NBA 2K14 Video - Vince Carter with Celebrations (Instagram)

[NINJAK2]

Quote: Originally Posted by airaron32

Id rather 2K to spend all their time on the gameplay on current gen to get it to near perfection and bring it to Next Gen than to worry about poorly done CF's. They got the Shumpert, Cole because those were the most obvious ones that were not done and should have been. They were even requested by the real players I think. 2K probably made those faces during last season and just didn't put it in the game for whatever reason. I guess I really shouldn't be complaining since I play PC version and have CF's for 90% of the league, but it is pretty clear the art focus is on Next gen.

Well let's just agree to disagree air. Shumpert and Cole are obvious for updates but Vince missing a full blown beard for 3 years isn't obvious to them? Kenneth Faried made it publicly known to 2k last year that his scan was off via twitter and Ronnie said he would look into it. Let's see if anything is done about him. People need to understand that I'm happy that 2k made improvements to the gameplay which is why I'm excited about playing it but let's not act like the ps3/360 are equivalent to the n64 and can't handle adding facial hair to VC or give Tyson or Parsons a haircut. I'm done with this topic air and I meant you no disrespect. 2k14 with perimeter and paint contact is a purchase for me anyway but that doesn't mean I can't issue some complaints.

[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by VDusen04

For sure. 2K's in a tough spot in terms of marketing. I fully admit I thought their extreme hype-o-meter for mundane reveals that'd become prevalent in recent years (Jay-Z being the first example to come to mind) was almost just as numbing as the approach they took this year (releasing very little).

Guess it's a matter of perspective. Imo I didn't think the Jay-Z stuff was overhyped last year. It wasn't like there was an onslaught of Jay-Z related information or news releases that came from 2K. There was one marketing person that said they'd be making "the biggest announcement in the history of 2K Sports" or something to that effect, and people on the boards held their feet to that. I remember more complaining coming from people saying Ronnie and crew shouldn't be making announcements about announcements, or things of that sort.

On the other hand I remember a really well done Insight that was done on the game's audio back for 2K12 that spoke of the areas where commentary was tweaked and provided audio clips of how the commentary had improved. I remember some people on the boards ignorantly saying "That was a waste of time", or they only cared about gameplay information. I think the Insight only received 4-6pgs of replies if I remember correctly.

Contrast that with this year when 2K announced Lebron would be doing the soundtrack - 10+pg thread of many people worrying about his taste in music. Then a 10+pg thread when the official soundtrack was released and the list turned out to be decent/good, then some people saying Lebron really didn't pick the soundtrack since it didn't suck.

That some are inferring that they shouldn't have to pay $60 for the title is flat-out ridiculous. NBA2K arguably (likely) has more content than any other sports game. But some here will latch on to their one fave mode (like Crew) and disregard everything else about the game. Year in and year out I barely touch many of the modes in the game available - there's just too much content. To hold them to one standard, then hold every other sports game to another is people being hypocrites imo. So I can understand why 2K would change their approach when it seems to get little traction from the group that should be the most understanding when it comes to recognizing a developer for an all-around effort. Unfortunately people make it more about what's not done ("so-and-so's tattoo hasn't been updated!!! Association wasn't touched to the degree I wanted!!! They're so lazy/complacent/ignorant/arrogant!!!)

[VDusen04]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

Guess it's a matter of perspective. Imo I didn't think the Jay-Z stuff was overhyped last year. It wasn't like there was an onslaught of Jay-Z related information or news releases that came from 2K. There was one marketing person that said they'd be making "the biggest announcement in the history of 2K Sports" or something to that effect, and people on the boards held their feet to that. I remember more complaining coming from people saying Ronnie and crew shouldn't be making announcements about announcements, or things of that sort. On the other hand I remember a really well done Insight that was done on the game's audio back for 2K12 that spoke of the areas where commentary was tweaked and provided audio clips of how the commentary had improved. I remember some people on the boards ignorantly saying "That was a waste of time", or they only cared about gameplay information. I think the Insight only received 4-6pgs of replies if I remember correctly. Contrast that with this year when 2K announced Lebron would be doing the soundtrack - 10+pg thread of many people worrying about his taste in music. Then a 10+pg thread when the official soundtrack was released and the list turned out to be decent/good, then some people saying Lebron really didn't pick the soundtrack since it didn't suck. That some are inferring that they shouldn't have to pay $60 for the title is flat-out ridiculous. NBA2K arguably (likely) has more content than any other sports game. But some here will latch on to their one fave mode (like Crew) and disregard everything else about the game. Year in and year out I barely touch many of the modes in the game available - there's just too much content. To hold them to one standard, then hold every other sports game to another is people being hypocrites imo. So I can understand why 2K would change their approach when it seems to get little traction from the group that should be the most understanding when it comes to recognizing a developer for an all-around effort. Unfortunately people make it more about what's not done ("so-and-so's tattoo hasn't been updated!!! Association wasn't touched to the degree I wanted!!! They're so lazy/complacent/ignorant/arrogant!!!)

