James Harden Graces the NBA Live 18 Cover
When it comes to video game basketball, the 2K Sports series is king. No matter how hard EA tries to rebound with its NBA Live series, it just doesn’t have what it takes to steal the ball from NBA 2K’s court. This year, however, EA is trying a different and commendable tactic to get players to notice NBA Live 18.
EA has revealed that they will be selling NBA Live 18 for $20 cheaper — a 33 per cent discount — to anyone that pre-orders the game before it launches on September 19th, the same day as NBA 2K18. After that, the price will revert back to the standard $59.99 USD price. Additionally, those who pre-order can also start playing the game four days earlier on September 15th. Pre-orders can be made on Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target, Toys R Us, WalMart, and on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Games Store. This is a unique promotion from EA and one that, at the very least, may persuade some buyers to check out it out over 2K’s perennial 2K series.
In related news, EA also revealed the cover star athlete for NBA Live 18: guard James Harden from the Houston Rockets. Harden had previously graced the cover of NBA 2K16 with Steph Curry, but this will be his first appearance on the cover of an NBA Live game.
It was revealed recently that NBA Live 18 will feature all 12 teams from the WNBA, a first for video game basketball, and won’t be included in NBA 2K18. It does appear that EA is pulling out all of the stops this year. Let’s hope it does some good.
A demo for NBA Live 18 is also, er, live today on PSN and Xbox Live for players to check out. It features “The Rise,” a prologue chapter for NBA Live’s single-player story mode, The One. Let us know in the comments below whether EA is making the right moves with their latest pro basketball game.