By Sean O'Brien, Producer

NBA LIVE 10.  LIVE is back.

That’s right…I said it.  And I mean it.  NBA LIVE has an extremely rich tradition of creating some amazing basketball video games, but admittedly has had a tough couple of years recently and the product hasn’t lived up to expectations…both internally as well as externally. 

Some of you may have read how we’ve changed the team making the game…moving some people around and bringing some people onboard to complement the existing team.  We’ve also really honed in on where the game was deficient and addressed those areas.   The direction this year has been about making LIVE a great playing basketball game again, while focusing on improving our in game presentation, visuals and atmosphere, getting to a never seen before level of authenticity with our players, providing you with a brand new way of playing OTP and taking Dynamic DNA to an entirely new level, both with how it impacts players and gameplay throughout the NBA season as well as how you as a connected user use it to change the way to play NBA LIVE.

You’ll be happy to hear that gameplay was at the top of that list and I am extremely happy to report that the game (even with 2 months of development left) is already playing better than any other NBA LIVE title.  I’ve been saying that we’re “fixing the cracks in the foundation of gameplay”.  That basically means we’re focusing on fixing those controller throwing moments where the game does or doesn’t do something that really frustrates you.  We will also be offering you an unparalleled level of user control that will completely change the way that you play the game (not marketing speak here…).  I’m also really excited about the level of authenticity and team differentiation that you’ll see in the game this year.  Again, like nothing seen in a basketball game to date.  I’ll let the experts break all of this down for you in the coming weeks as Mike Wang, Jeff Antwi and Novell Thomas will get into more detail on exactly what we’ve done and why. 

Matt Lafreniere will be walking you through what was done with the in game presentation.  From everything to the individual game atmosphere based on when and where the game is being played and who’s playing in it to the new broadcast graphics package and presentation.  We’ve seen the two Czarisodes (http://www.operationsports.co/videoview.php?id=390 and http://www.operationsports.com/newspost.php?id=325692) that were posted on OS.  This is another area where we knew we were really falling short in 09.  NBA LIVE 10 has taken a huge leap forward in this area and I think the Czar’s scores will look much different when he does his NBA LIVE 10 vs NBA2K10 Czarisodes next year.

Marcus will give you some more insight into Synergy Sports and what they do for their NBA teams as well as how it impacts you when you play NBA LIVE throughout the season.  This is a service used by 80% of the teams in the NBA.  The fact that we are using their data and tendencies to affect the way players in NBA LIVE play based on their performance during the NBA season is second to none.  We’ve completely removed the subjectivity of ratings driving gameplay…everything is based on real world performance on a daily basis.  I can go on and on about Dynamic DNA.  I really think it’s the most innovative feature sports games have ever seen.  NBA LIVE 10 will finally have the core gameplay in a position to really make this innovation shine.

Garreth Reeder will be walking you all through the evolution of Dynamic DNA as well as our online feature set this year.  We’re still going to be offering a daily DNA update plus something that should blow you guys away.  Not going to divulge anything at this point…except for the fact that there will be a lot of guys who were posting wish lists or ideas about the next steps for DNA throughout the past 6 or 7 months that are going to be pumped about it.  Also, as I mentioned above, OTP will take on a whole new meaning that I think you’ll find both relevant and extremely addictive.

The following quote off of the OS boards caught my eye and I thought I’ve give Jamin23 something to look forward to…

“The only thing I want to know is if they have Lebrons rosin or any pregame intro and I'm a happy camper for now” – Jamin23 (http://www.operationsports.com/forums/nba-live/325086-nba-live-10-blog-first-trailer-7.html#post2039690565)

Keep in mind…the visuals in this screen shot are a WIP.  It is an in game screen shot running at 60 FPS with no Photoshop touch ups.  Once we’re in a position to show you guys final visuals and animation, Ryan Santos will post a video that shows the enormous amount of detail that has gone into the players this year.  You guys will not believe the attention to detail that has been placed on tattoos, player heads and hair, shoes, uniforms as well as signature shots and moves.  We’ll be creating numerous videos to showcase all of this over the summer.

