How many Lives does EA plan? How good will 05 be?

[Leander]

I think I'll buy 05 but I bet there will be some bugs and lots of things that are not satisfactory. Live 2000 was really good without any major bugs but now we are waiting for 2005 to be released, expect a great game...but is has to be disappointing again, not overall but a few bugs will be in the game.

Sad but true...EA cannot release a perfect 2005 because then there will be no reason for Live 2006. When lots of modes, options etc. are included, only the graphics can slightly improve from year to year. And if 2005 was nearly perfect, EA wouldn't have a reason to release 2006, 2007, 2008 ...

How many Lives are planned, what do you think? I cannot image buying Live every year...up to Live 2020 or something.

[sixerfan03]

I usually buy every other year. And I'm sure EA will continue to produce NBA Lives until it stops making money.

[robin_528]

EA will always provide an NBA Live for us. The only reason they wouldn't, would be because the NBA is no more and that won't be happening anytime soon.

[#12]

You never know if EA shuts down NBA Live....NBA Inside Drive shut down and it was made by Microsoft

[sirdribblealot]

there is no perfect video game, of course they're gonna keep making it unless it doesn't sell...

[VlaDiv]

I think the most likely thing is that there will always be a Basketball video game. I don't see the NBA going away in our lifetime. It's too profitable. The game should stay profitable for a long time too. If ea and sega go down swinging at each other, there should always be at least one game.


Yeah it does seem like they hold stuff back, like midlevel excpetion and trade block, how hard is that? THey like to add stuff. But also, the definite thing to add year after year... the ROOKIES and the new ratings... and slowly improve graphics.

[John-John Joe]

I think I'll buy 05 but I bet there will be some bugs and lots of things that are not satisfactory. Live 2000 was really good without any major bugs but now we are waiting for 2005 to be released, expect a great game...but is has to be disappointing again, not overall but a few bugs will be in the game.

Sad but true...EA cannot release a perfect 2005 because then there will be no reason for Live 2006. When lots of modes, options etc. are included, only the graphics can slightly improve from year to year. And if 2005 was nearly perfect, EA wouldn't have a reason to release 2006, 2007, 2008 ...

How many Lives are planned, what do you think? I cannot image buying Live every year...up to Live 2020 or something.

Wussup Leander, I'm sure we all know that it is impossible to be completely satisfied with virtually any videogame. Our imagination supercedes anything that even the greatest video game developers can create. But let's look at this rationally, can any of us say that EA rested on their laurels? No way.

With each successive preview I grow more impressed with the amount of work put forth to give us, the rabid NBA Live fans what we want. Certainly, we all have our wishlists and gripes but this is the year fellas! I'd be hard pressed to think of another videogame franchise that added this many features and improvements in the span of one year. WOW.

I guess EA will continue to make games as long as we keep supporting them, who knows? Maybe one year they'll decide to drop the name "Live" and go in a different direction but I think they've become a staple of basketball gaming for fans all around the world.

[Andrew]

Judging by the previews, NBA Live 2005 looks like it will be by far the best of the series. However, it won't be "perfect" as there are still features that can be added and I'm sure some of the new features, while being good, will still have at least a little room for improvement and tweaking in future versions. And as sirdribblealot noted, there never is a perfect video game.

[Sauru]

i can only think of 3 far fetched reasons why they would stop makeing like.

1, most likly of the 3, another nba game, infact 2 more nba comes over take the masses from nba live and ea does not see it being worth while makeing it anymore. i highly doubt this is going to happen

2, EA gets bought by someone else who wants to either drop the sports department or more likly rename all of the games and possibly change how they are produced. this one i also highly doubt since EA is just about, if not, the biggest name in video games.

3,least likly of the 3, the nba descided to pull its license away from EA and sell it exclusivly to one game company. this would just be dumb.

[Bird123]

In the real world.....the perfect NBA Live (Fill in the blank with anything, but we'll use NBA Live for example) = no more profits.

What company is dumb enought to do that?? Certaintly not EA Sports. There will be flaws as sure as there are people to buy the next version to see if there are no flaws.

