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NBA Live EP apologizes for existence of game (gonna keep selling it for $60 though!)

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http://www.easports.com/nba-live/news-updates-gameplay/article/nba-live-14-open-letter

I’m not going to lie; it’s been a rough week. As you can imagine, this isn’t exactly the NBA LIVE comeback story we were hoping for this year.

We hear loud and clear that some of you are disappointed in various aspects of NBA LIVE 14, and I’m sorry if the game doesn’t live up to your expectations. Looking at your feedback, we have laid out a plan to make NBA LIVE 14 a better game as quickly as we can.

First, you’ve told us that the game is too hard to learn, and that the only way to figure it out is through frustrating trial-and-error. As a result, we are working on improving the way the game teaches the controls and on-boards new users. We realize that every single one of you is a new user and know we need to make the game easier to understand and simpler to pick up and play.

We’re also conducting an ongoing series of Twitch Live Streams to teach the skills that will help make your game experience a better one. We have our producers and designers online seven days a week to answer your questions and to offer other helpful game advice. Additionally, we’ve posted Controller Guide, Perfecting Your Style and Levels of the Dribble blogs on the NBA LIVE website which we hope will help you with basic offense, defense, play calling and more.

We’re not going to stop there. You’ve also let us know that you’re disappointed by the graphics and animations, and I can tell you that we are committed to making drastic and immediate improvements. In order to get gameplay up and running this year we had to prioritize. We felt authentic gameplay, control and the connected experience would provide the best foundation for the future. As a result, game visuals and animation polish suffered. Improvements on these fronts are also in development now for NBA LIVE 14. You will notice in the coming weeks and months that the game’s visuals and animation will improve significantly.

A goal from the start was to stay relevant to the ongoing NBA season and evolve your gaming experience. We’ve been hearing that you love LIVE Season, and many of you are having a lot of fun with BIG Moments. We’re really glad to hear you’re enjoying the mode, and rest assured we will continue updating LIVE Season with new BIG Moments and NBA Rewind games every single day of the season. We’ve also gotten a lot of great feedback on LIVE Ultimate Team, and we’ve still got some big announcements and major additions coming down the road, so stick around for that.

Let me wrap up with this; for those of you who have supported us throughout this development cycle and continue to have our backs now, thank you. We’ve got a lot of work to do; I’ve got a lot of work to do. It started 12 months ago, and continues until we build this franchise bigger and better than it ever was. This is just the first chapter in the NBA LIVE comeback story.

Honestly, when your game is so bad that you need to put out a statement like this a week after launch, why even release it in the first place? Why sell it at the price point they did, and then continue to do so? While it's... interesting that they're promising to make improvements over the course of the next year, they should have had the dignity/respect for their consumers to pull it from shelves or hold off on releasing it in the interim.

EA, folks.
 

8bitDevil

Banned
Okay, that's great. Are they going to do the same thing for Madden now, too?

I'd like to see how they're going to improve the graphics, because their games look almost 2 generations behind what 2K is doing. I don't see them closing the gap in any significant way with a patch.
 
I don't care about the statements. They know that some sucker consumers will still buy this game. Profit? Probably not.

The writing was on the wall before the game even came out. That's what truly disappoints me.
 
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http://www.easports.com/nba-live/news-updates-gameplay/article/nba-live-14-open-letter



Honestly, when your game is so bad that you need to put out a statement like this a week after launch, why even release it in the first place? Why sell it at the price point they did, and then continue to do so? While it's... interesting that they're promising to make improvements over the course of the next year, they should have had the dignity/respect for their consumers to pull it from shelves or hold off on releasing it in the interim.

EA, folks.

Because they've already scrapped a basketball game twice in the last 4 years or so, this was in development for multiple platforms and it's just not worth losing more money. Ight as well just get it out there and see how it goes.

It's shitty, but that's just business.

Honestly they should just drop the NBA games though. They just can't match up to what 2K is doing.
 

Amir0x

Banned
this is like a comeback story in which the individual trying to comeback keeps getting knocked down the stairs repeatedly and yet occasionally makes progress of one stair per year, only to die before he actually reaches the top of the stair case. From old age.
 

baphomet

Member
Well at least they came out in front of it saying they know there are problems with the game. Now if they fix them that will be something. Although nothing can fix those ass graphics.

I really do think theyre working hard to not be the worst company in the states again.
 

FHIZ

Member
I don't play basketball games, I just know the reputation, but was there really anyone holding out on this to be the NBA game, rather than 2k14? I mean, from what I can gather, the NBA2k series is to NBA Live what MLB The Show is to MLB2k (which isn't a thing anymore?) I'm just confused as to why anyone would care.

Also, someone speaking this flat out about how shit the game turned out is kind of weird, no? You'd think there'd be some "It's not THAT bad" PR spin.
 
Because they've already scrapped a basketball game twice in the last 4 years or so, this was in development for multiple platforms and it's just not worth losing more money. Ight as well just get it out there and see how it goes.

It's shitty, but that's just business.

Honestly they should just drop the NBA games though. They just can't match up to what 2K is doing.

