rEAnimator posted:
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(NBA Elite Developer)rEAnimator OK, so here's the straight goods. I was debating whether or not to post this, but I think the Live fans who are disappointed deserve an explanation as to why we changed direction like we did.
This is for guys like WTF, Pared, Behindshadows, Court_vision, 23 and anyone else who has supported Live over the years and feel let down or betrayed by the changes made in Elite.
This is not an apology, but an explanation, and explanation you deserve.
It's no secret that Live was losing market share to 2K. And despite the fact that Live 10 was critically well received, the market share did not reflect that.
But that was not the reason for the change.
Now this is the part sim fans on this forum are going to have a hard time hearing. But I think you deserve the honest truth.
The basketball category as a whole, ie the number of people who buy either Live OR 2K has been shrinking.
That is the number one reason for the change in direction.
If the market for basketball games was healthy and growing, or even maintaining a healthy number, we'd be battling toe to toe with the market leader trying to win back market share.
But the truth is that people have been leaving basketball games behind. There is certainly a healthy hard core base of fans here, and the community is stronger than ever before.
But the numbers are shrinking. That is an undeniable fact.
Now look at it from EA's standpoint. Live was losing market share in a shrinking market.
That is not a good position to be in. Something had to change. We not only needed to grow market share, but we needed to grow the market.
The hard core sim gamer obviously likes 2K quite a bit. But as successful as they are, what 2K is doing is not enough to grow the market.
So we needed to try something different. Something innovative. Something to bring back fans who'd left, and appeal to basketball fans who don't play video games.
That is where the emphasis on control and a dynamic, unpredictable gameplay experience came from.
Focus on fun and control, to draw in the people who play drop in at the Y and dream about competing in the NBA, but don't play basketball games.
Given the time constraints, we had to let the visuals suffer to accomplish our goals.
We feel we succeeded. The game is a ton of fun to play.
Would we have liked to have beautiful visuals as well? Yes of course, but we had to make some hard choices.
And we stand by them.
What does that mean for the sim gamer? Are we leaving you behind?
No, not at all.
We feel the hardcore sim gamer is vital to the future success of Elite. No question about it. It's the solid foundation the market is built on.
But we had to grow that market and try something new.
The response so far on this forum has been much more negative that I would have liked. I'm not going to lie.
I was hoping to hear people say things like "well it doesn't look as good, but man it really represents the sport well. It feels more like I'm playing real life basketball than any other game, and it's FUN".
I still think that sentiment will prevail, but a lot of long time fans feel let down.
And I understand why.
But hopefully this gives you a better understanding of why we focused on what we did.
Everyone knows that competition is good for everyone, and we're trying as hard as we can to make the basketball market as healthy as possible so you can continue to enjoy competing franchises for years to come.
That may mean we didn't deliver everything you (the sim gamer) wanted in Elite, but we did deliver something fantastic.
And if you take the time to understand and appreciate the depth of the raw basketball skill based gameplay, I can promis you that you'll have a ton of fun testing your skills against your friends and opponents online.
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