NBA Live 15 is coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 7, EA announced today. In the announcement, executive producer Sean O'Brien recognized some of the shortcomings of NBA Live 14, and promised "lofty goals" for this year's installment.

"We know we fell short in two major areas with NBA LIVE 14. 5-on-5 gameplay didn’t have the depth and polish of an EA Sports game and our visuals just weren’t up to expectations for a next-gen title," O'Brien said in an open letter (via GameSpot). "We’ve been laser-focused on making sure that this isn’t the case with NBA LIVE 15 and I’m really excited with our progress in those two areas."

In terms of detail, he said the studio has rescanned most of the league, refined player models and the revised the lighting system. He also said the studio has studied up on the teams themselves, to make their play styles replicate the actual play. To achieve their goals, though, he said they need to "put our heads down and work as hard as possible with minimal distractions." To that end, it will be going quiet about NBA Live 15 until July, and then starting the PR cycle leading to its October release.

Those eagerly anticipating NBA 2K15 might have noticed that this means both basketball games will be coming on the same day. That will certainly invite comparisons, and last year a head-to-head didn't go all that well for NBA Live. EA Sports even apologized for it. We'll have to see how this year's match-up goes.