14 DAY TRIAL // EA Sports has announced that NBA Live 15 will be delayed for a little bit, until October 28, putting it behind its main rival's launch by a few weeks, to the joy of 2K Games.
The news comes from the game's official website, and EA Sports is apparently trying to keep it pretty quiet, probably fearing that the delay making news would affect the game's sales performance, even though delays usually translate into better gameplay performance.
The competition
2K Sports' upcoming basketball video game, NBA 2K15, is coming out on October 7, so it's going to get a head start in the next-gen war, but for the time being it's too early to tell whether this will have an impact on the two games' evolution.
NBA Live 15 was also scheduled to come out on October 7, ready to go toe-to-toe with 2K's basketball video game, and EA most likely has a pretty good reason for the delay. Alas, they are keeping a lid on things for the time being.
Expectations
NBA Live 14 received a lot of criticism for not living up to the hype and fan expectations, and EA wants to make up for all that with NBA Live 15, showing some pretty shiny graphics and promising greatly improved physics due to the use of the brand new Ignite engine, that also powers the company's other sports games.
NBA Live 15 will mark the second entry in the series after an extended hiatus, following negative press and community outcry for the low quality of the previous entry, as well as a couple of canceled projects, so EA is putting its hopes in the upcoming game.
The Ignite engine allows the developer to render much more realistic players, with new scanning and improved lighting technology offering the most faithful rendition of the game yet, including convincing emotional responses from the players.
In addition to the eye candy, the new generation of sports games from EA is also delivering an overhauled physics simulation, in order to create more unpredictable situations on the playing field and to enhance gameplay with a more natural and immersive overall feel.
Furthermore, all the games will also feature more colorful and interactive crowds, with more variety and a better response to the action on the playing field.
Goals
NBA Live 15 is only coming to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 home consoles, whereas NBA 2K15 is headed to last-generation consoles too. The two companies have different goals with the games, with 2K Games hoping to get a bigger slice of the pie due to the inclusion of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and EA Sports aiming to deliver a much more robust experience by only focusing on next gen.
