Major Nelson: NBA Live 13 was supposed to be out on XBLA Oct. 3

By Anthony John Agnello Published October 4, 2012

nba live free to play — Image used with permission by copyright holder

NBA Live 13 wouldn’t have been the full on competitor to NBA 2K13 some people expected it to be even if it hadn’t been cancelled last week. Like recent editions in the NBA Jam series, the reborn NBA Live franchise would have been a download only game.

Larry Hryb, otherwise known as the outspoken director of Xbox Live Major Nelson, tweeted on Wednesday that the Xbox Live Arcade release of the week would have been NBA Live 13 had it not been canned due to concerns over the game’s poor quality.

“NBA Live 13 was supposed to be today’s XBLA title, but EA made the decision not to launch it today,” read Hryb’s tweet.

There was some speculation about how EA would release NBA Live 13 even before the game was cancelled. The publisher, despite maintaining its license with the NBA, hasn’t released a game in the series since 2009 and has taken massive losses on the franchise since. EA famously cancelled the franchise reboot NBA Elite in the fall of 2010 over quality concerns, even after producing retail copies of the game. (Those retail copies have gone on to become sought after collectibles on eBay.) John Riccitiello, EA CEO, said in October 2010 following the cancellation that the game’s cancellation would cost the company $250 million in lost revenue. That figure did not account for money spent on development, production, and pre-release marketing.

A digital edition then would have made for a soft, low-risk re-entry into the NBA Live franchise for EA. It’s employed this strategy before, but always with smaller sports titles not part of its marquee simulation series that includes the likes of Madden NFL and FIFA. NFL Blitz, for example, was released as a download only title at the beginning of 2012. By releasing it as a downloadable, EA would also compete with NBA 2K13 in the same manner that NFL 2K did with Madden before EA won an exclusive license to the league: By offering the game at a $20 budget price.

As detailed in a Monday article here at Digital Trends, considering EA’s current strategy and business model, NBA Live will return as not just a download-only game, but a free-to-play one as well. When NBA Live 14 comes out next fall, it will be a free download supported by microtransactions.

Topics

Anthony John Agnello

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…

Gaming

Ubisoft confirms Assassin’s Creed remakes are in the works

Basim perched on a ledge overlooking Baghdad

In a company interview with CEO Yves Guillemot posted on the Ubisoft website Thursday, the executive reveals that there are remakes of Assassin's Creed games in the works, although he doesn't specify which ones.

"Players can be excited about some remakes, which will allow us to revisit some of the games we've created in the past and modernize them," he says, implying that it could pertain to games made before Odyssey. "There are worlds in some of our older Assassin's Creed games that are still extremely rich."

Gaming

Surfaced patent shows what an Xbox streaming console would’ve looked like

An Xbox Series X sits next to both Series S models.

There have been a few Xbox devices that have never come to fruition, one of which was Keystone, a prototype for an affordable game streaming device you could hook up to your TV or monitor. Thanks to a surfaced patent, we've gotten an even closer look at what it would've potentially looked like.

The patent, first spotted by Windows Central, gives us a more complete view of the device. We've previously seen the Keystone in the flesh. Microsoft Gaming head Phil Spencer is known for hiding teases and interesting collectibles on the shelf in his office. In a 2022 X (formerly Twitter) post congratulating Bethesda on Fallout's 25th anniversary, you can see a small white device on the top shelf that's actually a Keystone prototype. Xbox told Digital Trends that it was a version of the device made before it decided to "refocus our efforts on a new approach.”

Gaming

Wordle Today: Wordle answer and hints for June 28

Someone playing Wordle on a smartphone.

We have the solution to Wordle on June 28, as well as some helpful hints to help you figure out the answer yourself, right here. We've placed the answer at the bottom of the page, so we don't ruin the surprise before you've had a chance to work through the clues. So let's dive in, starting with a reminder of yesterday's answer.
Yesterday's Wordle answer
Let's start by first reminding ourselves of yesterday's Wordle answer for those new to the game or who don't play it daily, which was "ORDER." So we can say that the Wordle answer today definitely isn't that. Now, with that in mind, perhaps take another stab at it using one of these Wordle starting words and circle back if you have no luck.
Hints for today's Wordle
Still can't figure it out? We have today's Wordle answer right here, below. But first, one more thing: Let's take a look at three hints that could help you find the solution, without giving it away, so there's no need to feel guilty about keeping your streak alive -- you put in some work, after all! Or just keep scrolling for the answer.

Today’s Wordle includes the letter D.
Today’s Wordle uses two vowels.
Today's Wordle can refer to a large number of animals, particularly livestock like cattle or sheep, that are moving together in a group.