NBA Live 96 (Euro, USA)
NBA Live is a series of basketball video games, published by EA Sports. It is the successor to EA's previous NBA Playoffs and NBA Showdown series. Its main competitor is the NBA 2K series. After the release of NBA Live 10, EA attempted to retool the series under a new name with NBA Elite 11. However, the game was met with bad publicity and development problems before release and was cancelled. In November 2010, development of the franchise was moved from EA Canada studio to Florida-based Tiburon studio. It was eventually announced that the series' next installment would be released in Fall 2012 and would return to the NBA Live name, however on September 27, 2012 EA announced they would cancel the release.
NBA Live 96 (Euro, USA)
Technical
CPU
- maincpu 68000 (@ 7 Mhz)
- genesis_snd_z80 Z80 (@ 3 Mhz)
Chipset
- YM2612 (@ 7 Mhz)
- SEGA VDP PSG (@ 3 Mhz)
Display
- Orientation Yoko
- Resolution 255 x 224
- Frequency 50 Hz
Controlers
- Number of players 4
- Number of buttons 7
- Kind of controler joy (8 ways)
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NBA Live 96 (Euro, USA) Screenshots
NBA Playoffs
The predecessor of the NBA Live series was the NBA Playoffs series, which featured Lakers vs. Celtics, released first in 1989 for MS-DOS-compatible PCs and later adapted for consoles in early 1991 for the Sega Mega Drive. This game was played from a horizontal view (while later versions moved to an isometric view before ultimately moving to 3D on newer consoles). The game was one of the first to feature an NBA license, containing both real NBA teams and player likenesses and signature moves. Details such as Horace Grant's goggles are clearly visible, and Michael Jordan's "Air Reverse Layup" is animated with very high accuracy. Player numbers were also visible. The game featured only eight of the sixteen teams that qualified for the NBA playoffs that year, as well as both NBA All-Star teams.
The next game in the series was Bulls vs. Lakers, released in 1992, followed by Bulls vs. Blazers in 1993. Unlike the first game, these two releases were titled after the two teams who were in the NBA Finals the previous season, while the original release apparently chose the Lakers and Celtics due to both teams' historical success. Each revision added more teams and players, as well as more signature moves. The series also included an Olympic basketball spinoff game, Team USA Basketball (1992) which uses the same engine. The final game in the series was NBA Showdown 94 for SNES before the transition to the NBA Live series.
The next game in the series was Bulls vs. Lakers, released in 1992, followed by Bulls vs. Blazers in 1993. Unlike the first game, these two releases were titled after the two teams who were in the NBA Finals the previous season, while the original release apparently chose the Lakers and Celtics due to both teams' historical success. Each revision added more teams and players, as well as more signature moves. The series also included an Olympic basketball spinoff game, Team USA Basketball (1992) which uses the same engine. The final game in the series was NBA Showdown 94 for SNES before the transition to the NBA Live series.
| Year | Game Title | Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs | NBA team and players, signature moves in team game. |
| 1992 | Bulls versus Lakers and the NBA Playoffs | Co-operative play, instant replay in team game. |
| 1992 | Team USA Basketball | International player licenses. |
| 1993 | Bulls versus Blazers and the NBA Playoffs | Basketball game officially by EA Sports, custom team |
| 1994 | NBA Showdown | Multiple custom team, 3rd party in game advertisement, white box cover, all NBA teams. |
NBA Live
The NBA Live series was originally released for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and SNES with NBA Live 95. The naming was changed from utilizing the last two digits of the year to the entire year number from 2000–2005, but returned to the original naming convention with NBA Live 06.
The Create-A-Player feature was not available in the 1995 versions of the game, but have been a mainstay since NBA Live 96. NBA Live 98 in 1997 was the last NBA Live game for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and the SNES. NBA Live 98 also was the first NBA Live series game to support 3Dfx graphic cards. Only first generation Voodoo and Voodoo Rush cards were officially supported.
Starting from NBA Live 2000, the series featured NBA Live Legend All-Stars Teams, that included some biggest names from five decades (50s to 90s). These teams could be used instantly, but to use the players as regular players (e.g. traded, played on regular NBA Teams) they needed to be unlocked. Along the series, some of the rosters were changed due to many reasons as Michael Jordan was on the 90's team through 2004 and then, Spud Webb and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tom Chambers were added to the rosters in NBA Live 06.
NBA Live 2005 brought the addition of the Freestyle Air, NBA All-Star Weekend which includes the Rookie Challenge, Three Point Shootout, Slam Dunk Contest, and the NBA All-Star Game, and Freestyle Challenge which 2 players or more can play the Three Point Shootout or the Slam Dunk Contest.
NBA Live 06 was released on September 26, 2005 for the Xbox 360, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, PC, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 Mobile. It features Dwyane Wade as the cover athlete.
NBA Live 07 was released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC, PlayStation Portable, and the Xbox360. The major new feature for this year was an evolution of the freestyle superstars system. Tracy McGrady of the Rockets is the cover athlete.
NBA Live 08 was released October 2, 2007 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Wii and PC and Gilbert Arenas is the cover athlete. This was the first entry in the series to feature national teams (under FIBA's license) and the last edition of NBA Live to be available on Windows.
