REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – September 20, 2010 – Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that Grammy Award Winning Producer and DJ, 9th Wonder, and Roc Nation star MC, J. Cole, have created the soundtrack for EA SPORTS™ NBA ELITE 11. The game will include a full soundtrack designed by 9th Wonder and title track “The Plan” by J. Cole. This is the first EA SPORTS NBA title to have a custom soundtrack that has been created solely by two artists.
A force in the music industry, 9th Wonder has worked with some of the biggest names in hip hop. His first major label placement occurred on Jay-Z’s critically acclaimed “Black Album,” and his work with Mary J. Blige on her album, “The BreakThrough” earned him a GRAMMY. 9th has also worked with Destiny’s Child, Erykah Badu and Ludacris among other recording artists. He is currently in the recording studio with rap superstar David Banner working on their much anticipated album “Death of a Pop Star,” which is slated for release in November.
“Being the first artist to throw down the full soundtrack for NBA ELITE 11 was pretty amazing,” says 9th Wonder. “I was able to mesh together the two things that I love in life, basketball and music.”
J. Cole, the first MC to be signed onto JAY-Z’s Roc Nation label, is on a path to becoming the next big name in the Hip Hop industry. Embarking on his passion for music at age 12, J. Cole draws inspiration from some of the biggest names in Hip Hop to create his own signature style. Currently recording and producing his first album under the Roc Nation label, the critically acclaimed Cole has already appeared on JAY-Z’s “The Blueprint 3” on the song fittingly titled “A Star is Born”.
“As a big sports video game fan, it’s an honor to be a part of EA SPORTS NBA ELITE 2011. I thank EA for trusting in me to create the game’s main song. I truly enjoyed the experience.”
Using the design principles from some of EA SPORTS top rated franchises, NBA ELITE 11 introduces several significant gameplay changes that center on user control. The new ‘Hands-On Control’ scheme allows for one-to-one responsiveness of a player’s movement and actions on the court, while a new physics system in the game allows each player on the court to move independently of one another, removing the two-man interactions that have long taken the user control out of basketball simulation videogames. Combine all of the above with a new skill based shooting system, the EA SPORTS Basketball Association, as well as three free modes of NBA JAM included in all new copies of NBA ELITE 11, and it’s easy to see why NBA ELITE 11 is poised to revolutionize the basketball videogame experience.
NBA ELITE 11 will be available for PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system. It will be available in North America on Oct. 5, 2010. NBA ELITE 11 is developed under the EA SPORTS brand by EA Canada in Burnaby, B.C. The game has been rated E for everyone.