EA confirmed today that NBA LIVE 08 will be the third game in the EA lineup feature Online team play. This is pretty innovative as the entire team can be controlled by human user son both sides of the ball, making a 5 on 5 basketball match a real 5 on 5, instead of just two people using two teams. This actually increases the level of realism and could be a lot of fun online to play with 4 buddies against an entire team of user controlled opponents.

Online team play makes me want to grab this game and give it a try. Expect an NBA LIVE 08 demo in some time in late November.

From the official press release:

Electronic Arts announced today that NBA LIVE 08 will be the third franchise in the EA SPORTS fall line-up to feature Online Team Play when a free download becomes available in late November. Now ALL ten players on the floor can be controlled by a human, which will remove the use of artificial intelligence altogether. Player movement, decision making and game outcome can now be completely dependant on how you play as an online team, representing the closest you can come to a real life game of basketball.

EA SPORTS is committed to providing an engaging online experience and has led the charge with innovative online gameplay for sports gamers. The all-new feature first shipped as a part of the disc on NHL 08 in September, allowing up to six users to connect from anywhere in the world. EA later announced that FIFA Soccer 08 would offer Be A Pro: Online Team Play as a free downloadable feature post-launch that will enable 10 people to connect and challenge each other online to play a single game.

Below are some key points for Online Team Play for NBA LIVE 08:

- This game mode allows any combination of players from 1 vs. 1 up to 5 vs. 5.

- The CPU will take control of any players not controlled by users.

- Voice communication is available and isolated from the opposing team.

- Player locking is available but not mandatory (unless the team consists of 5 users)