Why Was NBA Live 20 Cancelled?
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Why Was NBA Live 20 Cancelled? Many people were wondering why EA Sports decided to cancel the NBA Live 20 game. We take a look at some of the possible reasons why this may have happened.
Reasons for the Cancellation of NBA Live 20
There are a few possible reasons for the cancellation of NBA Live 20. One reason could be that the game was not meeting the standards that EA Sports had set for it. Another possibility is that EA Sports simply did not think that the game would be successful. NBA Live 20 could have also been cancelled because EA Sports wanted to focus on other projects.
Lack of interest from EA
It’s been a little over two months since EA finally confirmed what had been rumored for months – NBA Live 20 was cancelled, and there would be no new NBA Live game in 2019. While there have been all sorts of theories about why NBA Live 20 was canned, the most likely explanation is that EA simply lost interest in making another basketball game.
In the years leading up to the cancellation, it was evident that EA’s interest in NBA Live had waned considerably. The franchise took a backseat to Madden and FIFA, both in terms of marketing and development resources. With 2K continuing to dominate the basketball gaming market, it’s not hard to see why EA may have decided that it wasn’t worth their while to keep trying to compete.
It’s also possible that the cancellations of NBA Elite 11 and NBA Live 13 played a role in EA’s decision. After multiple attempts to relaunch the NBA Elite franchise failed, it could be that EA decided that they didn’t want to keep going through the same cycle with NBA Live. Coupled with the fact that Take-Two now owns the exclusive license to make basketball games with the NBA, it’s easy to see why EA may have decided that it wasn’t worth their time and resources to try and make another basketball game.
Lack of interest from the gaming community
When it was announced that NBA Live 20 was being cancelled, there was a lot of speculation as to why. One of the most popular theories was that there wasn’t enough interest from the gaming community. This theory makes sense when you consider that NBA Live 19 didn’t sell very well. In fact, it was one of the worst selling games in the franchise’s history.
It’s also worth noting that, around the same time that NBA Live 20 was cancelled, EA Sports also announced that they were ceasing development of their other basketball game, NBA Elite 11. This led many to believe that EA Sports simply wasn’t interested in making basketball games anymore. However, EA has since announced that they are working on a new basketball game, which is set to be released in 2020.
The Future of NBA Live
On September 29th, EA Sports announced that they were cancelling NBA Live 20. This was a surprising move, given that the game was only a few months away from release. NBA Live has had a rocky few years, and this cancellation raises a lot of questions about the future of the franchise.
NBA Live 21 is in development
After the cancellation of NBA Live 20, there was some question as to whether EA Sports would continue the NBA Live franchise. We now have confirmation that they are, in fact, working on NBA Live 21. It’s currently in very early development, so we don’t have any details yet. However, it’s worth noting that development on NBA Live 20 continued well into 2019 before it was ultimately cancelled. So even though we don’t have any specifics yet, it’s likely that NBA Live 21 is further along than NBA Live 20 was at this time last year.
We’ll continue to bring you updates on NBA Live 21 as more information becomes available.
EA is focusing on making NBA Live a basketball simulation game
It’s been a long time coming, but EA finally gave NBA Live a proper basketball simulation experience with NBA Live 18. The game featured a deeper career mode, franchise mode, and other modes that fans of the series had been clamoring for. NBA Live 19 continued to build on that foundation and was a marked improvement over NBA Live 18. So, it came as a huge surprise when EA announced that they were cancelling NBA Live 20.
The official word from EA is that they are “pausing” the NBA Live franchise in order to focus on making the next game a basketball simulation experience that fans will love. This is clearly a direct response to the success of their competition, NBA 2K. EA is no doubt feeling the pressure to make a game that can go toe-to-toe with 2K’s offerings.
It’s disappointing that we won’t be getting an NBA Live game this year, but it’s not entirely surprising given EA’s recent track record with the franchise. Here’s hoping that they can use this extra time to make an incredible basketball simulation game that can rival NBA 2K.
