Company plans to use old name in order to restore series greatness

Feb 25, 2012 06:57 GMT  ·  By

Video game publisher Electronic Arts has announced that it plans to launch a new core entry in the NBA series of basketball simulation, using the Live 13 name, during the fall of this year, making it the first game to push the franchise forward since the canceled NBA Elite 11.

The first hint that a new NBA Live was being created came from the unlikely source of an NBA player, Kyrie Irving, who said on Twitter that, “In Orlando for #AllStar checking out the #FutureOfBasketball with @EASPORTSNBA. Get to see the new #NBALIVE13!”

The company then confirmed the existence of the new game, although it has not offered any actual details on the experience that the game will deliver.

EA has not addressed the issue of the name change either.

In early 2010 the publisher announced that it was changing the name of the NBA series from Live to Elite in order to promote the new nature of the game, with more of a focus on the action taking place on the court and the superstars of the game.

But the development process for NBA Elite 11 was troubled and many fans were sharply critical of the experience that the demo for the game offered.

Development continued up to the moment when actual retail copies of the game were printed and ready to ship, but Electronic Arts chose to cancel the video game in order to make sure that it did not damage the NBA brand by releasing a subpar game.

Since then EA has launched NBA Jam: On Fire in order to keep interest from the player base up.

Take Two has stepped into the empty space in the sports market with its NBA 2K series, which has seen solid sales for the last two years.

The All Star Game will take place on Sunday and EA might have a surprise announcement about NBA Live 13 during the game.