''NBA Live 99'' is the fifth installment of the ''

NBA Live ''NBA Live'' is a series of basketball video games published by EA Sports. The series, which debuted in 1994, is the successor to the previous ''NBA Playoffs'' and '' NBA Showdown'' series. Beginning in the late 2000’s, NBA Live sales had dro ...

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...

series. The cover features

Antoine Walker Antoine Devon Walker (born August 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008. Walker ...

of the Boston Celtics. The game was developed by

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network ...

and released on November 4, 1998, for the

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...

, and then on November 10, 1998, for the

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...

and PlayStation. Don Poier is the play-by-play announcer. It was the first NBA Live game released for

. ''NBA Live 99'' was followed by ''

NBA Live 2000 ''NBA Live 2000'' is the 2000 installment of the ''NBA Live'' video game series. The cover features Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs. The game was developed by EA Sports and released in 1999. Don Poier is the play-by-play announcer with Reggi ...

''.

Summary

''NBA Live 99'' is

' NBA release for the

1998–99 NBA season The 1998–99 NBA season was the 53rd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Due to a lockout, the season did not start until February 5, 1999, after a new six-year Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached between the NBA and the ...

. Major additions include Practice Mode and multi-season play, which features player development between seasons. Although free agency or generated rookies were not included, this would be the forerunner to Franchise Mode. ''Live 99'' was shipped with 1997–98 NBA season rosters due to the

1998–99 NBA lockout The 1998–99 NBA lockout was the third lockout of four in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It lasted from July 1, 1998, to January 20, 1999, and forced the 1998–99 regular season to be shortened to 50 games per team ...

, putting a hold on player movements and rookie signings during the summer of 1998. Prominent bugs led to the NBA Live Series Center fan site submitting a patch petition to EA Sports, resulting in two official patches which included roster updates for the 98–99 season. As ''Live 99'' kept the same file formats as ''Live 98'', patchers were able to produce the same wide variety of patches using an updated version of the EA Graphics Editor and the ''NBA Live 99'' Toolkit.

Features

LIVE Hoops * Fresh new moves, including jab steps, fake passes and aggressive rebounding, plus high-flying new dunks. * Real NBA stats, real NBA players, real NBA moves. * Create a dynasty with new multiple seasons - players evolve over time. * Enhanced GM mode with full NBA draft and realistic computer trading. LIVE Technology * New Sports Ticker via the Internet - check NBA scores as you play. * Unreal 3D graphics with real-time lighting and hundreds of animations. * Unbelievable player detail, including fully modeled heads and facial animations. LIVE Style * New Pro-Action AI includes smarter, more realistic player reactions. * TV presentation - moving cameras focus on player highlights. * New enhanced Play-by-Play and Color Commentary.

Platform differences

The Nintendo 64 version is an updated port of ''NBA Live 98'', which differs from the PC and PlayStation versions. The PC and PlayStation versions also featured a bug where players did not fatigue properly. The bug in the PC version was eventually patched.

Reception

The game received "favorable" reviews on all platforms according to video game

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

GameRankings. ''

AllGame RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...

'' gave the PC version four stars out of five, saying that the game delivers "a full basketball experience. Multiple seasons could literally keep a player busy for years which makes one wonder if anyone will really need the next version." ''

Computer Games Strategy Plus ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

'' gave the same PC version three stars out of five, however, saying, "there's little compelling reason to choose ''NBA Live 99'' over its previous version. Unlike the amazing ''FIFA'' games, the pressure to deliver an all-new game on a yearly basis is causing the ''NBA Live'' franchise to spin its wheels." In Japan, where the PlayStation version was ported for release on April 28, 1999, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...

'' gave it a score of 28 out of 40. The PC version was nominated for the "Best Sports Game of the Year" award at ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

''s Best of 1998 Awards, which ultimately went to ''

NFL Blitz ''NFL Blitz'' is a series of American football themed video games originally released by Midway featuring National Football League (NFL) teams. It began as a 1997 arcade game '' NFL Blitz'' that was ported to home consoles and spawned a series of ...

''. It was also nominated for the "Sports Game of the Year" award at ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

''s Best & Worst of 1998 Awards, which ultimately went to '' FIFA 99''. However, it won the award for "Best Sports Game" at the Fifth Annual ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

'' Awards.

Notes

* Due to the NBA lockout, ''Live 99'' featured final 1997–98 rosters accurate as of July 1, 1998, rather than early 1998–99 rosters featuring the draft class of 1998. EA Sports released two official patches, the first updating the rosters, adding the 50 game schedule and addressing several gameplay issues, while the second served as a midseason roster update. * Multi-season play and Practice Mode were introduced in ''Live 99''. * Prior to the official roster update, Michael Jordan was once again represented by a "Roster Player" for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nba Live 99 1998 video games Electronic Arts games NBA Live NuFX games Windows games PlayStation (console) games Nintendo 64 games Video games developed in Canada Video games set in 1998 Video games set in 1999