us who are interested in seeing NBA Live improve and succeed are anxious to hear more concrete details about the future of the series.

NBA Live’s hardships and setbacks over the past six years are well-documented. They include the cancellation of NBA Elite 11 and NBA Live 13, poor reception of NBA Live 14, and a postponed release for NBA Live 15, to say nothing of Metacritic scores. As we find ourselves in familiar territory, I’ve dug into the archives and found an article that I wrote about the future of the series back in April 2011, when we discovered the series would attempt a relaunch with a game that would eventually be the cancelled NBA Live 13. As with previous articles I’ve revisited, I’m presenting it as-is (aside from a couple of images), and following it up with some commentary.

So, what was my take back then, and have my thoughts changed? Well, let’s take a look back…way back…

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The official NBA Live website has been updated for the first since the cancellation of NBA Live 13 was announced last year, with a simple message of “More Details Coming Soon”. All preview media and articles concerning NBA Live 13 have been removed, including the cancellation announcement which was originally posted here.

NBA Live 14 has not yet been officially announced and is not currently being advertised for EA’s presentations at E3, however the cancellation announcement alluded to a return in 2013 and the placeholder changes to the official website suggest that EA are gearing up for a return in the not too distant future. We will of course continue to cover the situation and post any information as it’s revealed, but for now feel free to speculate in the comments below and discuss the future of the NBA Live series in the NBA Live 14 section of the NLSC Forum.

NBA Live Developer and former Advisory Council member and professional basketball player Scott O’Gallagher was recently profiled in the Orlando Sentinel. The article details Scott’s background and professional basketball career, as well as his involvement with EA Tiburon through the Advisory Council and his eventual hiring as a member of the Development Team. It also contains quotes from Scott on his new dream job, as well as praise for his work from Katherine Coulhart, Communications Manager for EA Sports.

Thanks to 22cedric for the heads up here in the NLSC Forum. How many of you out there currently aspire to work in the gaming industry, either developing a basketball title or another game? Let us know and have your say on the Orlando Sentinel article in the comments below.

After a longer than intended hiatus, the NLSC Podcast is back! This week, Leftos and I are your hosts as we discuss several impressions of NBA 2K13, our thoughts on the cancellation of NBA Live 13 (yes, it’s been a while since the last podcast!), the outstanding work of our modding community and the first few weeks of the 2012/2013 NBA season. Topics include:

• What we think of NBA 2K13 so far; how are we enjoying it compared to previous games?
• We give a rundown of the best and worst this year’s game has to offer
• Several features are missing from the PC version, we discuss which omissions bother us the most
• Bugs are bemoaned before bringing it back to more positive thoughts
• We react to the cancellation of NBA Live 13 and discuss whether it was the right way to go
• Will NBA Live return next year, or will they wait for next gen? What should EA do?
• We ponder whether there’ll be an audience for the game after its recent troubles
• The NBA season is discussed. How about those Knicks?

Click the Play button to listen to the show!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:34:11 — 46.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

This week’s episode is a bit longer than usual owing to the fact we’ve been on hiatus for so long, but we hope you’ll enjoy it. We hope to have future episodes out on a regular basis, which means they’ll likely run shorter as we won’t have as much discussion to catch up on. Please feel free to add your thoughts on the latest episode in the comments below as well as this thread in the NLSC Hub, and don’t forget to give us your answer for Question of the Week!

The cancellation of NBA Live 13 has raised several questions about the future of the NBA Live series. As it stands, EA Sports are currently looking to continue to build upon the game as they eye a comeback next year with NBA Live 14 and as such, they are looking for fan feedback. Two members of the NBA Live Development Team, Postgame and OGSPORTS, have been interacting with us in the NLSC Forum and soliciting feedback in a variety of areas.

We invite anyone willing to give constructive feedback to join in these discussions, as this is a great opportunity for our voices to be heard. Keep your eye on this thread and check out Postgame’s insights here in the thread discussing the cancellation of the game. At their suggestion, we’re also compiling top ten lists of things we want to see in each area of the game. Hopefully we can have a positive impact on the future of the series so please be civil, be constructive and get involved!

It’s been a rough few months for NBA Live 13 following its presentation at E3 2012, leading to an earlier announcement that the game would not be released on October 2nd. Today, EA Sports have officially announced that NBA Live 13 has been cancelled, with an eye to continuing to build upon the game and release NBA Live 14 next year. EA Sports Executive Vice President Andrew Wilson commented:

I’m disappointed that we have not yet met our high expectations with NBA LIVE, but I remain motivated about where we’re going. We’re committed to delivering new innovation in online, and our progress in the visual presentation of the game continues to take big strides. We also know that a great game starts with great gameplay, and this remains a huge priority for us.

As always, feel free to have your say in the comments below. You can also join in the discussion in this thread in the NLSC Forum.

Kotaku has posted an article on the intros in EA Sports games in which they talk about Troika, the LA-based consultancy and creative agency that is responsible for the “bootflow” videos that we see whenever we fire up an EA Sports title. The article includes the bootflow videos from a few of EA Sports’ latest titles, including NBA Live 13.

Watch the NBA Live 13 bootflow video below or catch it here on our YouTube channel if you’re having trouble viewing it embedded in this post. What do you think of it? Sound off in the comments below and in this thread in the NBA Live 13 section of the Forum. Be sure to check out our YouTube channel or browse our game portals for the intros of past NBA Live and NBA 2K games.

