NBA Live 14 Release Date Confirmed and Latest News

NBA Live fans can breathe a sigh of relief. After seeing the franchise cancel or forego a release every year since 2010, NBA Live 14 is officially set to hit stores for next-generation consoles on Nov. 19, per EA Sports NBA on Twitter.

Along with the official announcement of the release, EA Sports also released the first in-game screenshot featuring the Portland Trail Blazers Damian Lillard launching a jump shot over cover athlete Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Things look good in the screenshot provided, but with a recent past that has been sketchy to say the least, gamers won't get truly excited until we see gameplay. We've seen the CGI-based trailer below, but that's not what gamers will see when they fire up the game to play.

Actual gameplay video is likely a few weeks off considering most sports games for the next-generation systems haven't shown any in-game action up to this point.

Why is that?

It's simple. Most of the sports gaming franchises that will be producing games for the next-gen consoles also have versions of their games releasing on current-gen shortly (NBA 2K14 and FIFA 14), or have already released them recently (Madden NFL 25). Showing next-gen footage before or close to the release of current-gen releases would likely kill the buzz for games on Xbox 360 and PS3.

NBA Live 14 will not be releasing for current-gen systems, but this dynamic still potentially affects the franchise.

Because the competition has held back—namely NBA 2K14—it is likely NBA Live has held back as well. With most cyber-ballers already locked into NBA 2K14, it will take a substantial effort for NBA Live to regain its place in the virtual basketball market. Here are the features we've already learned about, per Gamestop:

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Next Definition Visuals - Combined with 4x the texture resolution, high-fidelity animations and next-generation lighting NBA Live 14 will showcase every detail of all your favorite NBA players, uniforms and arenas to reveal stunning detail. Every wrinkle, every facial expression, and every drop of sweat will make you feel like you're courtside.

Bouncetek Technology - The dribble is fundamental to basketball, but it's also the unique signature of every NBA star. Whether it's Rubio's wrap around or Irving's devastating hesitation dribble, creativity is at the core of every move. BounceTek unlocks the full potential of the dribble by releasing the ball to physics, allowing for truly organic control and authentic responsiveness. With NBA Live 14, one-on-one matchups take on a whole new meaning and finally allow for creativity and self-expression. NBA Live 14 puts the control back in your hands.

CourtQ - CourtQ (Court Quotient) is the brain of NBA Live 14. Over 70 unique stats and tendencies power every single player on the court utilizing the same data all 30 NBA teams use. NBA players evolve throughout the season, and so does CourtQ downloading updates from every NBA game within 1-hr of the final buzzer. If Victor Oladipo gets hot in the NBA, he'll be hot in NBA Live 14.

Daily Updates - With fresh content and challenges updated on a daily basis, NBA Live 14 delivers a new experience each and every time you pick up the controller, delivering the pulse of the NBA 24/7/365

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Per EA Sports, there are also signature moves included for more than 50 NBA players.

The PS4 releases on Nov. 15, so NBA Live 14 isn't exactly a launch title, but it drops four days after the system releases. NBA 2K14 will release on Day 1 with the PS4, so that could be a slight disadvantage.

Xbox One releases on Nov. 22, so Live's early release for that system could work in its favor. This is especially the case if gamers get an opportunity to preview it on PS4. If things look promising, it will only build anticipation for gamers who are committed to buying an Xbox One.

It has been a while, but NBA Live is officially back on the court.

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