Andrew Wilson, head of worldwide development for EA Sports wanted to clear the air once and for all. After having speculated for a while now that, despite a delay, NBA Elite 11 needed an extensive overhaul in order to be viable Wilson reveals:
The flaw with Elite didn’t rest with the programming or the engines, it was much more deeply seeded. When trying to come up with the perfect competitor to the 2K franchise, EA knew they had to create a game that reintroduces the public to the idea of basketball. Unfortunately, in doing so, they were alienating the foundation on which sports games rest: repetition with improvement.
Wilson couldn’t have put it better himself when he said:
Ultimately, EA tried to reinvent the wheel in between two titles rather than taking some time to really iron out all of the details. Not wanting to lose out on market viability was the company and the title’s biggest mistake and it may have cost them the franchise.
Would you be interested in picking up an NBA Elite next year that has completely new mechanics that are unfamiliar to basketball game fans? Do you see a future for the series after all of this bad press?
Source: IGN
