Electronic Arts and EA Tiburon have announced the second content addition for NBA Live 14. The free DLC includes a shootaround/tutorial mode, new uniforms including the All-Star Weekend jerseys, and visual upgrades.
When NBA Live 14 was released as a launch title for both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One, it was … well, lacking is as good a word as any. But we knew that would be the case going in, and EA Tiburon pretty much told us to expect that. That didn’t make the game any prettier or content rich, but at least EA Tiburon had a longer plan that it is now carrying out.
The first content update, released in December 2014, was entirely technical in nature and fixed bugs while improving some aspects of gameplay. It was a significant improvement, but it was also only something someone that had been playing the game would appreciate. With the new content drop, the game will actually get bigger thanks to the new mode.
The update will also include improved controller responsiveness, fixes to some camera angle issues in the Live Season mode, and just generally fixing glitches. The biggest addition though, is the Shootaround mode.
“From the start, many of you have told us that your biggest frustration with the game is the lack of in-game tutorials or a practice mode,” EA’s Sean O’Brien wrote on EA Sports’ blog. “We hear you loud and clear, and it’s been a priority for our team to build something that helps fans come to grips with the intricacies of NBA LIVE. The first step down this road is the new Shootaround mode, which you’ll see in the update.”
Players can choose any NBA player and learn their moves, or just get the general timing of the game down. It’s a good, and long overdue addition.
EA also wants you to know that NBA Live 14 is just the first step in rebuilding the franchise, and despite the piecemeal approach to this year’s iteration, all of the game’s issues are helping to build a better game in the future, for what that’s worth.
“The last thing I want to mention is that everything we’re doing here—from the improvements we’re making in gameplay and to our visuals, to providing the start of our onboarding experience with Shootaround—is being built with the future in mind,” O’Brien wrote. “We’re making these additions with an eye towards rebuilding NBA LIVE, making sure everything we do today can continue to be improved and iterated upon for next year’s game.
“Don’t think that we’re doing all this work at the expense of the next NBA LIVE. Instead, we’re building for next year’s title and including everything we can in the current game right now to improve the experience for our loyal fans—the fans who have been there since day 1.”
EA has not announced exactly when the update will be released, but it will be any day now, according to the post.
