Ben-DutkaToday, EA has announced that, for the very first time, their NBA Live franchise is going international. NBA Live 08 will feature 8 FIBA teams, which is a product of a multi-year licensing agreement between EA and FIBA, the world governing body for basketball.
Included in this year's game will be 2006 World Championship winners Spain, plus the runner-up Greece, as well as the USA, Germany, Italy, France, Chile, and Argentina. You will be able to take control of any of these teams in the Play Now mode in addition to the all-new FIBA World Championship mode. The latter lets you compete in an 8-team single-elimination tournament, which is a great option to the standard NBA format.
“We’re very excited to count FIBA as a close partner,” said Jordan Edelstein, director of product marketing, EA Sports. “Adding the FIBA World Championship license to the NBA LIVE franchise, allows us at EA Sports to add a new layer of authenticity to the franchise, giving fans all over the world a deeper virtual basketball experience.”
Apparently, FIBA isn't quite big enough yet to spawn a game of their own, but hey, it's a step in the right direction. After all, this sport is definitely global, and any good b-ball simulation should include global representatives.
Related Game(s): NBA Live 08
