The NBA regular season is here. After an off-season of blockbuster signings and megastars uniting the court has come alive as the LA teams seem set to battle it out in the west while Philadelphia try to find the triumph at the end of the process.
NBA 2K20 has been out for a while now, delivering hoops action to the homes of millions and dominating sales in the whole industry, at least until the numbers are added up for Call of Duty.
2K’s success is in stark contrast of EA, who have licensing rights for an NBA game of their own but have gone dark about the fate of NBA Live 20. The twitter account for NBA Live has been silent since mid-July.
READ MORE: Why hasn’t NBA Live 20 been released?
Originally slated for September, the game was oddly absent from EA Play this year and then in a financial report had been pushed into Q3, so the October-December period. And yet here we are, nearing November and with the NBA season having started but EA have not made a peep about dropping a basketball game, echoing when they cancelled NBA Live 17.
So if EA have really cancelled this year’s game, what can they do to revive it? Well, the answer may lie in their other sports titles…
Madden 20’s House Rules
Madden 20 is far from perfect, but one area it has excelled at is bringing fresh ideas to Ultimate Team to create fresh challenges and exciting game modes.
From a yard vs yard tug-of-war to 15-yard first downs, stealing points from opponents for TFLs, and scoring 50 points for a 50+ yard touchdown.
READ MORE: How EA can learn from 2K to save the franchise
Sure, football has a few more options for this that the NBA, but stealing points from an opponent when you steal the ball, getting extras for a half-court shot, or forcing dunks over 3s, there are a myriad of options EA could utilize to make NBA Live stand out but using these tried, tested, and enjoyed extra game modes.
FIFA 20’s VOLTA mode
VOLTA wasn’t the FIFA Street everyone wanted, but the confined street football has been a hit regardless. With it comes the obvious translation into the NBA.
EA had an NBA Street game back in the mid-2000s that focused on arcade 3v3 basketball. Bringing back a grittier version of street hoops with enhanced dribbling skills, wall passes, and a rags-to-riches story line would be an immediate hook for players that want to play ball like they do with friends rather than like pros do on NBA courts.
What do you think EA should do with NBA Live? Let us know in the comments below!
