It looks like EA Sports listened to the voice of the people after all. After an incredibly poor response to the NBA Elite 11 demo and the anger that ensued with the XBOX 360 and PS3 versions of NBA Jam, Peter Moore, President of EA Sports, announced that NBA Elite 11 will be delayed indefinitely and that XBOX 360 and PS3 versions of NBA Jam will be sold separately in time for the holidays. For full details, go here.
From a consumer standpoint, this is a great move. It shows that EA Sports is committed to pleasing its audience, even though it appears as though NBA Elite 11 to this point has been a huge misstep. Here’s to hoping that more development time will help EA Sports at least save face.
As for un-bundling NBA Jam from NBA Elite on the XBOX 360 and PS3, I’m all for it. Based on the wording from Peter Moore, it sounds like we’re getting the full NBA Jam experience on a disc, which I’m all for. I will be picking that up in a heartbeat now that it’s not tied to NBA Elite 11.
From a business perspective, there have to be a ton of EA executives and shareholders that are losing their minds over these decisions. By delaying NBA Elite and not having NBA Jam ready for the XBOX 360 or PlayStation 3, you miss all the hype surrounding the start of the NBA season. Regardless of the quality of the final products, they probably will not sell as well because they missed their window.
For the sake of everyone involved, I hope that this all works out in the end. As disappointed as gamers were to see that NBA Elite was not good and that NBA Jam would only be sold with NBA Elite, I think EA is taking the right steps to making gamers happy.
In Third Person 