Major Nelson: NBA Live 13 was supposed to be out on XBLA Oct. 3

By Anthony John Agnello October 4, 2012

nba live free to play — Image used with permission by copyright holder

NBA Live 13 wouldn’t have been the full on competitor to NBA 2K13 some people expected it to be even if it hadn’t been cancelled last week. Like recent editions in the NBA Jam series, the reborn NBA Live franchise would have been a download only game.

Larry Hryb, otherwise known as the outspoken director of Xbox Live Major Nelson, tweeted on Wednesday that the Xbox Live Arcade release of the week would have been NBA Live 13 had it not been canned due to concerns over the game’s poor quality.

“NBA Live 13 was supposed to be today’s XBLA title, but EA made the decision not to launch it today,” read Hryb’s tweet.

There was some speculation about how EA would release NBA Live 13 even before the game was cancelled. The publisher, despite maintaining its license with the NBA, hasn’t released a game in the series since 2009 and has taken massive losses on the franchise since. EA famously cancelled the franchise reboot NBA Elite in the fall of 2010 over quality concerns, even after producing retail copies of the game. (Those retail copies have gone on to become sought after collectibles on eBay.) John Riccitiello, EA CEO, said in October 2010 following the cancellation that the game’s cancellation would cost the company $250 million in lost revenue. That figure did not account for money spent on development, production, and pre-release marketing.

A digital edition then would have made for a soft, low-risk re-entry into the NBA Live franchise for EA. It’s employed this strategy before, but always with smaller sports titles not part of its marquee simulation series that includes the likes of Madden NFL and FIFA. NFL Blitz, for example, was released as a download only title at the beginning of 2012. By releasing it as a downloadable, EA would also compete with NBA 2K13 in the same manner that NFL 2K did with Madden before EA won an exclusive license to the league: By offering the game at a $20 budget price.

As detailed in a Monday article here at Digital Trends, considering EA’s current strategy and business model, NBA Live will return as not just a download-only game, but a free-to-play one as well. When NBA Live 14 comes out next fall, it will be a free download supported by microtransactions.

Topics

Anthony John Agnello

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…

Gaming

What’s free on the Epic Games Store right now?

A Steam Punk circus.

Checking in on the Epic Games Store is one of the easiest ways to grow your gaming library. Epic gives out a free game or two every week, ranging from darling indies to AAA titles. All you have to do is jump on the Epic Games Store to claim the free games and they'll be added to your library to keep forever.

Keeping track of all the free titles and gaming deals can be a pain, so we're monitoring the Epic Games Store for you. We'll update this article every time a new game is made available!
What's free on the Epic Games Store right now?
These games can be picked up on the Epic Games store right now for free. Scroll down to the Free Games section of the app's Discover tab or find the individual title using the search bar. Just find and select the Get button to claim your free game. You do not have to download or install it right away.

Gaming

Homeworld 3 preload guide: release time, file size, and preorder

Ships flying by giant purple towers.

A large-scale sci-fi real-time strategy series is finally coming back with Homeworld 3, and its release is imminent. This is the only RTS series that places you in direct control of entire fleets of ships in 3D combat in some of the most beautiful regions of space we've seen. While we have to wait to see if the story has a satisfying conclusion after all these years, there are always the co-op and PvP modes to sink your time into long after the credits roll. Let's make sure your ships are refueled and ready to take off when Homeworld 3 releases.
Homeworld 3 release time
There are two release times for Homeworld 3 depending on whether or not you purchased the Fleet Command or Collector's editions. If you have either of these versions preordered, then you can start playing at 11 a.m. PT on may 10. If not, then the global release will be at 11 a.m. PT on May 13.
Homeworld 3 file size

Developer Blackbird Interactive has stated that Homeworld 3 will be around 40 GB in size,so be sure you have at least that much space to spare.
Homeworld 3 preload options
Unfortunately, there will be no preloading options for Homeworld 3 prior to launch. You will have to wait for your game to download in full once it unlocks to start playing.
Homeworld 3 preorder details

Gaming

GTA 5 cheats: codes and phone numbers PS4, PS5, Xbox, and PC

The main characters of Grand Theft Auto V stand side-by-side.

A slam-dunk of a game for the talented developers at Rockstar, Grand Theft Auto V has been out for several years now, but it’s still an extremely popular title. We’re also guessing there’s some renewed interest in the game because the world knows we’re getting a Grand Theft Auto VI in the somewhat-near future. If you’ve ever played a GTA game, you’ll know the going can get a little tough from time to time. This is why it’s nice to live in a world with cheat codes.

Whether you just want to have a ton of fun with unlimited health and ammunition, or you’re seriously struggling with a certain section of the game, we’ve rounded up all the cheat codes you’ll need to know for GTA V, for platforms including PS4, PS5, Xbox, and PC.
How to use GTA 5 cheats
There are a few ways to enter GTA 5 cheat codes. The first and easiest is to use your cellphone. You can open your cellphone by pressing Up on the D-pad. From there, enter the corresponding number, and the cheat will fire. You can also classically input cheats by following a specific button combination. The combinations are the same across PlayStation and Xbox, but we've split them up to account for their different button-naming conventions, so it should feel more natural reading and entering them.
GTA 5 character cheats
Max Health and Armor