View source for NBA Elite 11 (found builds of unreleased PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 basketball simulator; 2010)

{{InfoboxFound
|title=<center>''NBA Elite 11''</center>
|image=NBAElite11.png
|imagecaption=Cover art of ''NBA Elite 11'', featuring then-Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant.
|status=<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>
|datefound=26 May '20 (Xbox 360 version)<br> Jul '21 (PS3 version)
|foundby=Andrew (Xbox 360)<br> Unknown (PS3)
}}
'''''NBA Elite 11''''' is a basketball video game developed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 by EA Canada and published by EA Sports, originally slated for an October 2010 release. Aiming at a refreshing gameplay experience, with changes that would include new mechanics and game modes, EA Sports opted to drop their long-standing "NBA Live" franchise moniker – used since the 1994 installment ''NBA Live <nowiki>'</nowiki>95'' – in favor of a new identity, "NBA Elite", reflecting the publishers' desire to “pioneer a groundbreaking change in the basketball videogame segment.”

Although the game's production went as far as seeing copies pressed and a demo released, concerns over the quality of the product resulted in its release being delayed and, weeks later, officially cancelled. Since a limited number of physical copies of the PlayStation 3 version made it to the hands of consumers, ''NBA Elite 11'' is now considered one of the rarest games for the platform, with some copies being sold for thousands of dollars.

==Promotion==
[[File:NBAElite11Controls.jpg|thumb|left|200px|A sampler of the 'Hands-On Control' scheme.]]
''NBA Elite 11'' was first announced on June 2nd, 2010.<ref>[https://ea.com/news/ea-changes-the-game-announces-nba-elite-11 "EA Changes the Game, Announces NBA ELITE 11"]. Electronic Arts. June 2nd, 2010.</ref> Aiming at "revolutionizing the basketball simulation genre" and closing the sales gap with 2K Sports' ''NBA 2K'' series, EA Sports presented a set of key-feature changes – including a new control scheme dubbed 'Hands-On Control' and a new physics animation system using technology previously seen in titles of EA's ''NHL'', ''FIFA'' and ''Fight Night'' series.<ref>[https://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/08/03/nba-elite-11-for-ps3-new-controls-and-nba-jam-confirmed/ "NBA Elite 11 for PS3: New Controls and NBA Jam Confirmed"]. PlayStation.Blog. August 3rd, 2010.</ref>

On June 22nd, Electronic Arts published a press release in which then-Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant was formally announced as the cover athlete of ''NBA Elite 11''.<ref>[http://investor.ea.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=481687 "NBA All-Star Kevin Durant Named Cover Athlete of EA SPORTS NBA ELITE 11"] (Press release). Redwood City, California: Electronic Arts Inc. June 22nd, 2010.</ref> This marked the second time the superstar donned the cover of an EA-licensed basketball game – the first instance of this was the 2007 college basketball title ''NCAA March Madness 08''.<ref>[http://investor.ea.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=314349 "Kevin Durant Named to Cover of EA's NCAA March Madness 08"] (Press release). Redwood City, California: Electronic Arts Inc. June 26th, 2007.</ref> Durant would later appear on the cover of ''NBA 2K13'' as well as ''NBA 2K15''.

==Demo Release and Reception==
[[File:NBAElite11Bynum.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The infamous "Jesus Bynum" glitch.]]
On the evening of September 20th, a demo build of ''NBA Elite 11'' for the PS3 was made available for PlayStation Network users, with an Xbox 360 version coming out on the Xbox Live marketplace on the next morning. In the demo, players are able to compete in a re-edition of the final quarter of Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals, choosing between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Also featured in the demo is an introduction to the new 'Become Legendary' mode, where the player may create their own player character – portable to the retail game – and compete in the 'Jordan Draft Showcase' game with real-life rookies.<ref>[https://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/09/20/nba-elite-11-demo-available-tonight/ "NBA Elite 11 Demo Available Tonight"]. PlayStation.Blog. September 20th, 2010.</ref>

The demo, however, was met with mostly negative reactions from consumers. Common criticism included difficult and unresponsive controls, subpar artificial intelligence, unrealistic graphics/animation and numerous glitches that resulted in a large number of gamers threatening to instead acquire 2K Sports' offer, ''NBA 2K11''.

