Response from EA about the NBA Live 07 bugs.

[cyanide]

Donatello: I know it wasn't your intention, but that representative brought it on himself for making those statements.

It's sad just to think of what this game could of been. It's bugs are bad but not as bad as people are making them out to be. It is truly one of if not the best nba live game ever.

It had potential, really. I think the game could've been the best ever but I think a huge part of the backlash was that 1: people are fed up over the years and 2: how could anyone overlook something huge like the no substitution bug?

[shobe81]

Alright guys lets try to downgrade this incident a bit and move our issues on a different thread because it could have a profound effect on the Mods, etc.[/code]

[Patr1ck]

Look at the credits, there were 28 testers.

[Matthew]

What country are these testers from? If its the Phillipines I might just fall off my chair (or spit out my soda, should I be drinking one...)

[Jugs]

28 new job vacancies.

[Matt]

I wouldn't blame the testers. They probably detected the same defects we did, submitted the list and EA added the list to their "annual things to consider for next year and soon forget about".

EA needs to get their heads ouf of their asses and start delivering the product they advertise. Year in year out they hype some bullshit feature and hope people don't notice the flaws. 03, 04 they hyped freestyle control and we bought the game like suckers, even though having your PG average 10bpg is worse than this substitution problem.

How many years have we had Dynasty/Franchise? Since 00, and what's the progress been with trading? It's just gotten worse. Teams don't trade amongst themselves, they rarely if ever offer you trades, free-agents rarely switch teams, salary cap is a disaster and so on.

We still haven't gotten an explanation about in-game saves. What the hell is going on? I'm not buying another EA product until i get what's advertised.

[Jowe]

The thing is, all this shit doesn't surprise me in the slightest. That in itself is abit worrying, the game should be getting better every year, not more buggy or some bullshit 'feature' put into the game.

Admit it the game has gone to shit ever since 2001, when the new team took over. If any EA guys are reading this.. You guys fucked up, like you always do.

Well, at least they can add something new to their advertising for the new game, since they've been pushing 'freestyle' every fucken year since 2004.

* NOW WITH REVOLUTIONARY NO SUBS!
* 1 METRE inbound passes

I'm glad this was reported before i bought this piece of crap again.

[pedsdmd]

Good Jon Dona, at least you tried.

Now go get NBA2K7, I got it last night thanks to the negative reviews of this great site.

2k7 is AWESOME, I dont miss LIve07 in the least

[Crystallas]

If only 2k7 were out for PC.

[Fenix]

If only 2k7 were out for PC.

It's too late for that, but we can still do something about 2k8. Just click the lik in my signature.

[Seonadancing]

After reading that representative's response, I'm not surprised why the game ended this way. He basically said, tough luck on spending $50 for the game but hey, we'll try to make it better next year. thank you.

What's wrong with having people in the Philippines test the product?

[Jackie Kong]

Donatello: perhaps it would be better if you hadn't edit/censore everything EA instructs you to (unless if they can sue us). Like we all saw, EA doesn't exactly care what they release or if their buyers are even remotely satisfied. That will hurt them in future. Considering Live 07 is experiencing the same backlash over at the official EA forums, the influence of both sites combined and other sources of disgust towards EA and their game will surely impact the sales of both this year's version and others yet to come.

I said this many times before and I will continue preaching the same thing: don't buy this game unless a patch is released. And if it isn't, you know where you're at. Then you'll be better off if you just bought a console (PS2 is cheap nowadays) and 2k7.

Edit: just saw Donatello's latest post .

we should sue EA for saying things about the game that aren't actually there in order to make us buy the game.

[FrenchLick]

Look when it comes down to the crunch ,the developers or EA crew that made the game wont be looked upon at Ea on their game making skillsIt will be more so on a combination of whether they can get the sales to keep up with the big company demand same old story.

Sales is whats its all about they sold out when they made their number 1 focus into piece of shit consoles,obvioulsy where the money is.

All i can say is I seriously dont mind the game simply cos I love to play any nba game all be it bug infested and so on but thank fuck I never buy the fuckers cos I wouldnt give these cunts my hard earned for anything.

And if they actually gave a shit about the pc players they'd put in save game and player stats for online play for the leagues but no they refuse to.

[Fenix]

I personally don't have any interest in trying to get anyone fired.

Sending the story and the emails to the press probably wouldn't get anyone fired (although I'm not as kind hearted as you are - if you can't do your job, then quit or get canned), but it would cause some controversy regarding EA and their policy. I think it's the right thing to do. Someone said that we, the members of the NLSC aren't exactly the majority of EA's market and so EA doesn't have to care about us. He was right - we most certainly aren't the majority of buyers. But we're most certainly a good indicator of the mental state of their buyers. If we're pissed because of the overall crappines of this game, so is the rest of the EA's target population. We represent their most loyal fanbase. Once you lose that, you lose everything.

[Jackie Kong]

I personally don't have any interest in trying to get anyone fired.

Sending the story and the emails to the press probably wouldn't get anyone fired (although I'm not as kind hearted as you are - if you can't do your job, then quit or get canned), but it would cause some controversy regarding EA and their policy. I think it's the right thing to do. Someone said that we, the members of the NLSC aren't exactly the majority of EA's market and so EA doesn't have to care about us. He was right - we most certainly aren't the majority of buyers. But we're most certainly a good indicator of the mental state of their buyers. If we're pissed because of the overall crappines of this game, so is the rest of the EA's target population. We represent their most loyal fanbase. Once you lose that, you lose everything.

well, not everyone post in this forum but almost everyone use Andrew's rosters to give an example of NLSC influence.

