The NBA Live video game series from EA Sports is remembered fondly for its run from inception in 1994 through probably 2004. Since then however it has struggled mightily, with competitor 2K Sports gaining ground in sales and then surging ahead and taking its NBA 2K franchise to heights no one believed possible for basketball games.
The last six years have been especially tough on NBA Live. A reboot of the series, titled NBA Elite 11, was so bad it had to be canceled at the last minute even though copies had already started to be manufactured. To wash that away the NBA Live name was returned, the series moved from the EA Canada studio to EA Tiburon, and a year was taken off to try and regain its footing. The result: NBA Live 13 also was canceled deep into its development.
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The series finally relaunched with NBA Live 14 on the new generation of consoles. It was a tremendous failure and caused the few who decided to give it a chance to essentially abandon the franchise for good. Sales for NBA Live 15 and NBA Live 16 have been shockingly low, accounting for only about 1 percent of the basketball video game market. Live 16 sold around 8,000 copies last September which is hard to fathom, compared to NBA 2K16 moving more than 1 million copies during the same stretch.
So it's no surprise that something dramatic would need to be done with the NBA Live series. Whether that be flat out cancellation or a pivot to something like the free-to-play model a change was inevitable.
In breaking the news Tuesday, it appears to be the latter of the two options may be what the company has in mind. The next NBA Live has been delayed to 2017 (January-March window) and the year may have been dropped off the title. That could be a sign of a pivot to free-to-play, given that some of their mobile FTP offerings which include NBA Live Mobile and Madden NFL Mobile don't carry a yearly designation either.
EA has since released a comment confirming NBA Live's delay and stated its focus for this year is instead on NBA Live Mobile. That game actually is surprisingly good but for some reason has still yet to roll out beyond the Canadian iOS and Android stores.
NBA Live 16 was in some sense already dipping its toes in free-to-play. EA Access subscribers on Xbox One got 10 hours with the game and later this month it'll join the service's "Vault" of games that are included with subscription. Beyond that there was an expansive demo which included its new online Pro-Am mode. That allowed people to play as much as they wanted (just with a ratings cap for the created characters) and to participate within the same online player pool that included those who actually owned the complete game.
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While a delayed release will move NBA Live away from NBA 2K17, where it would have been obliterated again this fall, there's no evidence that in itself will do it much good. Basketball fans would essentially be asked to buy a second game or invest in digital purchases at a time when 2K17 will still be very relevant. Considering there's zero confidence in the NBA Live brand, that is a losing proposition.
If there's something innovative about Live however that 2K doesn't offer with its product, or if it were to go with the free-to-play type model, then maybe EA can draw some consumers back in but it's still going to be an uphill battle. It's fair to question whether NBA Live ever returns with a new release on consoles, and even if it does the form it'll take may be foreign to those accustomed to the traditional licensed sports video game on consoles.
Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, has co-founded the site HitThePass.com, hosts the Press Row Podcast, and be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.