NBA Live 09 was released on October 7, 2008 and Tony Parker is the cover athlete. The game is available for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, and Wii. It features the first concept of daily updates changing stuff like tendencies, rosters, and hot-cold streaks. The PS2 game featured Dynamic DNA, Be a Pro Mode which you create a player and put him in the NBA (Be a Pro is also in EA Sports NHL and FIFA series and its similar to Madden's Superstar Mode), a deeper practice mode, expanded FIBA world championships, Hot Spots 2.0 and an improved dynasty mode.
NBA Live 10 was released on October 6, 2009 and the cover athlete was Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. It is currently the latest of the NBA Live series.
NBA Live 13 was to be released in Fall 2012 but was canceled.
The Create-A-Player feature was not available in the 1995 versions of the game, but have been a mainstay since NBA Live 96. NBA Live 98 in 1997 was the last NBA Live game for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and the SNES. NBA Live 98 also was the first NBA Live series game to support 3Dfx graphic cards. Only first generation Voodoo and Voodoo Rush cards were officially supported.
Starting from NBA Live 2000, the series featured NBA Live Legend All-Stars Teams, that included some biggest names from five decades (50s to 90s). These teams could be used instantly, but to use the players as regular players (e.g. traded, played on regular NBA Teams) they needed to be unlocked. Along the series, some of the rosters were changed due to many reasons as Michael Jordan was on the 90's team through 2004 and then, Spud Webb and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tom Chambers were added to the rosters in NBA Live 06.
NBA Live 2005 brought the addition of the Freestyle Air, NBA All-Star Weekend which includes the Rookie Challenge, Three Point Shootout, Slam Dunk Contest, and the NBA All-Star Game, and Freestyle Challenge which 2 players or more can play the Three Point Shootout or the Slam Dunk Contest.
NBA Live 06 was released on September 26, 2005 for the Xbox 360, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, PC, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 Mobile. It features Dwyane Wade as the cover athlete.
NBA Live 07 was released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC, PlayStation Portable, and the Xbox360. The major new feature for this year was an evolution of the freestyle superstars system. Tracy McGrady of the Rockets is the cover athlete.
NBA Live 08 was released October 2, 2007 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Wii and PC and Gilbert Arenas is the cover athlete. This was the first entry in the series to feature national teams (under FIBA's license) and the last edition of NBA Live to be available on Windows.
NBA Live 09 was released on October 7, 2008 and Tony Parker is the cover athlete. The game is available for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, and Wii. It features the first concept of daily updates changing stuff like tendencies, rosters, and hot-cold streaks. The PS2 game featured Dynamic DNA, Be a Pro Mode which you create a player and put him in the NBA (Be a Pro is also in EA Sports NHL and FIFA series and its similar to Madden's Superstar Mode), a deeper practice mode, expanded FIBA world championships, Hot Spots 2.0 and an improved dynasty mode.
NBA Live 10 was released on October 6, 2009 and the cover athlete was Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. It is currently the latest of the NBA Live series.
NBA Live 13 was to be released in Fall 2012 but was canceled.
| Game Title | Cover |
|---|---|
| NBA Live 95 | Seven player action shot from 1994 NBA Finals, Knicks vs. Rockets |
| NBA Live 96 | Tip-off before Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals, Rockets vs. Magic (SNES and Genesis) Shaquille O'Neal (PC and PlayStation) |
| NBA Live 97 | Mitch Richmond |
| NBA Live 98 | Tim Hardaway |
| NBA Live 99 | Antoine Walker |
| NBA Live 2000 | Tim Duncan |
| NBA Live 2001 | Kevin Garnett Arvydas Sabonis |
| NBA Live 2002 | Steve Francis |
| NBA Live 2003 | Jason Kidd |
| NBA Live 2004 | Vince Carter Raül López |
| NBA Live 2005 | Carmelo Anthony Tony Parker, Pau Gasol |
| NBA Live 06 | Dwyane Wade Yuta Tabuse, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol |
| NBA Live 07 | Tracy McGrady Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker/Boris Diaw, Pau Gasol |
| NBA Live 08 | Gilbert Arenas Dirk Nowitzki, Andrea Bargnani, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker/Boris Diaw |
| NBA Live 09 | Tony Parker Luol Deng, Andrea Bargnani, Pau Gasol |
| NBA Live 10 | Dwight Howard Pau Gasol Luol Deng |
| NBA Live 13 | Canceled |
NBA Elite
EA announced on May 26, 2010 that the series would be renamed NBA Elite from 2011 onwards. The release of NBA Elite 11 was delayed for extra time in development because of "concerns about gameplay polish", and was eventually canceled on November 2, 2010. However, the game was released for Apple iOS on November 5, 2010, with Kevin Durant on the title image. In its place, EA updated the rosters of NBA Live 10 to reflect those of the 2010-11 NBA season free of charge. Additionally, EA provided free daily Dynamic DNA updates for NBA Live 10, for the entire 2010-2011 NBA Season. The next installment, however, was announced in February 2012 as NBA Live 13, bringing back the "NBA Live" title, and was scheduled for a fall 2012 release, but was cancelled on September 27, 2012.