[Andrew]

I really don't think EA Sports or any other game developer would make a game that is intentionally sub-par as a ploy to sell more sequels, especially when there's competition.

[Bird123]

Company's cater to the desires we have and want out of thier products, and use that to make their livings. I'm not saying companies sabbotage their products, but I'm saying that companies are not stupid enough to give you everything you want either.

[Sauru]

actually perfection is something that can never be achieved anyway. even if EA did absolutly everything in our wishlist and from other peoples wish lists(alot which condrict each other btw) people would install the game and within a month they would have a new wish list even if they though the live they got could not be topped. its human nature to always want the next step, always want more.

[Steve [The Spiderman]]

Sauru said it best,

its human nature to always want the next step, always want more.

[Silky Smooth Vlade]

NBA Live will still be around by 2020, and I'll still be buying it every year . With the competition of ESPN I really don't think EA is intentionally making a sub-par game. That's what's so good about ESPN. Even though I don't enjoy playing it, they force EA to keep up the effort. As a Live fan, competition is our best friend.

[Andrew]

Company's cater to the desires we have and want out of thier products, and use that to make their livings. I'm not saying companies sabbotage their products, but I'm saying that companies are not stupid enough to give you everything you want either.

True, but limitations such as time and technology are also a factor. Take the overhauled Dynasty Mode for example. It's amazing they've crammed so much into the revamped mode within 12 months. But, as expected, some smaller details haven't made the cut this year because while they're small, they are still difficult to implement properly.

I know it might sound like I'm making excuses for them, but they really are in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation some of the time. If they implement a feature that doesn't work as well as hoped, they will be called lazy. If they can't get it right within a year and shelve the idea for the next edition, they will be called lazy.

I know you're not making these assertions, but historically (especially the last few years) the production team gets criticised no matter what they do. That's not to say we should like everything and not be critical of certain elements of the game, but there's criticism and then there's placing someone in a no-win situation, which is what I believe the production team is placed in all too often.

[Metsis]

I'll say it again... Tim and the boys took over during production of Live 2001. There was some know how lost in the transition and the knowledge of making the perfect game was lost. It takes a while to learn all the nuances of a code that has been made by another coder and when you have the pressure of adding stuff and making the game better added to the process that you are basically working on someone elses code... It's hard... Very hard. It takes a long time to do that.

They've rebuilt the dynasty system and many parts since Live 2000 and we saw some light already at the end of the tunnel in 2004 and we'll get closer to the end of the tunnel with 2005. The game will improve every year when it is under the guidance of a single production team.

When a new team comes into town, they will have a huge task of learning the old code and adding theirs as new. And hoping that they got it right. Now Tim & co have had time to re-do the basics of the game and really build on a foundation they created and that always helps the process of adding new stuff into the mix.

EA isn't trying to milk for our cash (well, sort of)... They just are trying to make the best possible game there is... Adding new parts, tweaking old functionality and doing it all extremely fast in 12 months. So it's a tough nut to swallow for them coders and the entire team. I would say they have made a commendable job at it. Even though it meant Live 2002 was never released on the PC...

Mark my words... Live this year will be better than last year... A more perfect game. But perfect is not within reach of a game ever. So forget about that... We will have a more perfect game now, since Live 2000, if not the most complete game of the entire series.

[Leander]

But by implementing great new features EA forgets about smaller issues and bugs...like all scores set to 0 on the jumbotron or the jumbotron always showing 24 seconds...or the annoying jerney numbers-bug in 03 where two or more players of the CPU-controller teams had the same number after trades or the rookie draft.

And what would be really easy and cool: EA should implement some Soundblaster-text-to-speech-program, with the voice of the EA announcers. So that ALL players would be announced and called correctly...you could create players, draft CPU-generated rookies...for example one is called John Flemingson...and with this text-to-speech-program you could enter the player's name the way the announcer pronounces it correctly. Would be possible and for me such a thing would be really cool!

[Metsis]

Try making a computer game in a year... Ask Doom 3 creators, ask Black & White creators, ask Master of Orion 3 creators how easy it is...