I would argue that it's BAD business, if they have any long term hopes for the franchise. As bad as the franchise's rep was before, this is really going to be the final nail in the coffin. Unless their licence with the league is going to expire soon and this is the last one they're planning on putting out, all they've done is destroy any future earnings potential that the franchise could have had.
 

dreamfall

Member
A goal from the start was to stay relevant to the ongoing NBA season and evolve your gaming experience. We’ve been hearing that you love LIVE Season, and many of you are having a lot of fun with BIG Moments. We’re really glad to hear you’re enjoying the mode, and rest assured we will continue updating LIVE Season with new BIG Moments and NBA Rewind games every single day of the season.

This is a really neat feature. Their menu system is much better than 2K's.

But whoa, that game is terrible. I feel bad for them- this Sim Angle just doesn't seem to be working out.

Maybe it's time- let's go back to Street.
 

a916

Member
You’ve also let us know that you’re disappointed by the graphics and animations, and I can tell you that we are committed to making drastic and immediate improvements. In order to get gameplay up and running this year we had to prioritize. We felt authentic gameplay, control and the connected experience would provide the best foundation for the future

Anyone who didn't think otherwise was fooling themselves... great to see this kind of candid reaction to the game. Hopefully this translates into a better offering and gamers have two great NBA titles to choose from.
 
Because they've already scrapped a basketball game twice in the last 4 years or so, this was in development for multiple platforms and it's just not worth losing more money. Ight as well just get it out there and see how it goes.

It's shitty, but that's just business.

Honestly they should just drop the NBA games though. They just can't match up to what 2K is doing.

People were expecting something and now they're met with disappointment again. It's not going to help in the long run.
They should have waited another year because now things even got worse.
 

GameSeeker

Member
NBA DOA 14.

EA never learns. If EA had any sense at all, they would skip NBA Live 15 and give the team 2 years to make the fixes necessary to compete with NBA 2K. But EA doesn't have any sense, so they will make a few minor tweaks, add more coats of paint to the old tired creaky game engine and call it NBA Live 15 and try and scam a few more customers out of $60.
 
NBA DOA 14.

EA never learns. If EA had any sense at all, they would skip NBA Live 15 and give the team 2 years to make the fixes necessary to compete with NBA 2K. But EA doesn't have any sense, so they will make a few minor tweaks, add more coats of paint to the old tired creaky game engine and call it NBA Live 15 and try and scam a few more customers out of $60.

That this is exactly what they tried to do with NBA Live for the last two years. At this point, they just can't compete and should consider going a completely different direction.

They should drop the sim and bring this back
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This.. and just to add to it further. Call it NBA Street Summer League and have it celebrate summer league basketball with NBA players in an arcade setting. Release the game to coincide either with the end of the NBA playoffs or at the time of the NBA draft. That way you avoid competing head to head with 2K for a bit.
 
I don't play basketball games, I just know the reputation, but was there really anyone holding out on this to be the NBA game, rather than 2k14? I mean, from what I can gather, the NBA2k series is to NBA Live what MLB The Show is to MLB2k (which isn't a thing anymore?) I'm just confused as to why anyone would care.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure MLB 2Kn is dead.
 

8bitDevil

Banned
They don't care about fixing their other games because A) they still sell and B) it's not like we've got other NFL/NHL/FIFA games we can buy.

Then lets keep our fingers crossed that HHG rumor about 2K doing scans of NFL Players turns out to be true. Madden has been garbage for almost a decade now.

The only sport EA seems to have a good grip on is the NHL. And after seeing these "next-gen" EA Sports titles, I'm starting to have my doubts about the future of that series as well.

No excuse for a company the size of EA to be half-assing their marquee titles like this.
 
Maybe they should take the old 2K route and sell it for $30-40 until it's good enough to compete.

Oh who am I kidding, this is EA.
 

fiore

Banned
d70.jpg


http://www.easports.com/nba-live/news-updates-gameplay/article/nba-live-14-open-letter



Honestly, when your game is so bad that you need to put out a statement like this a week after launch, why even release it in the first place? Why sell it at the price point they did, and then continue to do so? While it's... interesting that they're promising to make improvements over the course of the next year, they should have had the dignity/respect for their consumers to pull it from shelves or hold off on releasing it in the interim.

EA, folks.
Srsly why do they say authentic gameplay?
 

DietRob

i've been begging for over 5 years.
I'm more surprised that people bought this than I am at the EP apologizing for it.
 

dreamfall

Member
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So I just read that again.

It's not that the game is too hard to learn- hell, I've seen some ridiculous blocks from players I never imagined had the capability. No, it's that it's horribly uneven. Some of the shots that do go in are just bewildering- open looks bricking like madness. And the single straight up dunk animation- I don't know.

Back to the drawing board. Andrew Wilson, if you're out there, Arcade focus. Arcade!
 

SpecX

Member
Too hard to learn? Word?

Lol...

I played the demo and couldn't figure out how to shoot free throws. There's a red circle under the character and if you press the button it fills to white. No matter what I do, I can't make the basket on a free throw and can't figure out how.
 
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