Though recently promoted to Electronic Arts’ chief operating officer, EA Sports’ old boss, Peter Moore, still is involved with products coming out of that division. And in an interview with IndustryGamers, he said he doesn’t expect their next NBA simulation, due in 2012 after a two-year hiatus, to compete with NBA 2K
About this time last year, at E3, I was chewing the fat with a 2K Sports representative about NBA 2K11 which already looked to be the monster it would become. Long dominant in the pro basketball genre, the game with Michael Jordan on its cover was going to be 2K’s Sunday punch to EA Sports. “That’s the idea,” the guy told me. “Get an exclusive deal without paying for it.”
In sports collectibles, one company’s mistake is another man’s fortune. (Ask Billy Ripken.) Five months after NBA Elite 11′s embarrassing cancellation, copies of the game are still circulating over eBay – as well as box art, download cards, and other mementoes of the game that never was.
The last-minute cancellation of EA Sports’ NBA Elite 11 this season isn’t supposed to happen to any video game. How? Why? Kotaku learned the unusual story this week from EA boss John Riccitiello.
With NBA Jam on shelves and earning praise (deservedly), EA Sports is being a little more candid about NBA Elite, the canceled title and Jam’s original dancing partner.
Electronic Arts has officially cancelled NBA Elite 11. The disastrously delayed basketball sim has been completely removed from the publisher’s slate, with EA’s chief financial officer Eric Brown announcing the game’s death during an investor call.
EA has issued its latest round off layoffs today, describing them as “season roll-offs,” which sounds much more pleasant. According to sources claiming knowledge of the situation, EA Canada, developer of Skate and NBA Elite, bore the brunt of those cuts.
With NBA Elite 11 indefinitely postponed, EA Sports promised to continue supporting NBA Live 10 with a fully updated roster for the 2010-2011 NBA season. All the league’s players are included, but there are some features the update won’t have.
Trey Smith, the creative director for the recently released NBA Jam, would like to see a kinder, gentler gamer culture. “If the people of PAX ran the world, it would be a much better place,” he told MTV Multiplayer.
EA Sports’ decision to indefinitely delay NBA Elite 11 doesn’t affect plans for the mobile version of the game. It will arrive later this month for iPhone and iPod Touch and will take advantage of the iPhone 4′s high-quality display.