The worst impression of the demo's release, in the end, was an animation bug that not only made ''NBA Elite 11'' an easy target of ridicule, but also detracted from its gameplay. This bug involved one of the player characters' models – often associated with then-Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum due to a popular YouTube video review demonstrating the glitch – getting stuck in the middle of the court in its bind pose, effectively leaving the player in a disadvantageous position for the rest of the game.

==Delay and Cancellation==
On September 27th, ''NBA Elite 11'' was delayed indefinitely following an announcement by EA Sports president Peter Moore. Emphasizing the ambitious goals set for the title, as well as citing concerns over the product's quality and consumer feedback on the demo released one week before, Moore agreed that the game would benefit from an extended development period.<ref>[https://easports.com/blogs/itsinthegame/post/slug/nba-elite-delayed-nba-jam-ships-on-wii-next-week-xbox-360-and-ps3-coming-before-holidays "NBA ELITE Delayed; NBA JAM Ships on Wii Next Week, Xbox 360 and PS3 Coming Before Holidays"]. EA Sports. September 27th, 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100929083648/https://www.easports.com/blogs/itsinthegame/post/slug/nba-elite-delayed-nba-jam-ships-on-wii-next-week-xbox-360-and-ps3-coming-before-holidays Archived] from the original on September 29th, 2010.</ref>

As a compromise of delivering content in time for the 2010/11 NBA season, it was announced that roster updates and support for ''NBA Live 10'' would be provided free of charge. ''NBA Jam'', a title whose stripped-down PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were initially intended to be included with ''NBA Elite 11'' as downloadable bonuses, would receive a standalone release on November 17th, with all features found on the Nintendo Wii version.<ref>[http://investor.ea.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=521254 "EA SPORTS NBA JAM to Feature Online Play on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3"] (Press release). Redwood City, California: Electronic Arts Inc. October 21st, 2010.</ref>

On November 2nd, the suspicion of part of the specialized press was confirmed: ''NBA Elite 11'' was officially cancelled. The announcement, which according to anonymous sources followed a round of layoffs at EA Canada,<ref>[https://kotaku.com/5675136/annual-ea-layoffs-hit-nba-skate-teams-hardest-sources-say "Annual EA Layoffs Hit NBA, Skate Teams Hardest, Sources Say"]. Kotaku.com. October 27th, 2010.</ref> was made by Electronic Arts' chief financial officer Eric Brown during an investor call. EA COO John Schappert also added that future development of the franchise would be handled at EA Tiburon, developer of the ''Madden NFL'' series.<ref>[https://kotaku.com/5679899/nba-elite-11-is-officially-dead "NBA Elite 11 Is Officially Dead"]. Kotaku.com. November 2nd, 2010.</ref>

==Outcome==
The cancellation of ''NBA Elite 11'' tarnished EA Sports' reputation in the basketball simulator business. While EA's effort failed to hit the shelves, ''NBA 2K11'' – featuring the iconic Chicago Bulls shooting guard Michael Jordan on its cover and in a dedicated game mode – received mostly positive reviews<ref>[http://metacritic.com/game/pc/nba-2k11 "NBA 2K11 – PC"]. ''Metacritic''. Retrieved November 30th, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/nba-2k11 "NBA 2K11 – PlayStation 3"]. ''Metacritic''. Retrieved November 30th, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/nba-2k11 "NBA 2K11 – Xbox 360"]. ''Metacritic''. Retrieved November 30th, 2017.</ref> and sold over 5.5 million copies worldwide.<ref>[https://gamespot.com/articles/take-two-sales-sink-12-in-june-quarter/1100-6327818/ "Take-Two sales sink 12% in June quarter"]. ''GameSpot''. CBS Interactive Inc. August 8th, 2011.</ref>