With respect, I'm not really sure how much of that was a response to something I said versus just being stuff you're throwing out there in general.

Regarding last year's hype, yeah, it's all relative. Again, I understand what they were going for and I understand we here at OperationSports are in the minority in terms of being folks who follow news releases step by step. I just thought some pieces (the aforementioned "biggest announcement") were a little out of touch. No biggie.

To address last year's audio insight, I feel it was largely ignored because it didn't bring a ton to the table for a lot of folks. I cannot speak for all, but I'd reckon the biggest audio request would be vastly improved crowd sounds, ambiance, and reaction. Vague references to improved sound are things we've all heard before. Increased audio detail is huge on the "Little Things" front and it's always welcomed, but that insight was not exactly brimming with game-changers on a large or small scale.

In contrast, I feel many sniffed out the LeBron Soundtrack thing from the start. They knew it was likely going to be an assortment of current mega pop tracks, whether they were selected personally by LeBron (unlikely) or as a group collaboration where he gave a vague go-ahead to acceptable choices (slightly more likely, but what do I know). A lot of 2K fans had grown to love their former soundtrack selections (slightly lesser knowns, independents, some popular... in other words, variance). And coming off the year of Jay-Z, I think it was reasonable for folks to fear a repeat. Personally? Not a fan of the new soundtrack, but I appreciate that 80% of the tracks are not involving the same small group of artists as was the case in 2K13 (yes, I'm exaggerating).

Lastly, I do not know what to say about the price point. I do not recall bringing that up anywhere. I guess the argument of some is, yes, 2K has a ton of content but in this case, they feel they paid for 95% of that content in 2K13. I don't even think it's really about latching on to one mode. If one is an offline gamer, and they own NBA 2K13, what has been added that they should be excited about this year, aside from blocked dunks and another new ballhandling scheme?

I've never suggested the price should be under $60. I know how new releases work. It's a new game, it'll be released at full price. It is what it is. I think most would agree. I believe we're all just trying to gauge if the game is worth such a purchase this year. I'm not sure if that's particularly hypocritical on my part. I haven't bought a football game since 2K5, I missed MVP Baseball greatly, tried 2K for a couple of years and grew weary, and I stopped buying NHL 2K when their improvements didn't match what I was looking for. So I mean, I like buying games when they're worth it and I try not to when I feel they're not.

That said, being an NBA die hard, I have a difficult time envisioning myself not picking up this game at some point. I can pass on NHL, NFL, and MLB games, but basketball is my weakness. But I do not think that means I must only praise 2K for making a good game then only kind of updating it from one year to the next. I just wish I saw things I was really excited for so I could feel good about my likely purchase.

[benson_bone]

*sigh*

- considering he's my favorite player since his rookie year i had the tiniest amount of hope for a 2000-2001 raptors vince doing his signature reverse 360 he used to do all the time followed by one of his energetic showboating celebrations. (wishful thinking i know)
- wrong sleeves
- no beard (again, 3 years now iirc)
- not even his signature (rev it up) celebration

What a bunch of a..h.l.s. (im sure you can fill in the dots)

[Sundown]

Quote: Originally Posted by BQ32

As the most pessimistic 2k player on this board I actually am getting more excited seeing you guys complain about cyber faces and art direction. The reason; because they had to spend the last year doing SOMETHING. I feel like usually they spend more time trying to get the game to "look" good and ship with a cool new feature yet the gameplay gets the back seat and the game is unbalanced chalk full of cheese and exploits. Maybe this year they spent that time play-testing, tweaking and adding features or animations that directly effect gameplay. That is me being optimistic anyway lol.

Actually, the art team isn't the programming team, QA team, or the gameplay team. Just because the art team did nothing for current gen 2K14 doesn't mean the other teams made up for their efforts.

What this DOES mean is that the art team went whole hog on next gen 2K14 the last couple of years. And that's where complaints about the lack of graphical updates on current gen excite me.

I also like that they didn't reinvent too many new wheels or implement too many new systems or gameplay features. They only extended the existing system in logical ways and worked on fixes, polish, and balance. That should make for a much better overall game.