EA Sports explains NBA Live 13's E3 absence, states that the title needs "its own time"

EA Sports has explained the notable absence of NBA Live 13 at this year's E3 Expo, stating that the title "deserved its own time" and will be shown at a later date.

"We have some really cool and aggressive stuff we have planned for NBA Live, and we felt it deserved its own time," EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson told Joystiq.

"We're going to come back in the next little while and talk specifically about our plans for NBA Live and how we come back to market this year, because we're going to do things differently."

Wilson went on to comment on the decision to revert back to the the NBA Live name, describing it as the "most appropriate name" for the type of experience they intend to deliver, regardless of the series' legacy.

"When you think about our three strategies as a sports label – innovation that changes the way you play, moving from a product to a product-plus service that changes the game as you play, and connecting gamers to their sport and each other and across platform in an online live manner that is dynamic – NBA Live as a name just made sense. We are moving from a world that was static, dead media on a disc to a world where the purchase of the game on disc is just the beginning of the experience you're going to enjoy throughout the entire season."

NBA Live is scheduled to release as part of EA Sports' northern autumn line up later this year.