NBA Live 18 gets its deep discount now for PlayStation 4

Earlier in January a deal on NBA Live 18 brought the game down to its lowest price point ever of just $7.49 but only on Xbox One. That same deal has now reached the PS4 and will be available for the next week to PSPlus subscribers.

Given the turbulence of the series over the last decade there was never a chance that NBA Live 18 would sell many copies no matter how good the game would turn out to be. Skepticism from consumers was more than justified and its competitor too popular and well established. Instead the goal for EA Sports was always to regain some credibility and slowly bring more people on board through word-of-mouth and by playing with the price.

A pre-order discount making the game $40 was the first strategy but, again, given Live’s history there was no reason anyone would take a risk at that point regardless of the price. The game was still required to “release” at the $60 which was just discouraging to anyone who might have decided the game sounded good later based on reviews or WOM. That meant the price would have to be dropped quickly and that did in fact happen.

First it was bringing it back down to the $40 which occurred within weeks. But the price would quickly drop again and down to unprecedented levels – $15 in November, $10 in December and $7.49 now.

Unlike on Xbox One, where the game will become part of the EA Access Vault possibly as soon as February, Live 18 won’t have that benefit present on PS4. That makes this deal one to jump on for anyone with even a fleeting interest in giving it a chance.

NBA Live 18 offers a very good career mode which got strong support in the awards voting, enjoyable gameplay, and absence of pressure/necessity to spend more money on an in-game currency. Its Franchise Mode however is a mess and post-release support has left something to be desired. Check out the review from back in September here.

Other PS4 deals on sports games this week include NHL 18 ($18), Disc Jam ($9) and Rory McIlroy PGA Tour ($5). The Super Bowl Edition of Madden NFL 18 also remains at the $18 price through the weekend.