Come on and slam, and welcome to the mobile jam.
Electronic Arts announced today that it has launched NBA Live Mobile for iOS and Android, a free-to-play basketball game. The mobile business is worth $36.9 billion, and traditional publishers like EA are eager to get a piece of that money by leveraging its console and PC brands, including other sports series like Madden.
“NBA Live Mobile provides a variety of ways to play, including Live Event drills or game scenarios, head-to-head matchups against fans all over the world, and single-player Season mode,” EA noted in a press release sent to GamesBeat. “As players participate in matches they will earn coins and other rewards that will allow them to further build up a team to beat. The game also features intuitive onscreen controls that allow players to express their skill through taps and swipes, creating an entertaining, engaging, and high-quality mobile basketball experience. With so many ways to play, build a team and challenge the competition, NBA Live Mobile is the perfect way to keep the basketball season going, all year long.”
This is a strange time to release a mobile NBA game, since the postseason for the sport ended last month. No NBA team will play an official game until October 25. NBA players will be participating in the Summer Olympics, which start on August 5.
EA’s NBA Live series has had trouble competing with 2K’s NBA 2K franchise, which is one of the best-selling sports game every year. NBA 2K also has a mobile version.
