14 DAY TRIAL // EA Sports might be making a lot of money from its FIFA and Madden NFL franchises, but in the sports space, the company has struggled to launch good quality basketball simulations and has seen its titles dominated by the rival NBA 2K series from 2K Games.
At the moment, the studio is working on NBA Live 15 and the executive producer working on the title says that the commitment to the sim is so powerful inside the company that a full sequel is already being developed and resources are even allocated for a version that will be offered in 2016.
Sean O'Brien tells Polygon that “We've already started development on 16. We're staffing up. We're actually increasing investment on what 16 — and 17 — look like.”
The statement is designed to counter rumors that have appeared earlier in the year which suggested that EA Sports might be interested in dropping its current licensing deal with the NBA in order to abandon the Live series and focus on more important franchises.
The executive producer claims that the commitment to the franchise at EA Sports is clear and that the size of the basketball-related market means that the studio will strive to increase the quality of its releases and become competitive in the coming years.
O’Brien adds, “It's a long term strategy. Building a high-definition game is not easy. I think the game we're creating is different, and I think as we mature as a product, you'll see that difference come out more and more.”
NBA Live 15 improves all aspects of the simulation series
NBA Live 15 will be out on the PC, the Xbox One from Microsoft and the PlayStation 4 on October 28 in North America and on October 31 in Europe.
The delay means that the rival title from 2K Games has a three-week advantage on the market and that the EA Sports experience will likely fail to deliver massive sales.
But the extra development team does mean that gamers will be able to experience improved mechanics for both defensive and offensive phases of the title.
The team has also been careful to research the ratings for both players and teams in order to bring the overall experience as close to the real world as possible.
NBA Live 15 will probably never become a huge hit, but it might lay the foundation required in order to make the franchise important again in 2015 and 2016.