UTC: How EA can save its basketball brand (Part 2)

Under The Code's Corey Andress has posted Part 2 of his look at how EA can resurrect NBA Live and save its basketball brand. Definitely worth checking out.

Once again, I'd have to say that Corey is spot on. It's easier said than done, but everything is on point and what both games should be striving for, especially NBA Live since it needs to make a strong comeback. With its extended absence, it has an opportunity to pleasantly surprise everyone if it proves to be revolutionary. If nothing else, what Corey outlines in the article are the things it needs to be doing and the direction it should be heading in.

For far too long, playing man-to-man defense has been about holding down a button or relying on guessing what your opponent will do. What these games need is a new mechanism that allows us to stay in front of our opponent but by using footwork and strategy. Look at how FIFA handles its tactical defending feature. The goal is to front your man and use your footwork and cut off angles. What I enjoy about FIFA is that if you try and steal at inopportune times, or react without thinking about your actions, your opponent will blow by you.

I like how some of those are already present in the iteration of the current basketball sim in the market like you can dictate an offense so you can let Josh Smith shoot those long bricks using your positioning and reaction as part of your defensive strategy but instead never mind knowing all of that and just say basketball games suck in that aspect so I'll just use a game that I like to emphasize my point and hide what I don't know.

Guessing what an opponent will do IS part of strategy on how you will react or plan on the fly.

Another area of focus should be in the post-game. Defending the post-game in basketball games has usually come down to defending your man once he has the ball in the post. Already, everything about that is fundamentally wrong. If you let a player such as Pau Gasol or Dwight Howard get to his spot and get the ball then you’ve already lost. That player will succeed more than 50% of the time. What the focus should be on is finding a way to DENY position and allowing your opponent to catch the ball. Defending the post needs mechanisms to allow us to feel the physicality of defending down low and allow us options to successfully deter our opponent

I'm guessing he doesn't know how to attempt denying players position or the ball when playing the current basketball sim in the market.

The first gameplay trailer has to make a good first impression. The dev team has to show it when it's ready.

Agreed, doing otherwise won't do them any favours.