[Donatello]

(name removed),

First of all, thank you for your email. I want to stress something first before I say what I have to say. I am not the spoiled brat kid who is pissed about not liking a video game like you may think. I'm a professional adult who has happened to enjoy the NBA Live series for years.

Along those lines, I want you to know that I am no longer speaking on behalf of that fansite (nba-live.com), I am speaking for myself only. Please understand that.

Disclaimers out of the way, now... on to my real response.

I emailed you guys on behalf of the community. You responded to the community. So why would you (EA) want me to remove the quote of the email? Possibly because it makes you look terrible, honestly. (I did remove the quote by the way, but only out of respect for the webmaster.)

"Regardless of whether or not these issues can be addressed in this year's product, it's helpful feedback as we begin work on next year's game."

These problems with the game are NOT small issues. And there is no way they could have not been seen during testing. Sure, a patch for the PC can probably fix them, but the Ps2 and X-Box (original) versions can't exactly be patched.

The computer does NOT substitute players, no matter how fatigued they get. That means after about 1 1/2 quarters, you are playing against zombies who can hardly move, because their fatigue is so low. Except for the point guard of course, who takes every shot and scores every point.

Rookies retiring after one year of dynasty mode..... 82 games being the only option in Dynasty mode.... player lock doesn't work properly....

I won't relist the rest of the "bug list", as I'm sure you've seen it (hopefully, anyway). I'd honestly choose your words carefully, because your company's previous reponses in both words and actions are truly upsetting alot of people.

You released a faulty product which damn near borders on false advertisement. I'd like a real response from you please, not a pushover, cut-and-paste-cookie-cutter customer service reponse.

Thank you for your time, and hopefully for your reply.

-Josh

[Jackie Kong]

Rookies retiring after one year of dynasty mode.....

WTF??, I never heard of that bug, is that truth?, because if it is.. OMG!!!

[Voxel]

lol this is about to get ugly....

Rookies retiring after one year of dynasty mode.....

WTF??, I never heard of that bug, is that truth?, because if it is.. OMG!!!

[Tuomas]

Well too bad only one person might see that e-mail you sent, but at least you vented some hot air.

Live 2000 was good, 2001 was good IMO, 2003 was... ehm, fast, 2004 was great, 2005 ok, 06 was something I gladly skipped. For the first time EVER have I read this type of response from anyone a couple of days after release. Boy I can't wait the reviews for the pc version from gamespot etc. and especially Andrew, if he decides to buy it

I don't know what more to say, I'd like to test the game before pouring my heart out here... let's see if I save myself and invest in a 360 and NBA2k7.

[Jackie Kong]

WTF!!!! , I knew Boone wasn't a very smart pick by the nets but that is totally and surprisingly fucked.
This game seems like a new version of the Twilight Zone.
This bug reported by some guy in this forum proves it:

[cyanide]

Rookies retiring after one year of dynasty mode.....

WTF??, I never heard of that bug, is that truth?, because if it is.. OMG!!!

OH. MY. GOD.

Well, that is, if it's not Photoshopped. Can anyone else confirm this fricking insane bug?

[Fenix]

A great e-mail, Donatello, both smart and class. I wouldn't be surprised if they just ignored it, though.

[bryant8]

Well too bad only one person might see that e-mail you sent, but at least you vented some hot air.

Live 2000 was good, 2001 was good IMO, 2003 was... ehm, fast, 2004 was great, 2005 ok, 06 was something I gladly skipped. For the first time EVER have I read this type of response from anyone a couple of days after release. Boy I can't wait the reviews for the pc version from gamespot etc. and especially Andrew, if he decides to buy it

I don't know what more to say, I'd like to test the game before pouring my heart out here... let's see if I save myself and invest in a 360 and NBA2k7.

I agree, Live 2000 and 2001 were one of my favourites in the series. I've played all iterations of Live since Live 95 on the Sega megadrive Live 97's interface was really refreshing, gameplay was arcady, but still fun to play. Live 2002 wasn't released on the PC, so I got the PSX version. It sucked, so I didn't touch it and went back to playing 2001.

They did mention about game saves during an interview for the Live 05 or 06 version. Saying something about the way the game's system/engine is programmed which doesn't allow for saving or some rubbish. I really doubt how difficult that could be. Even allowing to save at end of quarters can be done right? Players walk out by default from the bench/tunnel at 1/2 time or start at baseline passing the ball anyway, you don't need to keep track of player position on the court (if that's so difficult to do). You just need to keep track of Stats.

I don't want a game which forces me to exploit the bugs, or quirky nuances of the game(NBA Live), in order to win a game. I want to exploit the game(of basketball). I want to win a game based on tactics, and understanding of the game of basketball.

I will save detailed comments about Live'07 in a review which I will post in a few days. But I'll say I am disappointed in Live'07. I liked Live'06 except for a few issues, but it was playable. I had high hopes for Live'07.

Thank you.

[BigKaboom2]

I wonder if this person would ever check his email on the weekend (I'm not sure about everyone's crazy time zone, but it's the weekend in North America) or whether we should just wait until Monday to expect a response.

[el badman]

I feel like the most loyal PC gamer and NBA Live buyer, and fucking EA makes me wanna buy a console right about now...