After having already announced one delay today, it seems we have another unfortunate announcement. Once again involving a delay, those who may been looking forward to NBA Elite 11 will have to wait a bit longer, however those looking forward to NBA Jam will be happy to know that they now have more options.
EA Sports President Peter Moore has announced on his blog today that NBA Elite 11 will be subject to a pretty significant delay, potentially being pushed back into 2011, although no word yet on exactly how far. Moore stated the following regarding the delay:
The decision to delay NBA ELITE was hard because the game has great promise. But ultimately we feel this is the right thing to do. We’ve been making steady progress on basketball for the past few years and it’s going to take extra time to make the game.
Why make this decision now? As with all of our titles, we continue to evaluate and improve the code right up until launch. Feedback from consumers is a very important part of the process . NBA ELITE had the benefit of play-testing, a demo and a lot of our own research. All that feedback revealed some concerns about gameplay polish, so we’ve listened to your feedback, and made a judgment that the game would benefit from more time in development.
Considering the somewhat lackluster response the NBA Elite 11 demo has received, this may have been the smartest course of action, and shows that EA Sports is serious about revamping its NBA line of games. Additionally, NBA Live 2010 will be receiving continued online service, roster updates, and new players for the entire duration of the 2011 NBA season, free of charge, so if you opt for the gameplay in 2010, you’re welcome to stick with it for the next year.
Another title that Moore brought up was the ever anticipated NBA Jam, which was initially thought to be a Wii exclusive, and then ended up being included on the NBA Elite 11 disc for PS3 and Xbox 360. The good news is that that’s no longer the case, and that NBA Jam will now be available as a stand-alone title across the board for PS3, Wii and 360. This is sure to have many gamers relieved that they are no longer forced to take the Elite plunge, just to get their hands on Jam. NBA Jam released on October 5th for Wii, and will be hitting the PS3 and 360 sometime before Christmas.
Be sure to stay tuned to PlayStationLifeStyle, as we’ll be sure to let you know the second we hear of a release date for either NBA Elite 11 or NBA Jam.
