Monday, September 27th, 2010 at 11:42 pm  |  57 responses

Links: EA Sports Delays Release Of NBA Elite 11

NBA Jam to release before the holidays

by Lang Whitaker | @langwhitaker

EA Sports president Peter Moore announced a few hours ago that EA will be indefinitely delaying the release of NBA Elite 11, which was set to drop next week. As Moore posted on his official blog:

We are creating a game that will introduce several breakthrough features that have been missing from the basketball genre. Unfortunately, NBA ELITE 11 is not yet ready and we have made a decision to delay next month’s launch. We are going to keep working until we’re certain we can deliver a breakthrough basketball experience.

Considering an NBA title has historically been one of EA’s major annual releases, this is huge news. It’s even more surprising nba-elite-11considering EA spent this past weekend hosting events all around New York City promoting the imminent release of the game, which was set to release next week, both to go up against 2K Sports’ NBA 2K11 and benefit from the shared buzz of two NBA games hitting the market. Now 2K11 will have the window to itself.

I played the Elite 11 demo last week when it became available for download, and while the game certainly felt like a demo — some people found some egregious errors — I found the new gameplay system to be promising, particularly using the right joystick to dribble. One knock I’ve always had against basketball video games is that too often the gamer has to be reactive to whatever the player on the screen is doing. With the new dribbling system, it was possible to be proactive while dribbling the ball, which is something that’s been missing for a while and kept both NBA titles from feeling as authentic as they could.

NBA Elite was scheduled to drop with NBA Jam bundled with it. Instead, Moore says, Jam will drop next week on the Wii, and then as a standalone game for the PS3 and Xbox before the holidays.

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  • Robbi Posted: Sep.27 at 11:51 pm
    Nice to know that they figured out they suck1

  • doppler Posted: Sep.27 at 11:53 pm
    Wow!

  • NotebookNick Posted: Sep.28 at 1:03 am
    Glad to see they’re taking the correct approach, and not launching something and then constantly patching.

  • rich Posted: Sep.28 at 1:23 am
    i dont want a game that has religious gatherings at center court

  • PlanetAsia14 Posted: Sep.28 at 1:25 am
    NBA 2K9 is probably better than this… As is 2k10, and can’t wait till 2K11, gonna be sick!

  • JTaylor21 Posted: Sep.28 at 1:47 am
    They must have figured out that using the same graphics used in sega genesis is probably outdated. They might as well just say f*ck and give up. 2K or die.

  • Ronald Posted: Sep.28 at 2:59 am
    Graphics wise Live has always been ahead of 2k. It’s always been about gameplay when comparing the two. I do agree with Lang that the new control system and the integration of te momentum engine has vastly improved Live this year. 2k still however is the top dog in NBA games especially with the well designed my player mode improving this year and getting the head of design bak from live (thank god he only went away for one year). 2k should scrap the whole release one game every year system that EAsports has been pushing theblast two decades and introduce yearly roster improvements as DLC content every year and release a well polished poducy every 2-3yeaes instead.

  • Ronald Posted: Sep.28 at 3:02 am
    *product not poducy

  • JTaylor21 Posted: Sep.28 at 3:50 am
    ^um NO, 2K has way better graphics than ea and it’s not even that close. Live’s players all look alike with the exact same body type while 2K has everyone’s body type down to size. 2K>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Live.

  • andy2.0 Posted: Sep.28 at 8:00 am
    haha The Passion Of The Bynum is hilarious although I feel bad for everyone who’s worked hard on the game.

  • Dallas Stokes Posted: Sep.28 at 8:03 am
    It’s good to know they care. whew…

  • Eboy Posted: Sep.28 at 9:06 am
    I think it’s as simple as they know they can’t match the potential sales figures that 2K11 is going to generate with the Jordan effect, so they changed their marketing scheme. It’s actually unfortunate because who wants a sports game AFTER the real season starts out.

  • Cizzo Posted: Sep.28 at 9:34 am
    Ea can push this game back all the way to cirstmas and give it away free it doesn’t matter! every since 2K DROPPED ON DREAMCAST IT’S BEEN A WRAPP FOR LIVE OR WHATEVER THEY CALL IT!

  • Cizzo Posted: Sep.28 at 9:36 am
    NBA Jams as their savior? Wow EA it’s over yall!!!!

  • Shanoooooo Posted: Sep.28 at 9:44 am
    ^ Real Talk !!! 2k has owned live since it was on Dreamcast. Now a days its not even close. Any one who likes to play Live or Elite must have never played the 2k. Live is a video game. 2K is a similation. And the dribbling with the right analog stick is not new. Its a feature thats been on live since like ’01, ’02 and it sucked.

  • Roy Posted: Sep.28 at 9:47 am
    2k all day every day!

