EA Sports Yet To Follow Through With Roster Updates for NBA Jam

EA Sports made the addition of roster updates for NBA Jam: On Fire Edition a big selling-point considering the original reboot from the company the year prior was not supported post-release. They used the disappointment and frustration with that title to market OFE with everything from roster updates to “Team Fire” and “Tag Mode” touted as hype-worthy additions given the disappointment over their omission from the original. 

The season has been underway for a few days now and no roster update for On Fire Edition has been provided. The top players for each team aren’t changing due to signings right now, and the trade market has settled down, so one should certainly already be out. Marketing mentions of roster updates in particular can be found in the original announcement blog and trailer but it has become notable the lack of reference to updates ever since.

Inquiries directed to EA regarding roster updates for OFE have gone unanswered – typically an indication that a response would not be a positive one. It definitely is not a good sign that the company is avoiding the topic for this game as well as the upcoming NFL Blitz – though to be fair the promise of roster updates for Blitz has never been made. That should only be taken into consideration when evaluating whether or not to purchase Blitz. Regardless the actions taken with Jam will reflect on Blitz considering the timing and perceived lack of dedication.

In the case of OFE an advertised feature has not materialized and EA needs to be held accountable for that until they follow through on it. If they dont eventually – and really it should be soon – then consumers who bought it will have a right to demand some form of compensation and certainly the company will take another a hit to credibility in the process.

When I went to the extent of warning about what message buying OFE would send that was with the assumption that EA would follow through on their advertised features. Should they fail to provide at least one roster update it might be smart to avoid any second-tier titles from the company until they prove over time that they will actually deliver on their respective promises.