read live 2004 producer interview

[madskillziverson]

there is a new section for live 2004 where ea asks the producer questions
http://www.easports.com/games/nbalive2004/prodinterview.jsp?ncc=1NBA Live 2004

[thefunnyone]

"If you've ever watched (or heard) a broadcast with Marv and Mike, you'll know that they play off one another very well. They're constantly joking around and having fun doing what they do. This is the performance that we tried to capture. "

I just hope they won't turn it into a joke-fest like they did in NHL2002... Other than that, sounds good, but he didn't tell a whole lot...
[/b]

[DANet]

Gary Lam:
Players will have specific Freestyle Control moves depending on who they are and what position they play, as well as their relative skills and attributes.

The other thing that's new is in the "big man" Freestyle Control moves. No longer will you have Shaq or Yao Ming doing the same moves as T-Mac or Vince Carter. Shaq and Yao will hold the ball differently to take advantage of their size. They will also be much less effective with their jab steps and other Triple Threat moves. Big men will, however, have much more effective Freestyle Control moves in the post.

I like the sound of that...

Gary Lam:
And I'm sure we will hear from our very passionate fan base about not having this thing or that thing. It's not that we don't know or care. It's that we finish the game in August and there are limits in terms of what we can and cannot accomplish by then.

I think he's talking about us

[BodyBump]

yah i noticed that too

[Bill Russell]

Gary Lam: The Hardwood Classics (or throwbacks) were a huge hit for us in NBA Live 2003. We have added many more for 2004. Originally, we were planning to include some championship teams from the past. Unfortunately, due to some licensing issues there were way too many players whose rights the NBA could not secure. This would have meant not having some really important players on those championship teams. We didn't think this was good enough for our consumers so we had to make the difficult decision to focus our attention elsewhere in the product.

EA SPORTS: What other enhancements will help NBA LIVE 2004 build on the amazing success and gameplay of NBA LIVE 2003?

Gary Lam: There are way too many things to list. We don't look at each year as a minor upgrade. We try to give our consumers as much as possible. Of course, you do run out of time -- like I have now!

Very funny... Already givin' excuses...

[cocobee]

DAMN! NO Championship teams and no old school stadiums this year! This sucks--the gameplay and dynasty mode better be on point.

Does this mean that there won't be championship banners anymore?

[rudogg33]

Well the championship teams would have been nice, but if i have 2 play with the 96 bulls and no rodman than that would really suck. But this interview didnt really tell me nothing new. Basically this an nba live 2003 but improved, That dynasty better be on fuckin point. Excuse my language, I remember up until 2000 live woould improve every yr, they took a turn for the worst, its frustrating becuz sega is making great basketball games, 2 bad there passing system in 2003 sucked which is why i got live. Live needs 2 step, for there sake i hope dynasty mode is on point and only haveing 4 plays 2 choose from, that just sucks, and what happened 2 out of bounds plays.
So whats new in the game, commentary, gameplay, and freestyle moves, and dynasty, and online.
Why cant live be like madden, have yall read madden previews, they have classic teams like the montana 49ers, There dynasty mode is complete not 2 mention they added commentary 2 the draft. You can move your team and build a stadium, set prices on tickets, trade draft picks, scout players, improve docters transportation, added freestyle, special camera angles where it looks like your going 2 run the football but your passsing. And no cut scenes, during the play calling you see whats going on on the field where the plays are on the bottom, so you get the huddle experiences. Every yr madden takes the best football game and makes it a whole lot better, why cant live do that!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[benji]

DAMN! NO Championship teams and no old school stadiums this year! This sucks--the gameplay and dynasty mode better be on point.

Does this mean that there won't be championship banners anymore?

No, that would have no effect on putting up championship banners in the accurate arenas. They just can't get the license for all the players (Kareem, etc.) and so they aren't going to do the teams.

[Andrew]

That's a shame, I would have been up for a few exhibition games now and then with those classic teams. It would have made old season and all-time roster patches a little more authentic, too. Still, at least EA are not including a watered down version of the classic teams idea, with several missing players replaced by "roster players".

[Ceasar121]

If you've ever noticed in Madden, the championship teams always have a few players with the wrong number and noname. That's fine in a faceless sport, where you know who it is. But in live it would suck to have Roster Center #33(Kareem) and the player not even resemble the player(legal issues would keep the roster player from even bearing a likeness to the original). I'd rather they dropped it than have it like that... Maybe they should just include more "notable" players (Rodman, Rambis, Laimbeer, Bernard King, Xavier McDaniel), guys who weren't allstars, but were popular or important players at certain points.