In 2012, EA Sports announced the return of the ''NBA Live'' moniker,<ref>[https://kotaku.com/5887735/ea-sports-confirms-the-return-of-nba-live "EA Sports Confirms the Return of ''NBA Live''"]. Kotaku.com. February 23rd, 2012.</ref> presumably in an attempt to distance themselves from the troubled development cycle and promotion of ''NBA Elite 11''. However, just like with the 2010 effort, concerns over the quality of the final product culminated in ''NBA Live 13'''s cancellation,<ref>[http://www2.ea.com/news/nba-live-announcement "NBA LIVE Announcement"]. Electronic Arts.  September 27th, 2012. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121001155248/www2.ea.com/news/nba-live-announcement Archived] from the original on October 1st, 2012.</ref> resulting in further damage to the brand and almost universal distrust from consumers. 2013's ''NBA Live 14'' – the first EA Sports NBA title to be released since 2009's ''NBA Live 10'', as well as the first released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One – was eventually finished, being met with mostly negative reviews<ref>[http://metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/nba-live-14 "NBA Live 14 – PlayStation 4"]. ''Metacritic''. Retrieved November 30th, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://metacritic.com/game/xbox-one/nba-live-14 "NBA Live 14 – Xbox One"]. ''Metacritic''. Retrieved November 30th, 2017.</ref> that deeply contrasted with the favourable reception of its direct competitor ''NBA 2K14''.<ref>[http://metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/nba-2k14 "NBA 2K14 – PlayStation 4"]. ''Metacritic''. Retrieved November 30th, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://metacritic.com/game/xbox-one/nba-2k14 "NBA 2K14 – Xbox One"]. ''Metacritic''. Retrieved November 30th, 2017.</ref>

==Availability==
Following ''NBA Elite 11'''s delay, both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 demo builds were quickly delisted from the platforms' respective marketplaces, only made available for download for those who had already previously acquired them. Although the game was eventually cancelled, copies containing a build slightly more polished than what was used for the public demos were pressed and sent in advance to retailers – with at least one of them opting to, instead of returning the discs to EA for destruction, selling them online. This resulted in copies of the PlayStation 3 complete build being sold on websites like eBay for prices far higher than what it would be valued in retail, reaching a peak of nearly $10,000.<ref>[https://pricecharting.com/game/playstation-3/nba-elite-11 "NBA Elite 11 Prices (PlayStation 3)"]. VideoGamePriceCharts. Retrieved November 30th, 2017.</ref>

As a result of the leaked copies' immense rarity level and pricing, as well as the limited availability of its demo, successfully (if illegally) dumped copies of ''NBA Elite 11'' in either its complete or demo form were extremely difficult to obtain for many years following the game's limited release. A DealExtreme offer of a USB HDD supposedly containing the title (along with 127 other PlayStation 3 games) was made,<ref>[http://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.50105 "1.5T USB 2.0 3.5" HDD External Enclosure with Internal 128 Games for PS3"]. December 5th, 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101207234803/http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.50105 Archived] from the original on December 7th, 2010.</ref> but whether the files included were legitimate or not is currently unknown.

On May 26th, 2020, the Xbox 360 version of the game's infamous demo was uploaded online by Andrew of the website nba-live.com.<ref>[https://forums.nba-live.com/downloads.php?view=detail&df_id=11882 Download link for the Xbox 360 demo of ''NBA Elite 11''.] Retrieved June 12th, 2020.</ref> 

As of July of 2021, the full PS3 version has been dumped. <ref>[https://mega.nz/file/NpUhSSLZ#etN_DDW3DPRNMgRHorQlBexLF4-32r-esIwO7F6rhPY The download for the full PS3 version of ''NBA Elite 11''.] Retrieved July 3rd, 2021.</ref>

==Gallery==
===Demo Footage===
{{Video|perrow  =3
  |service1     =youtube
  |id1          =XJwXBw86g30
  |description1 =The video that coined the "Jesus Bynum" term, often credited for the game's cancellation.
  |service2     =youtube
  |id2          =6z2bAuZio_8
  |description2 =Another instance of the infamous glitch, this time with ''two'' players.
  |service3     =youtube
  |id3          =7uDnOsAwe5c
  |description3 =Yet another game-breaking animation glitch: "ballerinas" partaking in the action.
}}

===Retail Footage===
{{Video|perrow  =2
  |service1     =youtube
  |id1          =NU53xA0ZT9E
  |description1 =Unboxing video.
  |service2     =youtube
  |id2          =evoVDSKQrlE
  |description2 =Sample gameplay.
}}

==See Also==
*[[Cartoon Network NBA All-Star Slam (found interviews of marathon; 2003)]]
*[[NBA Powerdunkers (lost PC port of PlayStation sports game; 1997)]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Found media]]
[[Category:Found video games]]