  • MattM Posted: Sep.28 at 9:54 am
    I bought 2K9 for the PS3 after being a Live lifer since ’96 and I hated it so bad that I literally threw it in the garbage. I haven’t owned a bball game since. I was hoping to check out Elite this year but I guess I’ll just end up renting 2k11 to see if it decent.

  • Jumper Posted: Sep.28 at 10:02 am
    I’ve been a live fan since its debut in 95′ but when i bought live 09 I was pretty dissapointed with the gameplay and copped 2k9 just to see what all the fuss was about, WOW, it was amazing. I returned live09 and kept 2k9 and I’ve been 2k ever since. 2k is real basketball. I mean, the handles, the j’s the play calling (After all the patches that is, lol) Live is dead. Elite probably wont last long. And 2k is going to continue its reign of supremacy.

  • LA Huey Posted: Sep.28 at 10:16 am
    At least I get to play NBA Jam without having to buy Elite.

  • T-Money Posted: Sep.28 at 10:21 am
    You’re both right: Live does have better graphics than 2K but they always mess up the body types. The difference in size between Dwight and Bosh or Bron and Tayshaun Prince is not as pronounced as it should be. Gameplay is no contest though. All this to say that Live or Elite or whatever still sucks.

  • Royal Posted: Sep.28 at 10:21 am
    Its good that they delayed the release date ,due to the amount of problems they had on the demo.I might have to rent Elite when it comes out to see what improvements they made.

  • Hussman25 Posted: Sep.28 at 10:25 am
    2K may as well try to negotiate the NBA License and do what EA did w/ Madden. We have all played NBA Live for years and while we all (for the most part) have been loyal to EA; 2K has surpassed them. Especially w/ the fact that EA isnt releasing an NCAA March Maddness either.. EA is losing it’s grip w/ Hoops games and may as well send up the “white flag” or throw in the towel! (SN: I stopped playing live in 05… seen this demise coming.)

  • Allenp Posted: Sep.28 at 11:11 am
    Damn, EA is in trouble.

  • David -aussie in Canada Posted: Sep.28 at 11:45 am
    I hope EA does not give up on basketball. Although they are no where near 2K’s level.
    If EA gave up, that would just make 2K’s job easier and the future games will not be as great as there is simply no need to if there is no competition. So for our sake, lets hope EA gets a great game going out and makes 2K work even harder next year. Also, props to EA for waiting till problems have been fixed rather than sending it out and patching it later. We know what NBA 2K10 was like, prepatch LOL

  • Boston_Blogg3r Posted: Sep.28 at 12:10 pm
    Good. I wanted to play NBA Jam, but didn’t want to buy Live.

  • JL Posted: Sep.28 at 1:24 pm
    it’s sad when people are more excited about NBA Jam than Elite.

  • Tariq Posted: Sep.28 at 2:09 pm
    Despite this delay, I still think Pro Evolution is better than FIFA.

  • T-Money Posted: Sep.28 at 4:35 pm
    what? no way, tariq. that was true 4-5 years ago. EA put in weeerk on its soccer game.

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: Sep.28 at 5:22 pm
    Yea, I just want jam, eff live. 2k til its 3k

  • Michael NZ Posted: Sep.28 at 5:24 pm
    I gave up on Live after the mess that was the 06 version. Needless to say, I’m sticking with 2K.

  • JTaylor21 Posted: Sep.28 at 5:31 pm
    Y’all need to check this out, it’s of the MOST urgent importance. Go to youtube and type: watch?v=p0ILRWlkhu0

  • LA Huey Posted: Sep.28 at 6:10 pm
    Also, props to EA for not rushing out an unfinished product. I remember how furious I was when 2K dropped last year but was so bugged out it didn’t really function until a week after release. Elite will probably still suck.

  • str8 from samoa Posted: Sep.28 at 6:55 pm
    I KNEW THIS WAS GONNA HAPPEN. THEY KNOW THEY GOING UP AGAINST THE BEST 2K11. WHAT MORE DO U WANT FROM ELITE?HAHA IT AINT GONA SELL AS MUCH AS 2K. SO U SHOULD JUST RELEASE IT NEXT WEEK AND WILL SEE WHO STILL DA NUMBER 1 BBALL GAME HAHA

  • Kevin Posted: Sep.28 at 8:30 pm
    Elite about to get the Detox treatment (SMH at Dre)

  • BossTerry Posted: Sep.28 at 8:52 pm
    Why’d they change the name? Ive had every NBA live since 95.. from super nintendo, to 64, to playstation, to playstation II, to Xbox, now xbox 360..

  • BossTerry Posted: Sep.28 at 8:54 pm
    one good thing about the delay is they will have the rosters correct.. Whenever I got a new Live, I always spent the 1st day making sure the rosters were 100% correct..

  • BossTerry Posted: Sep.28 at 9:36 pm
    Up until 2000, fouls were a double armed shove, instead of a hugging tie-up. I used to love to turn fouls off, and run around sending players to the ground and stealing the ball..

