NBA Playgrounds: over 500 000 units sold (all platforms), Hot Update coming soon
NBA Playgrounds was released back in March, and despite a first update that took a while to come out on Nintendo Switch, it’s been quite successful. Earlier this week, it was revealed that the game had already sold 500 000 units on all platforms, and that the developers were aiming for 1 million units sold during the first year.
Also, the Saber Interactive announced the next major update for the game, called “Hot Update”. It will bring several new features and changes, such as:
- 33 brand new players
- a new rebound system
- 3-point competition
- friends invitations
- and more…
Here’s a trailer for the Hot Update for NBA Playgrounds, introducing those new elements:
Unfortunately, we don’t know when this update will be available on Nintendo Switch, and with how long it took for the first one to be released, it’s pretty likely players will have to wait a while. In the mean time, we’ve updated the NBA Playgrounds update page with the patch notes for the Hot Update.
Also, Game Informer published an interview with Matthew Karch (CEO of Saber Interactive), who shared a few words about the Nintendo Switch version:
We did everything we could to get NBA Playgrounds out simultaneously on all platforms and that required certain compromises. The game could not have launched day-one with online play functioning at the right level, no. It was an impossibility due to various factors – many outside our immediate control. Sadly, we only realized this very, very late into the release process. I regret that Switch players had to wait so long for the patch. It just absolutely killed us hearing the community’s complaints every day when it wasn’t something we could totally control and remedy for them.
Nintendo, the whole time, has been a real pleasure to work with and they are supportive and extremely protective of the Switch, which is a huge success, of course. We needed to navigate some issues with them – it’s a brand-new system, so that is understandable – and they were very receptive to us and the particular challenges that our game faces. I doubt very many developers will face these same kinds of issues going forward.
He also explains that giving free copies of Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn to Nintendo Switch players who bought NBA Playgrounds before the update (as an apology for releasing it so late) is going to cost them a significant amount of money, but that it will be totally worth it:
We expect to take a significant loss since we’re giving the game away for free to those qualifying Switch players. But it’s a loss that is absolutely worth it – a loss that helps prove Saber is in it to make fun games and make fans happy and that we’re willing to go the extra mile and do whatever we can (however crazy it might be) to take care of our customers and fans.
Click here to check out the full interview over at Game Informer!
