It is going to be hard for EA Sports to recover from a three-year absence in the video game market. For the better part of a decade, 2K's NBA2K series has dominated the basketball video game market. And has picked up several awards for doing so.
NBA Live? It went dark in 2010 after the failed launch of the Kevin Durant-covered NBA Live 11. Serious glitches (the Andrew Bynum Jesus glitch being the most famous) and a decreasing market share caused EA Sports to shutter the game. Getting back in the game is going to be a long way up.
But it is happening and your basketball video gaming choices have just expanded.
EA Sports released the cover to its new-look NBA Live 14 this past week with Kyrie Irving staring straight back at you in the game's re-debut:
What exactly is going to be different about NBA Live 14? That still does not seem entirely certain. The game's Web site is touting a new dribbling engine along with the usual bells and whistles of "real stats and tendencies" and continually updating rosters.
NBA Live has really stiff competition though as NBA2K seems to get better and better each and every single year. Even last year when 2K unveiled a new dribbling and shooting engine, it seemed to get better.
And with LeBron James on the cover — and picking the soundtrack — there is stiff competition to wade into. NBA2K secured the rights to have several Euroleague teams featured in teh game along with its other usual band of goodies. 2K Sports has not announced any other new or additional features to the game.
Again, a long uphill battle for NBA Live to climb to get back into the race.
