As any sports fan will tell you, the most important part of any year's iteration is its roster. Being able to select the newest acquisition or following your favorite player can make all the difference when it comes to die-hard sports fans, regardless of if they play Madden or NBA 2K.
Unfortunately, this past year saw not one but two sports lockouts that put the rosters of key virtual sports franchises in flux. Whilst the Eagles were acquiring some powerhouse talent, Madden fans were left wondering if a roster update would take place in time for launch. Thankfully, EA Sports was able to work that scenario out in Madden's case, but where they have stumbled is with NBA Jam: On Fire Edition.
When the game originally released back in October 2011 the lockout was still threatening to the 2011-2012 season and the Miami Heat were still without a championship title. That second scenario has still not changed (sorry LeBron), but the lockout is over yet the NBA Jam: On Fire Edition roster remains unchanged.
According to an EA Sports representative, though, there are plans in place to issue a roster update that would see all of the free agents and draft picks end up on their respective teams' rosters. There were some big moves this year — not as big as the Decision 2010 — but ones that could completely change the viability of some teams.
While seeing Lamar Odom transition from the Lakers to the Mavericks is integral to overall NBA roster continuity, the most important roster update gamers should be anticipating is Chris Paul's trade to the Los Angeles Clippers, or as it's now known 'Lob City'. With a versatile alley-oop specialist in Blake Griffin and Chris Paul to feed him the rock, the Los Angeles Clippers, once this roster update goes through, should become one of the top teams for NBA Jam online matches.
Unfortunately EA Sports isn't saying much beyond that they would like to institute an update, not giving any sort of timeline. Now that the lockout is over one has to imagine the demand for basketball titles, not just NBA 2K12, is fairly high, so it would behoove EA to get something out sooner rather than later.
What roster changes are you most looking forward to see take place in NBA Jam: OFE? Has the lockout put basketball games on the back burner?
Source: Kotaku