It's pretty darn hard to get a game out in a couple of years, let alone in one. Would you rather play each live for two years?

That's what it takes... Every time Live gets better... Some minor things are there, but they are minor... And if that gets you off the game... Bad for you. There is no such thing as a perfect game... Even in real life it's not a perfect game because two refferees are calling it... Not some all knowing computer. Think of them that way...

[alexboom]

It's not in EA's interest at all to make the best game as possible. If they can't offer nice improvements year after year, nobody would longer buy the game.

And they are also restrained by marketing necessities to make the game popular: look at this year, the best outline they offer us is the All-Star week-end, something really wanted by console public made of 12 years old youngsters, while most of NLSC users are looking for a more realistic game and a deeper franchise mode.

I hope that before 2020 a great programmer will develop a free Open Source 3D basketball game that will be updated month after month (and no longer year after year), be upgraded according to our wishes and ideas, get kickass graphics thanks to Tony, Mikki, Kevin, Jowe, cklistie & co, be roster tweaked till near death thanks to Andrew and Ben, and that will be of course better than NBA Live!

Well, I know I'm asking a bit too much, but dreaming a bit is good for health

[Leander]

"Would you rather play each live for two years?"

Yes, definitely!
I love the game and I never get bored of a game so I have no problem playing Live 2003 for 5 years. In general I am not one who always needs better graphics, better moves, better this, better that...and buys and buys and buys...

A friend of mine buys lots of games, plays them for a week, buys the next one. I don't have the money to do this and I'm also not interested in such a way of gaming. For me, a game is something special, when I buy one I play it for months and years and it doesn't get boring. I think it doesn't depend on game but on your character, what type of gamer you are.

I play Live in order to get statistics, I play only franchise mode...always NY Knicks. And see how the players delevop, write down their stats in Excel-files, spend hours of implementing the stats in HTML-code...I just love stats and watch how Kurt Thomas develops...I know it is always the same, playing and playing, same moves, same cutscenes but it doesn't get boring becausse I LOVE THIS GAME!

[VlaDiv]

Do the same people make LIVE as MADDEN, and FIFA, NHL and FIGHT NIGHT? Or are they separate groups? Because if the same people make all these dozens of games, LIVE doesn't have much time for itself.

I think it is completely in their best interest to make LIVE great. Since the bar is raising every year, every year you spend the same money on a better game. Fans will always buy new lives for the roster updates, but also the graphic improvements, and then finally the new features.

Not making live great, is like teams who lose to get the No.1 pick. I hate that more than anything else in the NBA. Play to win, always.

[50first]

i definently don't mind them dropping one every other year and just updating rosters through this site. it would be nice but with nba2k releasing every year i doubt thats a smart thing to do.

Do the same people make LIVE as MADDEN, and FIFA, NHL and FIGHT NIGHT? Or are they separate groups?

seperate teams...if one team had all that responsibilty the games would really suck. it would be like live just now reaching its ps1 form while others are getting ready for next xbox and playstation.

[VlaDiv]

Every year there is a new set of NBA players and teams, so every year there must be a new LIVE. If you want to play 03 for 5 years, you really are missing out, it's really worth 50 bucks when you consider that you play it a couple hours a day every day.

[oboeguy]

There's no such thing as a perfect game. Do you stop to wonder why there are new car models every year? Geez, why don't they just give us the perfect car? Lazy, greedy car companies! (well, they are greedy for sure...)

In all seriousness... let's not confuse developers for publishers, even though they work for the same company. I'll bet the Live team sometimes wishes it could work two years (or more!) to really get some things right, but they can't do that because of publishing demands. If EA doesn't release a game and Sega does, how does EA look? Meh, this is all obvious, you know it.

BTW, regarding text-to-speech announcing with the voices of the real announcers... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! No way man, that's NEVER going to happen. Do you have any idea of how hard a problem TTS is? Don't get me started -- I used to work for a TTS company. And to use a paritcular pair of people for a game product? Not happening. OK, if it does, I will really be amazed -- there are much better applications of TTS, and I have yet to come across them in practice, so I doubt it will show-up in a game first.