NBA Elite 11

NBA Elite 11
Box art featuring forward Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder.[1]
Developer(s)	EA Canada
Publisher(s)	EA Sports
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iOS
Release date(s)	iOS November 5, 2010 PS3, X360 Cancelled
Genre(s)	Sports (Basketball)
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E
Media/distribution	DVD, Blu-ray Disc

NBA Elite 11 is a mobile basketball video game released by Electronic Arts (EA) for iOS.^[2] It is the first installment in the NBA Elite series, succeeding EA's NBA Live series.

A release of the game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 was scheduled for October 5, 2010, but was delayed until March 31, 2011 due to "concerns about gameplay polish".^[3]The cancellation for these versions was officially announced on November 2, 2010 and development of the franchise was moved from EA's Black Box studio to its Florida-based Tiburon studio.^[4] EA instead released free DLC for NBA Live 10, including free roster updates for the 2010–11 NBA season and free daily Dynamic DNA updates, for the entire 2010-2011 NBA Season.^[5] Previously, a download code for NBA Jam was to be included with copies of Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of NBA Elite 11, but NBA Jam was subsequently released as a standalone game for both systems and the Wii.^[6]

Features

Controls were retooled to primarily use the right analog stick for actions such as shooting. New animations were also added.

NBA Live 10 commentators Marv Albert and Steve Kerr were replaced by the ESPN crew of Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mike Breen.^[7]

The game was to feature the debut of "Become Legendary Mode", a single-player career mode similar to "Be a Pro Mode" in NHL and FIFA and "Superstar Mode" in the Madden games.^[8]

The iOS version features a 3 point shootout mode, season mode, playoff mode, and play mode.

The game's soundtrack was produced by 9th Wonder and rapper J. Cole and was going to include the song "The Plan."^[9][10]

Development and cancellation

The developers of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions aimed to completely change the game's control system, but were pressed for time with an eighteen month development cycle. A demo was released while the game was being finalized. The demo was plagued with glitches that were much publicized, including one involving a player, most famously Andrew Bynum in a YouTube video, stuck in the middle of the court in the model's bind pose (the default pose used to model the character, before any animation is applied).^[11] Another glitch that was noticed in NBA Elite 11 involved Chicago Bulls Luol Deng. Deng had a "hotspot" from the left baseline where he almost never missed from. Developers were aware of an animation bug, but intended to fix it before release. After internal review of the game, EA found the product to be unsatisfactory and cancelled the game.^[12]

However, some copies, especially for the Playstation 3, have made it into circulation and are considered rare collector's items.^[13]

See also

• NBA 2K11
• NBA Jam

References

1. ^ All-Star Kevin Durant Named Cover Athlete of EA Sports NBA Elite 11
2. ^ http://kotaku.com/5682159/nba-elite-11-available-now
3. ^ "News - EA Delays NBA Elite 11 To 2011, Announces Stand-alone Multi-platform Jam". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/30646/EA_Delays_NBA_Elite_11_To_2011_Announces_Standalone_NBA_Jam.php. Retrieved 2010-09-28. 
4. ^ "News - EA NBA Elite 11 Canceled, Personnel Restructuring 'Relatively Small'". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/31320/NBA_Elite_11_Canceled_Personnel_Restructuring_Relatively_Small_.php. Retrieved 2010-11-02. 
5. ^ Molina, Bret (2010-09-28). "Electronic Arts delays release of 'NBA Elite 11'". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2010/09/electronic-arts-delays-release-of-nba-elite-11/. Retrieved 2010-09-29. 
6. ^ Rangebar Merani (2010-08-03). "NBA Jam gets Bundled with 360, PS3 Copies of NBA Elite 11 | Ripten Video Game Blog". Ripten.com. http://www.ripten.com/2010/08/03/nba-jam-gets-bundled-with-360-ps3-copies-of-nba-elite-11-range-85/. Retrieved 2010-09-28. 
7. ^ NBA Elite 11 Gets New Announce Team
8. ^ "Become Legendary" Mode Unveiled For NBA Elite 11
9. ^ "NBA Elite 11 demo available, soundtrack revealed". Destructoid. http://www.destructoid.com/nba-elite-11-demo-available-soundtrack-revealed-184505.phtml. Retrieved 2010-09-28. 
10. ^ "J. COLE AND 9TH WONDER CREATE SOUNDTRACK FOR EA SPORTS NBA ELITE 11 | The Official J. Cole Site". Jcolemusic.com. http://www.jcolemusic.com/news/j-cole-and-9th-wonder-create-soundtrack-ea-sports-nba-elite-11. Retrieved 2010-09-28. 
11. ^ http://kotaku.com/5644326/the-passion-of-the-bynum
12. ^ http://kotaku.com/5704605/how-a-big-video-game-was-killed
13. ^ http://www.pastapadre.com/2010/10/01/nba-elite-11-copies-do-exist

External links

• Official site
• NBA Elite on Twitter
• NBA Elite on Facebook