It’s a first for basketball video games that coincides with the WNBA’s inclusion into the latest edition EA Sports’ annual basketball title.
NBA Live 19 is breaking the gender barrier in a big way. The EA Sports product is introducing the WNBA to its annual basketball title this season, and with it comes a new feature: female player-created characters.
It’s a huge step for video games, as NBA Live 19 is adding full WNBA rosters to the game in the same year it’s letting female gamers add their own likeness to the game’s various modes. EA Sports called it an “important step toward leveling the playing field” of the game, letting players create a more proper reflection of themselves in the game’s create a character mode.
EA says it will let female players create their own likeness as they use THE ONE, the main feature of the new game’s expanded story mode. NBA Live 19 will let male and female characters play on the same court as they work their way through the streets and arenas of the game on their way to basketball immortality.
Players will be able to create female characters and take them around the world in THE ONE, building their squad, taking on global challenges and accessing the same skills, progression and gear as their male counterparts. Men and women can also play together on the same team in THE ONE. Gamers will still be able to scan their faces into the game using the NBA Live companion app using their iOS and Android phones and using their own face on a customized player. And the game’s new Icon Abilities will be modeled after some legendary female players, including Candace Parker.
EA Sports seems excited about the news and is encouraging fans to Tweet using the hashtag #ShesInTheGame to celebrate the news. NBA Live 19, complete with its myriad of new features, drops on September 7.
