NBA Won’t Give Up On EA Sports

EA Sports’ return to the NBA video game market hasn’t gone as well as fans, and the companies involved, would’ve hoped. As of February 1, NBA Live 14 has sold just 0.15 million copies worldwide on the PS4 and Xbox One.

Still, despite the apparent shortcomings of the franchise’s return to the market, the NBA isn’t going to give up on the franchise after just one year.

“EA has been a long-standing and fantastic partner and there’s no doubt they continue to believe basketball is a way to expand their own global reach,” NBA merchandising executive Vicky Picca told GamesIndustry. “They are – notwithstanding setbacks with their NBA game – an industry leader in sports gaming. We’ve always liked the concept of giving our fans a choice with NBA games. It drives competition and innovation.”

Being four years out of the race put EA Sports far behind the 8-ball when it came to quality. And with competition coming from what many view as the best sports gaming series in NBA 2k, NBA Live is a franchise that surely has its work cut out in order for it to be a contender in the sports game market.

“It’s the fastest-selling NBA game in history this year,” Picca said about NBA Live’s rival franchise. “2K has figured out how to crack the code with savvy marketing and putting finger on the pulse of pop culture working with Michael Jordan in the past and LeBron James this year. From a technical standpoint, 2K spent a lot of time making the game look good. They did head scans for each player on each team for the next gen games, as an example.”

To read the full interview, check out GamesIndustry.

Mike’s Musings: I have hope for the future of the NBA Live series, I really do. I’ve always been one to believe that competition among sports titles makes for the best games being released. Hopefully EA Sports has truly listened to all the feedback regarding NBA Live, and will implement these changes in NBA Live 15.