Thursday, August 13th, 2009 at 3:35 pm  |  127 responses

Exclusive Video: NBA Live 10

This year, it’s really in the game…

by Lang Whitaker

One of my beefs with basketball video games has always been that while the companies get most of it correct, they rarely get all the details right. The tattoos, the shoes, the uniforms…that stuff matters, to me and, I’m sure, to other hoop heads out there, too.

When our friends from EA Sports came by the SLAM Dome recently to show off NBA Live 10, I mentioned my concerns to them before they even fired up the game. Then they pressed play and…well, it was all in there. I mean, everything.

EA sent along this exclusive video for us to share…and finally, it’s in the game.

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  • I LOVE 2K

    I mean 2k is gonna have those same sneakers tattoos and all!! 2k is just the better more fun(realistic)game! like i said in my other comment i play 2k9 everyday and eveytime i play it i see something new with nba live its just the same thing!! players in 2k have they’re own signature moves everyone in nba live does the same things!! i think 2k just cares more about the nba game than the people who create nba live! P.S. why does the crowd still look like garbage??

  • 6marjon

    i thought 2k gameplay was better in 09 but the features were crap

  • iamse7en

    Who cares about all the throwbacks, shoes, tattoos and pre-game rituals – the game play is not nearly as good as the 2K series.

    See all the game ratings and reviews, they echo the same thing. I’ve given up on the NBA Live Series.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    I liked how 2K9 had the special, unique releases to almost all of its players. It had Lil’ Nate’s high jumping slingy smooth shot, it had Ray Allen’s silky smooth jumper, it had Barbosa’s awkward chest shot, it had everything. And on free throws/jump shots the different timings of release you had to have for each player was so realistic!

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    And 21 was an awesome additional feature. So fun, it felt like playing three-way 21 with your friends in the park.

  • I LOVE 2K

    iamse7en

    who cares? everyone cares you idiot thats what makes the game realistic!! If you’re not trying to make the game as realistic as possible then what are you wasting your time making them for??? thats what 2k does so well like madden is doing now taking everything you see in a real televised game and putting that into the game(authenticity,realism)is the key people!!

  • http://antwonomous.blogspot.com Antwonomous

    Impressive…but it still can’t touch the 2K series…Gameplay is the key to a basketball game, and 2K has always had a clear edge in that department…even looked better to me…Live is more popular because the majority of people who play don’t care about realism, they just want to have fun playing…it’s style over substance.

  • slamfan4life

    2k has had most of this sh!t, i might cop live but def not b4 2k

  • adiktus888

    capitaL W O W…. Looks damn amazing, I never expected this from Live series. Best Nba game ive EVER seen since 2k8.. The Pre game and the authenthic kicks just MURDER it.. Time to pre order! Im Glad ive made that switched from 2k9 to NBA Live 10 this year… EA sports good job!!! Keep it up..

  • adiktus888

    EA sports good f**king Job @ NBA live 10…
    Looks like 2k got competition this year!!!
    “What comes up MUST come down!”

  • larrylegend

    live looking sick, but you play games…2k all the way

  • yo son

    man madden needs to do this

  • http://www.facebook.com/sesa.opas Sesa

    JE is an EA Sports interactive

  • http://www.facebook.com/sesa.opas Sesa

    JE is an EA Sports rep

  • http://www.slamonline.com 24 Karat Gold

    Gameplay looks the same as in past years. Eh, guess i’ll get it.

  • Joe A

    I’ll probably be coppin’ 2k10, but I can’t front; I got pretty excited when I saw someone wearing converse weapons in that video.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    It looks great. But so did the last four or five NBA Live games. Gameplay-wise? NBA Live was great for an entire decade. I still have NBA Live 2003 installed in my laptop and revisit it every time I need a basketball fix. But after 2004 it really went down the drain. EA’s advent of gameplay sliders gave them the excuse of releasing an incredibly unbalanced game. Mind bogglingly so. I think in NBA Live 2005 it was literally IMPOSSIBLE to run a fast break since players were unable to catch an outlet pass in stride, and instead did a slow-mo jump stop every time they caught the ball – UNTHINKABLE since 2005 was the height of the Suns-led small ball revolution.