  • Josh Posted: Sep.28 at 9:46 pm
    I never understood why people were so anti-NBA Live(Elite). I played both demos and I honestly think the graphics in Elite are so much better. I couldn’t even finish playing the demo of 2k because I literally hated looking at it. I definetly doesn’t look too good that they had all these events promoting their game and talking about a next week release however. Even still, I think I’m taking my chances with Elite this year.

  • JTaylor21 Posted: Sep.28 at 10:10 pm
    ^Well you sir FAIL at life.

  • barnabusb Posted: Sep.28 at 11:24 pm
    But has EA Sports president Peter Moore put on 15 pounds of muscle this summer? C’mon, Lang — give us the goods!

  • dma Posted: Sep.29 at 3:20 am
    i was a fan of Live until the year they had the all-star in denver (can’t remember which year it was). i rented both games and stuck with 2k and haven’t looked back since. on another note, i can’t wait for xbox kinect and if it will integrate with any existing games.

  • ManofGod131 Posted: Sep.29 at 8:38 am
    They should just scrap this game. NBA Live had it’s time and it was a great video game franchise. From Sega Genesis to PS3/XBOX 360. But 2K Sports has taken over. The excitement comes from having the sports game before the season starts. Who wants to buy a game when the season is already a few months in? EA Sports should focus on it’s football and soccer games from now on.

  • The D Train Posted: Sep.29 at 11:36 am
    IF it was a close call between the Live and 2K franchises, then getting MJ was a coup for 2K. But since 2K seems to be the favorite (admittedly did not check sales numbers) it was probably going to be a blowout anyways. I read that the release date now for Live is 3.31.11. That would be at the tail-end of the season. I agree with whoever wrote they should scrap this season and focus on 12 if that is the case. Separately, does anyone know how a lockout would affect games like Madden and the basketball games? Cuz if they cannot release them due to player union restrictions, this might be the death knell for the EA basketball series.

  • BossTerry Posted: Sep.29 at 2:12 pm
    Usually the Live games come out in october, I was thinking a delay, maybe it comes out in Nov., Dec. The end of March seems a little extreme.. Won’t sell too many copies..

  • Holy Karron Posted: Sep.29 at 4:59 pm
    man that my player mode is lookin too sick u get to pck and hear what ur player say

  • ab40 Posted: Sep.29 at 6:01 pm
    Basketball games will never be as realistic as american football, hockey and soccer games becaus the game is more difficult to learn as a sport. the nuances are far greater there are for more tactical advantages and disadvantages and it’s not that easy to read for most people.

  • thebigsix Posted: Sep.29 at 7:09 pm
    Good perspective from a long time fan. http://www.next-gen-entertainment.com/risetoafall.htm

  • stan Posted: Sep.29 at 8:32 pm
    I still have a sega game cartridge of nba live 95 in it’s box. I played live until 2003 then switched to 2k. I still hope that EA can come up with a good basketball game in the future. The only good thing that came out of this is NBA jam coming to PS3!

  • Randy Brown Posted: Sep.30 at 10:27 am
    I’ve only had 1 shot of the demo, but I couldn’t miss from 3 with Kobe. Seemed like EA have went the other way with the shooting controls, and it’s all down to you and not the on-court player. True?

  • dreny4life Posted: Oct.1 at 1:16 am
    Damn i played live up until 2010 it was horrible I switched to 2k that was the best move I ever made. R.I.p live

  • JoeMaMa Posted: Oct.1 at 9:17 am
    Video games are like trix.

  • Mvp23100 Posted: Oct.1 at 9:39 am
    I don’t understand this religious 2k following the game is not that dope live is like Nike it’s the standard and 2k defense is horrible graphics horrible also I think some people not all just want something different

  • riggs Posted: Oct.2 at 6:41 pm
    ^youre an idiot if you really think that and i bet you anything you have never played a 2k game.

  • roybot Posted: Oct.2 at 7:27 pm
    IGN has already hailed NBA 2K11 as the BEST SPORTS VIDEO GAME EVER MADE! That plus the Jordan factor and EA Sports is actually making the smartest move they ever made concerning video games. There is no way “Elite 11″ was going to stand a chance against 2k11 with 2K’s updated My Player mode, Better Presentation, An Association mode with realistic AI’s dor the rosters, and last but not least, Greatly improved gameplay, including a playcalling system that actually works this year, unlike the broken 2k10 one. “This is the sound, of throwing pennies on the ground!”

  • Stan Posted: Oct.4 at 11:26 pm
    You know what would be funny, if Bynum does the jesus stance on his first game. Maybe stand there for about 3 possessions then have Phil call a time out.

  • elite is better Posted: Oct.5 at 10:27 am
    i personally played both the games every year and for some reason 2k always seems like a lil kids game.On the other hand nba live seems better to me evry year.But i’m pissed about them pushing back their release date.

  • The D Train Posted: Oct.5 at 10:46 am
    IT’S HERE!!!

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