EA vets' new studio Play By Play aims to revive the spirit of NBA Street
Most sports video games can be daunting for those with just a casual interest in the activities they emulate. While the likes of FIFA, Madden, NBA 2K and MLB The Show aren't entirely inaccessible to the mainstream, they are also clearly geared towards those who live and breathe football (traditional or American), basketball, baseball or whichever ball-based sport is at the title's core.
There are a handful of alternatives through the likes of Nintendo's Mario-fronted sports games, but by and large these simulation titles are the only option for those who wish to indulge in a little digital athleticism.
A team of Electronic Arts veterans are determined to change this with the formation of Play By Play Studios, a new developer that emerges after three years of stealth today.
The company is led by CEO Scott Probst, perhaps best known as the former general manager of the EA-owned Visceral Games, which made Dead Space 2 and 3, as well as various Battlefield and Star Wars games. Meanwhile, creative director Mike Young has spent the last ten years in the same role on the Madden franchise, prior to which he worked on all four NBA Street games.
It's the latter that is a major inspiration for Play By Play's debut game, The Run: Got Next – a three-vs-three character-driven basketball game, heading to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC in 2025. While it won't be free-to-play, the team has emphasised it won't be a $70 premium price either.
This game, Probst tells GamesIndustry.biz, typifies the new studio's goal of "bringing sports games back in a different way to what's being done in the industry today."
"We can have a lot of fun and offer a different type of basketball. We don't necessarily have to adhere to the rules of the professional organisation"
While Probst never worked on the EA Sports side, unlike 23-year veteran Young, he recalls fond memories of NBA Street, SSX and similar titles and argues that there are few comparable games on the market today. He holds up 2003's NBA
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