  • onions baby onions

    2K and live had each had their years and i honestly have no idea which one will come out on top in terms of gameplay this year. However its weird cuz i can’t help but feel like live (ea) has the resources to put out something that would straight up kill 2K, it just never seems to happen.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    EA Sports *has* the ability to make great games, mind you. Look at the other sports. Despite a lack of competition in boxing games, EA’s Fight Night series has improved year after year (with the exception of Round 4). Their FIFA series has always lagged light years behind the Japanese Winning Eleven games, but they’re definitely catching up over the last few years. Madden is apparently the definitive football game. Yet why is NBA Live’s gameplay worsening with every year?

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    Seriously, anyone play Winning Eleven / Pro Evo Soccer here? That is the gold standard of sports games, in terms of gameplay nuances. The sheer volume of one-on-one moves, and the fact that they are effective, balanced and not just for show, is one thing. Even a simple thing like passing the ball in Winning Eleven has so much depth to it, since you have pin-point control over the pass’ *recipient*, and can decide where your player receives the ball and how he’ll face the opponent when he gains control. Compare this to NBA Live, where as recently as 4 years ago it was impossible to *not* come to a COMPLETE STOP every time you caught the ball on the break… and it’s a real embarrassment.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    I’m actually really glad – and impressed – to see that regulars on this site (Teddy, Zee, Allenp, Michael NZ, Spaceship J, etc.) “get” the fact that the 2K series is just so much better than NBA Live right now, because EA has become so infatuated with shoes and licensing and Slam Dunk competitions and all the bells and whistles that they’ve entirely forgotten that hard core fans (i.e. people like us) want to actually play the game.

  • dezzz1

    all 2k fun please stop being ignorant because it makes you guys look slow no offense. but really look at lives gameplay they have changed a lot and adding those 500 new sneakers and jerseys and pregame routine adds more thing to the game and adding hustle plays we all know 2k already had that and live are tryin to get it right with basketball. I don’t even care if they don’t beat 2k all i care for is them gettin a better ratings than last year THANK U LIVE. LIVE REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY IS BACK.

  • teebone21

    why are all these 2k fanboys posting about a live video. are you guys the ones i see online trying to make every one of your points in the paint in a ranked game? is that what makes 2k9 fun? Sorry kids but 2k9 isnt realistic at all but its fun to kids who perfer to dunk all game as opposed to actually playing real basketball. Live has a new development team and yet you idiots keep saying 2k is better? wtf is that? this is a new year, a new era and you guys need to get off your asses and enjoy the spirit of competition

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    NBA Live doesn’t suck. In fact for a decade were dominant. 95 and 96 continue to be timeless classics. 97 and 98′s 3-d graphics were cutting edge at the time. And 2000 remains, imho, the most balanced basketball simulation ever made. 2003 and 2004 were near perfect. NBA Live franchise doesn’t suck – it’s the experienced, talented veteran team which has inexplicably blown a 20-point lead to a younger, hungrier opponent. Time will tell, of course, if NBA 2010 sets things right. I’m really hoping it does.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    And for the record, anybody who makes a blunt claim that anyone who remotely disagrees that NBA Live is teh kewl is a “fanboy” or “bias 2K employee” either 1.) is cerebrally diminutive, 2.) has never played an NBA Live game prior to 2006, 3.) has never dribbled a basketball in his or her life, 4.) is someone who, the odds are, has never previously posted a comment on this site, or 5.) is all of the above.

  • http://www.stonesthrow.com/madlib Michael NZ

    Joel O’s is right: for me, 1995 and then 2000 remain the benchmark(s).

  • http://www.slamonline.com melvin ely

    NBA live 2004 frustated me to no end joel. That was the only game where I could be open for a layup and throw up one of those two-handed WNBA flings at the front end of the rim

  • http://www.basketbrasil.com.br Rubens Borges

    How is the post play in 2K series? If it’s good Im changin

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    One complaint I have with all basketball games is 1-on-1, man-to-man defense. Its tough to stick with your man when you shuffle side-to-side because it sort of always moves the player too much, or it somehow makes you “slippery” and your man can get by you even if you tried to stay with him.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    One of the funniest (and fun) American football games I have ever played was NFL Quarterback Club ’99, for N64. Anybody else play it? That game was hilarious, all you had to do was take the QB, run down the sidelines back towards your endzone, and the other team would be on your heels. Then if you swung around to the other side of the field and ran up back towards the other team’s endzone, the defenders would follow your exact path and you could score… with your QB.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    The coolest NBA game ever has to be NBA Showtime for N64. That joint was TIGHT!