Today we’re bringing you a special episode of the NLSC Podcast, with special guest Da_Czar along with Leftos and Pdub. Topics of discussion include:

• Da_Czar’s motivations for starting SimNation and his experiences with it so far
• Getting involved in the development of basketball games
• Features in NBA 2K13
• Has 2K gone too casual, or does it still cater to hardcore sim fans?
• Thoughts on NBA Live 13 so far
• How can NBA Live redeem itself?
• What needs to happen to take basketball gaming to the next level
• Thoughts on the modding community
• And more!

We feel you are really going to enjoy this episode, so go ahead and click that Play button!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:38:00 — 75.7MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

A huge thanks once again to Da_Czar for joining us for this special episode. Don’t forget to check out the Sim Citi blog and tune in to Czar’s SimNation Radio every week for more great discussion and sports video game coverage! Feel free to post your thoughts on the episode in the comments below, as well as this thread in our new NLSC Hub section.

If you’ve connected with us on Twitter and Facebook, you may have seen us drop a not too subtle hint about a special bonus episode of the NLSC Podcast this week featuring a special guest. That guest is none other than Da_Czar, the President of SimNation! As most of you are probably aware, Czar’s Sim Citi blog can be found here and he also has a long running weekly show, SimNation Radio, which our own Leftos has recently been taking part in.

The episode features Pdub and Leftos interviewing Czar on a multitude of topics, as the three of them discuss NBA Live 13, NBA 2K13, the modding community and more. You’ll definitely want to give it a listen, so be on the lookout for it to be posted within the next day or so. Don’t forget that you can discuss and respond to all of our podcasts in the NLSC Hub section of the Forum.

The NLSC Podcast is back again this week to discuss all that’s been going on. Pdub, JaoSming and Leftos go through:

• The official NBA Live 13 trailer
• The news that NBA Live 13 won’t be released early October
• What Live 13 can do to become a viable alternative
• NBA 2K13 adding just one retro team to the roster compared to last year
• Its (lack of?) updates in Offline Association
• EA’s recent job listings and what that could mean for the future of the Live franchise
• The possibility of 2K having hired a new Senior Online Producer, and whether that could lead into a proper online experience
• Being able to earn 2K13’s Virtual Currency in any mode, and whether that would lead to “cheating” in MyCAREER
• The official and olympic NBA 2K 13 trailers, and whether 2K will ever be able to fully simulate the style of basketball of the good ol’ days
• The second Question of the Week, and it’s a two-fold one!

Click the Play button to listen to the show!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:03:30 — 50.9MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Just FYI, the podcast was recorded yesterday, before the 2K13 demo announcement and the confirmation of Crew not being in this year. Don’t forget to give us your comments on this week’s episode, as well as your answer to the Question of the Week, in the comment section below, and the Podcast thread in the Forum. Remember, the Question of the Week is your chance to get fame and lots of money! Well, okay, maybe not.

A second podcast, a very special one actually, will be coming out this week, so keep on the look-out. And of course, we’ll be back next week as well with all the news.

It can’t have escaped anyone’s attention that NBA Live 13 news has been scarce since E3, with the most recent developments being the release of the first official trailer and confirmation that the game isn’t slated for release on October 2nd, both coming last week. Since there has been much speculation about the game’s status, I thought that I’d reiterate that as far as we know, the game is not cancelled and will be released at some point, though the actual release date remains unknown at this time.

As far as the future of the series is concerned, recent job listings on EA’s website are advertising a handful of positions on the NBA Live Development Team at EA Tiburon. This would seem to suggest that EA is intending to continue the series next year with NBA Live 14 despite speculation of its demise, which has come about as a result of the uncertainty caused by the lack of information and negative reactions to the preview media seen so far, both leaked and officially released. Look out for more discussion on this in the next episode of our Podcast, which will be out very soon.

Finally, Leftos has noted a Tweet from Ronnie 2K mentioning that “affiliations to other games” are preventing 2K Sports from revealing overall ratings for certain players as part of the hype for NBA 2K13. LeBron James and Deron Williams are two notable stars whose ratings have not been mentioned in 2K’s updates, with Williams appearing on the cover of Majesco’s NBA Baller Beats. This may suggest that LeBron James does indeed have some involvement with NBA Live 13, as heavily rumoured.

That’s about all we know at the moment, hopefully it clears up a few questions I’ve been seeing. Right now there’s more speculation and rumours than there are facts, but we’ll be doing our best to bring everyone concrete info as soon as we can get it. In the meantime, feel free to continue the discussion in the comments below, as well as in the NBA Live 13 section of the NLSC Forum.

Kotaku’s latest article on NBA Live 13 confirms that the game will miss the October 2nd release date, which is the same date NBA 2K13 will be released. An EA Sports spokesman refused to comment on the rumors of an XBLA and PSN release, provide a general timeframe for when the game will be finished or the features the finished game will have.

The team is making steady progress, and we’re continuing our work on NBA Live…We remain focused on rebuilding this franchise for the future…our plan is to release at a later date. We will share more information in the future.

As always, we have discussion going on in the Forum, but feel free to comment here on the main page as well.

EA Sports has released the first look trailer for NBA Live 13. The trailer shows off some of the animations and graphics from the game, but does not reveal a release date, cover athlete, or available platforms for when the game is released. The crowd shown in the video does reveal the return of playoff crowds and atmosphere in the game.

Check out the first look trailer below, or watch it here over on our YouTube channel if you can’t see the embedded video. Feel free to share your thoughts on the trailer in the Forum, as well as in the comments below.