'NBA Live' nixed again

"This wasn't an easy decision, but it's the right one for our fans," said EA Sports EVP Andrew Wilson, reminding readers that the franchise had been taken on by a new team in a new studio using new technology. "I hope you'll agree when you're able to play the game next year."

The last full-on basketball sim from Electronic Arts was NBA Live 10, delivered in 2009, a game which was supposed to have been succeeded by new franchise NBA Elite.

However, NBA Elite 11 was pulled after a disastrous downloadable demo generated tremendous buzz -- but for all the wrong reasons, as users found new bugs and errors, including an infamous glitch that fixed then-Lakers star Andrew Bynum in a "Jesus pose."

Meanwhile, the NBA 2K series grew even stronger, with Michael Jordan recruited for the masterstroke that was NBA 2K11, a larger haul of NBA icons brought in for NBA 2K12, and the upcoming NBA 2K13 due the week of October 4.

EA did bring back the classic NBA Jam series, a two-on-two arcade dunkfest that had ignited arcades and home consoles in the 90s, with consecutive releases in 2010 and 2011, but NBA Live won't be back in the limelight for another year at least.