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    That or ‘Bill Laimbeer’s Combat Basketball’, LMAO.

  • stokesey

    it killed me to change over to the 2k series(as i did last year) but yeah its all about the gameplay, one thing id love to see though is if your getting pumped in the game or your team flat out sucks then you see ppl walking out/or theres a half empty stadium…

  • http://www.nba.com JE

    Sesa: haha, I wish I was an EA sports rep. I’m a 20 year old college student. I like NBA Live…sue me.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    @Micheal NZ: Roger. 2000 is, sadly enough, still the best NBA Live made in the last decade, simply because it feels (surprise!) most like an actual basketball game.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    Also, it’s not even that the 2K series is perfect. Far from it, actually, and I think besides nicer graphics and whatnot the 2K series’ best games are still inferior to NBA Live’s best incarnations. It’s just that 2K has simply kept improving in the short time since its inception, while EA’s obsession with All-Star weekend, slam dunk competitions, hot spots, ludicrously unguardable hop steps, and all the other bells and whistles has made their games deteriorate to the extent that 2K has, against all odds, caught up in a much shorter time than anyone expected.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    The exclusive trailer posted on this site, I’m sorry, doesn’t instill and faith in me. Shoes? Jerseys? Tattoos? I’m worried that EA’s 2010 obsession might be in “pimping” teams in cool gear. But this is a basketball game, for heaven’s sakes, it isn’t World of Warcraft or Maple Story.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    @melvin ely: Yeah. 2003-2004 also had an annoying quirk about it in that the AI opponent has the incredible ability to intercept every pass that floats across their players’ range.

  • Rui Santos

    Had the chance to play both NBA Live 09 and NBA 2K9 and have to admit: 2K9 was better. The game was more fluid, the defense was remarkable and the graphics simply amazing. NBA Live 09 is a good game but it has many flaws as you can receive the ball and almost dunk from the 3pt line by pressing square. I like both games, but give 2K Sports its credit. They created a hell of a game and just adding a My Player Mode will make it even better. Been a fan of Live since 2002, but changed in 2007 for 2K7. Still looking forward for both games though, don’t know what will I buy.

  • Rich

    2K cannot be touched. Last time I played Live was when J Kidd was on the cover. I haven’t missed a beat buying every 2K year after year. If only 2K could start making NFL games again…

  • Orlando Woolridge

    Long time Live guy, so I’m wondering if they changed the shoot button back to where it would release the ball when you let go of the button. I tried both games last year, and in both games, you just hit the shoot button and the game did everything else for you. You couldn’t travel if you wanted to, although in Live, you could control the release a little bit. I liked when you had some control over when the ball was released and if you didn’t release it in time, your player would be called for traveling. Anyone else know what I’m trying to say?

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    @Orlando: I think you’re talking about “shot control”. There usually is an option to turn it on or off…

  • http://www.nbalive10.com stephensonmc

    @Orlando, yes there is shot timing.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    2K has always had shot timing, Orlando… I’m pretty sure Live has had it too… What versions have you been playing?

  • Orlando Woolridge

    Oh seriously? I have Live 09 for ps3. Maybe I just didn’t see the shot control thing. All I know is that if you hold the shoot button, it will eventually release the ball before the player hits the floor again whether you release the button or not. It didn’t used to do that in the older versions. This is something I can change? I’ll check it out when I get home. Thanks.

  • http://www.slamonline.com wayno

    I’ve always been loyal to the live series (whether it’s bettor or not) so I’ll probably stick with live 10′. It looks pretty sick this year though, I’m excited. I’ve been buying like since 95′ though so I’ve gotta stick with it.

  • http://www.slamonline.com wayno

    Speaking of which, I busted out Live 97′ for my computer (why I still have that, I do not know) not to long ago and couldn’t believe how I ever played that…That one was sporting Mitch Richmond on the cover.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Oh okay, not sure about that then. I know that if you do hold the ball and it releases, it won’t be an accurate shot. If you want shot timing though, it should always let you pick your releases. Not sure if you hold it though. Older versions of the games, yeah it let you travel I think. Again, I’m not 100% sure lol.

  • http://www.nba.com Pardeep

    Im can’t wait to play in the Vancouver Grizzlies Unis.

  • Clipp Show 714

    NBA 2K10 for me. NO questions asked.

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