See the happy camper Jamin23 below…

I wish I could get into more detail for you guys right now.  With so much time left in the development cycle, I can’t risk divulging too much information at this point.  We do have to be mindful that we have a strong competitor that can see this post just as easily as any of you can.  That being said, you will be seeing a new blog right here each Friday followed by a guest appearance on our radio show the following Monday touching on absolutely everything that we’ve done to the game this year. 

Good or bad, we want to hear your comments and feedback about what we post.  Ideally you’re giving us specific feedback or ideas that we can run with.  Our goals are the same as yours…we want to create the most authentic basketball game.  Authentic basketball is cool regardless of how hardcore or casual of a gamer you are and how sim of an experience you’re looking for.  Everybody (including us) is looking to make NBA LIVE 10 the most realistic basketball game and if it’s not it’s only because we haven’t made it yet.

By the time the game ships in early October, you guys will know it all and will have played the demo to see for yourselves what we’ve pulled off this year.  I’m not going to sit here and sell or convince you on how great NBA LIVE 10 is going to be…I’m going to sit back and let the game do the talking.

by Producer Sean O'Brien

I spent this past weekend in Boston, MA.  Daryl Morey (GM of the Houston Rockets) asked me to speak on a panel at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.  I was on a panel with Brian Burke (President and GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs), Mark Donovan (SVP of Business Operations, Philadelphia Eagles), Jeff Van Gundy (ESPN Analyst and former NBA Head Coach) and Bill Simmons (ESPN Columnist – The Sports Guy).  Some serious heavy hitters (besides me)…our panel discussed the Evolution of the Fan Experience looking at how new technology, stadium design, game innovations, and customer initiatives are taking the fan experience to the next level.  I really enjoyed the experience and spent the rest of the day observing the different panels that touched on a number of interesting topics within sports business as well as sports analytics.

I spent most of time explaining our game design goals and how we’re attempting to engage our consumer throughout the entire season using Dynamic DNA daily updates which change the way that NBA LIVE is played based on real life tendencies and data.  I spoke with a number of people after the panel was over that had no idea that we were offering this service and were blown away by the concept.

Donovan, Van Gundy, Simmons, O'Brien, Burke, Morey

I went to the Cavs/Celtics game on Friday night.  I’ve been a Celtics fan since I’ve been a kid and hadn’t been to TD Banknorth yet…what a great atmosphere.  It obviously helped to have LeBron and Cleveland there and the top two teams in the east…it felt like a playoff game.  The amount of tradition and nostalgia that was included in all of the game day presentation was amazing.  A lot of imagery and video of former Celtic greats were shown on the jumbotron pre game which helped get the crowd fired up and ready for the tip.

All in all it was a great weekend.  Very cool to see that game on Friday night and a fantastic opportunity to be a part of the conference on Saturday.  It was a great chance to once again see the interest and curiosity in the EA SPORTS brand and the opportunities that exist for us to help pioneer in the area of analytics in the sport of basketball.

by Sean O'Brien

ASW is always a great opportunity for us to meet with some of our valued partners such as NBA Entertainment, Synergy Sports, NIKE Basketball, adidas basketball, DIME Magazine, NBA scouts and coaches as well as various artists and DJs that we are looking to collaborate with.  There are so many amazing synergies with these partners that help us create a unique and authentic basketball experience each and every year.

One of my favorite events over the weekend is the NBA LIVE Challenge.  It’s very cool to be able to see some of the best NBA LIVE players out there, watch how they play the game as well as talk to them about the game, what they think of it, how it can be improved, etc.  The entire production team spends time with these guys in an attempt to better understand how the elite players are playing our game.  It also helps reinforce some of the things that we are focusing on this year.  It was quite painful watching the two finalists use the pick and roll control on every single possession and seeing Yao and Z end up with 75% of each of their team’s total points.  Obviously something that we are going to address this year with a big focus on help defense, especially during a pick and roll situation.  There are other examples that I won’t get into right now.  But rest assured, they are ALL going to be fixed this year. 

It was a great weekend, the city of Phoenix was a great host and I really enjoyed the collaboration and observations that went on during the various events.