The NBA Live 18 playable roster just got bigger.
For the first time in history, an NBA basketball simulation title will include the full team rosters of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Publisher Electronic Arts has announced that WNBA teams will debut in the upcoming NBA Live 18.
Players will be able to play as WNBA stars such as Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi, and Brittney Griner. All 12 teams that make up the WNBA will be on hand, which includes the Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty, Chicago Sky, Phoenix Mercury, and Los Angeles Sparks. Not only will NBA Live 18 include full team rosters, it will also feature the official courts of each WNBA team.
The WNBA teams will only be available to players from WNBA Play Now. This means players won't be able to use any of the women's teams in a career mode. For obvious reasons, WNBA teams also won't be able to compete against NBA teams. So, no, you won't be able to match up the reigning WNBA champs Los Angeles Sparks with the recently crowned NBA champs Golden State Warriors.
Many WNBA stars sat down for detailed head scans at EA Tiburon. The Florida-based studio is where athletes for other EA sports simulation titles get scanned as well. Motion capture technology was also in play, with players like San Antonio Stars rookie Kelsey Plum, the first overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft, getting "captured."
The decision to include the WNBA in full in NBA Live 18 comes after EA debuted women's teams in FIFA 16, the football counterpart of NBA Live 18. In both FIFA 16 and FIFA 17, women's teams are also not playable in any career mode and are not available to match up against men's teams.
The inclusion of WNBA teams received a mixed reception, though. Some thought the decision was way overdue - the WNBA has been around since 1996. Many also welcomed the opportunity to play as WNBA players.
Others were not so welcoming, however. Some criticized EA for going for "gimmicks" in order to compete against the acclaimed NBA 2K series instead of actually making actual gameplay enhancements and providing better content. Some also saw WNBA teams as being washed down versions of NBA teams.
We won't truly know for sure how things will play out until NBA Live 18 arrives this September on PS4 and Xbox One.