Is NBA Live 09’s big feature OTP related?

Over the last few days there has been a great deal of speculation over the “ground-breaking” new feature in NBA Live 09 that will “change the way sports games are made”. The reveal of what this feature is won’t come until next month at E3, quite possibly during EA’s press conference which is scheduled for July 14th.

Initially we had the denial of a Superstar mode but that was soon followed by the media previews stating that Be A Pro (Superstar with a different name) is actually in. The media previews have not gone into any detail on the mode which is curious considering how much they focused on it in their NHL 09 previews. Combined with that I haven’t been able to get an answer as to the role that Be A Pro plays which in itself could be a sign that it somehow factors into the future announcement.

Then consider that Gamespot’s preview possibly infers that it ties into Online Team Play and you can start to put together a theory.

While OTP has undergone exciting changes, we won’t be able to discuss it for a few more weeks (but trust us, it will be worth the wait).

First, I appreciate Gamespot acknowledging that OTP was in 08 and is not a new feature as other media reports have been stating. The mention though of waiting a few weeks for information definitely could be more than a coincidence as there wasn’t a specific reference made to the unknown feature in question.

The predictions around NHL 09’s huge online feature went strongly towards an MMO type online experience with Be A Pro. One has to wonder if that could be what EA is looking at here, which could present a natural progression of Online Team Play.

EA has now placed themselves in a position where this feature needs to deliver otherwise they risk alienating fans with the hype they built leading up to announcing it. At this point being skeptical as to the magnitude of the announcement is understandable as ultimately it’ll be judged on what it turns out to be next month.