NBA Live 20 Cancelled Again – And It Make Sense

I have to say that we’re very disappointed in EA Sports and the setback of NBA Live 20. Looking at everything that happened back in 2012 with NBA Live 13 planning to release digitally and cancelled after our report from a developer working on the title at that time, this is literally a repeat of that moment. When our article went live, Live 13 was canned days before launch and instead pushed to Next Gen, becoming NBA Live 14 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. However, it was still a mess.

All wasn’t bad however as EA Sports went back to the drawing board and found a few new features that made NBA Live better. Not better than the competition, but better. NBA Live has manage to grow a consistent fanbase by sticking to what the feel “works.” And I can stand beside them in saying, growth was there. But deciding to cancel again was the wrong move. It’s like watching an old dog try to perform a new trick, then decide last minute to take its act home. With this decision, people will lose faith.

Earlier this year there were multiple announcements from the camp that Live WILL release this year, just not in the window as 2K Sports’ NBA 2K20. EA even decided to leave the NBA franchise out of the EA Play event during E3 back in June 2019. Even a month or so ago there was news of a potential cover athlete and talk of new animations. Now, it all felt like a lie. I do believe that EA Sports stayed late pushing for something new and fresh, but like found nothing genuine to outperform 2K this year.

They Were Almost There

Being honest, NBA Live DID outperform 2K in ideas these last few years, and the proof is evident. Last year it was NBA Live that introduced the world to the WNBA by way of video games, even allowing female and male players to dominate the courts together. Now guess who decided to follow in the footsteps of who is considered “trash” by 2K fans and most of the sports gaming community. So, while NBA 2K still haven’t integrated the merge of male and female players joining in The Neighborhood, NBA Live 19 still has a one up.

That’s not to say that Live 19 is better than NBA 2K, and I’m sure even devs would agree. In fact, they’ve made it known they respect 2k Sports and don’t look at them as competition, but an alternative. However, with all the riddled issues coming from Visual Concepts from both NBA and WWE 2K20, this could have been a great time to put their game on the map. By folding their cards admits something in the studio wasn’t happy with the product.

Fool Me Once

In 2012, EA Sports tried to convince people they weren’t ready to release and waited for a new console. You can’t pull that same PR stunt twice! I’m sorry but as hopeful that I am for the return of NBA Live 21, gamers expectations are pretty low.