For the first time in the NBA Live video game series, the roster for the WNBA will be included in EA’s long-running basketball video game series. The decision to include the WNBA roster in the game was made in order to bring more diversity to the video game industry, Sean O’Brien the EA Sports’ executive producer for NBA, in a phone interview with CNBC.
O’Brien stated that he was inspired by Vancouver, British-Columbia based studio EA Canada’s inclusion of women’s soccer teams in FIFA 16. EA Sports was ranked Best Place to Work in 2107 for LGBTQ Equality by the Human Rights Campaign. “It’s our responsibility to do this for all types of people. A spokesperson for EA Sports stated, “Our commitment to inclusion is embedded in our recruiting process, from job descriptions to interview panels to tackling unconscious bias with blind resumes and candid feedback to interviews.”
The WNBA roster will be able to be accessed through a new mode called “WNBA Play Now,” in order to separate the WNBA gameplay mode from the NBA gameplay modes, the development teams held motion capture sessions with the athletes, one which happened to be 2017 WNBA draft first overall pick Kelsey Plum. The players had three-dimensional head scans of certain WNBA stars such as Maya Moore, Brittney Griner, and Diana Taurasi.
WNBA president Lisa Borders is excited to be collaborating with EA, and hopes that the game will be able to show off the abilities of the WNBA athletes, “We are delighted to collaborate and make history with EA, with EA’s expertise and ingenuity, the game will provide a terrific platform to showcase the players and the league, enabling fans to experience the WNBA in a new, exciting way.” However, though the WNBA players will be playable in their own game mode they will not be available for online gaming, this is due to O’Brien and the EA team wanting to first build a foundation for the WNBA players this year. O’Brien stated he wanted to focus mainly on investing into thee WNBA’s exclusive game modes and focus on minor details, ranging from players’ jerseys to the official WNBA basketball. NBA Live 18 is set to launch on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this September and will feature the WNBA Play Now mode for all WNBA fans and those who are looking for a change from the NBA. Happy gaming!
Featured Image via Wikimedia Commons
