NBA 2K16 News Post

Could NBA 2K16 be Implementing College Hoops?

12:45 AM - June 8, 2015 by DustinT

Spike Lee is going to take NBA 2K16 to another level with his inclusion in the game’s MyCareer story mode. Story is everything, after all.

My Career is going to follow the world of your player (Ronnie 2K has confirmed “Frequent Vibrations” is not your only option) as he continues his hoops journey in high school. That sounds great, but what’s the real underlying question here? NBA rules state that a player cannot jump straight to the pros.

All three of the covers released for 2K16 feature the star from their college days: Steph Curry at Davidson, Anthony Davis at Kentucky and James Harden at Arizona State. Could college hoops, after eight years and one console generation, be returning to the PlayStation and Xbox?

There’s also the potential of walking in Emmanuel Mudiay’s footsteps, and playing overseas after high school.

Either way, with the option to play overseas or choosing the length of your college career, simulation would be taken to the next step for sure. And Spike Lee is definitely the kind of guy that could make this happen.

Here’s to College Hoops. I hope.

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# 61 Pokes404 @ 06/15/15 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redsox4evur


	That can't be true because 2k/EA would have removed this feature from every game moving forward. And it was in 2K15 last year.

I was speaking of the college games in that post, not the professional games.

As I said, I haven't followed the case very closely. I just remember something in the lawsuit/arguments talking about how EA created players that were reasonable physical representations of real-life players, and then provided a system of sharing rosters knowing full well that their primary purpose was to allow the sharing of the real player names. Whether the charges against the EA Locker actually hold up legally, I would kind of doubt it. But still, people have been saying "license the schools, create fictitious rosters, and then give us the ability to easily name and share real rosters." I was just pointing out that it might not be so simple. Even if it's just from the standpoint of EA/2K fearing more lawsuits and simply deciding that it's better to be safe than sorry.

If the college games ever make a return, I could potentially see the ability to name players, and possibly even picking jersey numbers, being removed. The computer would just randomly name the players and pick their numbers. No matter how accurately a custom roster was from a physical/attribute standpoint, without the ability to enter the real-life players' names and numbers, I would think that EA/2K would be safe from any player-likeness issues. The question would be, would enough people be OK with playing with generic players to still turn a profit?

Anyways, I don't mean to derail this thread into talk about the college games. I'd like to see their return, so I tend to get off on a tangent when the subject comes up. It'll be interesting to see if there is any college inclusion in MyCareer. A generic "Elite 8" in the "National College Basketball Tournament," similar to the high school playoffs in NCAA Football, would be a fun and new idea to kick off MyCareer. Even if it isn't this year, it would be fun to see down the road.

# 62 Jrocc23 @ 06/15/15 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by videlsports


	That's the next big thing. If they put College Hoops in with 2k16.... Man Id pay 80 for that thang. easy

Easy $80. Easy.

# 63 dwayne12345 @ 06/15/15 04:46 PM

Quote:


	If the college games ever make a return, I could potentially see the ability to name players, and possibly even picking jersey numbers, being removed. The computer would just randomly name the players and pick their numbers. No matter how accurately a custom roster was from a physical/attribute standpoint, without the ability to enter the real-life players' names and numbers, I would think that EA/2K would be safe from any player-likeness issues. The question would be, would enough people be OK with playing with generic players to still turn a profit?

Absolutely not ok with a sports game that doesn't allow full free form roster editing. Count me out of that idea. That sounds like NBA Live 2015

# 64 wheels2121 @ 06/15/15 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwayne12345


	Absolutely not ok with a sports game that doesn't allow full free form roster editing. Count me out of that idea. That sounds like NBA Live 2015

This seems to be the prevailing thought, which is why we'll never have another college game, since this is the only way it can ever be done again.

# 65 cowboy_kmoney @ 06/16/15 04:41 AM

I would b just Fine with it. Because as u Scout the in coming players they r fake. Its only about having the real College Teams and over all look and feel of College B.Ball. We have roster makers and great ones too. Sapp and Dreece and Com.Yeah it would b krazy good with those guys at the Start of things. It would b very in depth and u all know it. How 2K is killing it now with its look. Man that game would b ##### Krazy Great.

# 66 TexasFan2005 @ 06/16/15 07:50 AM

Although I'm not the biggest college hoops fan, I would love for this to happen. I just don't see how they'd be implementing all of the teams and stadiums that they used to have in the separate college hoops games, especially considering how generic the NBA stadiums are in 2k these days.

# 67 hesko @ 06/16/15 02:15 PM

They better be implementing things to the game that will keep them ahead of the competition.

# 68 8KB24 @ 06/16/15 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hesko


	They better be implementing things to the game that will keep them ahead of the competition.

What competition?

# 69 BA2929 @ 06/16/15 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedream2k16


	my career people need the story to not get bored

I disagree. I loved MyCareer when it didn't have a story.

I can barely play it now that it does.

Anyway, lots of people are getting way too hyped about what this *could* be. It's getting to the point where anything but an abbreviated or full college experience is going to make some people VERY upset. I still don't believe 2k is going to ship basically two games in one or allow us to play anything more than a scripted few games in college prior to the draft, if that.

My guess is that we're a star in HS, get signed by a college but we get in trouble for drugs, or an agent/family member screws us over, and we have to take another path for a year or so. That sounds like a Spike Lee basketball tale to me.

# 70 BA2929 @ 06/16/15 03:56 PM

Sorry for the double post, but I didn't want a wall of text:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pokes404


	If the college games ever make a return, I could potentially see the ability to name players, and possibly even picking jersey numbers, being removed. The computer would just randomly name the players and pick their numbers. No matter how accurately a custom roster was from a physical/attribute standpoint, without the ability to enter the real-life players' names and numbers, I would think that EA/2K would be safe from any player-likeness issues. The question would be, would enough people be OK with playing with generic players to still turn a profit?

I don't think the editing of players was the issue with the lawsuit. It was that EA was basically creating players who looked and performed EXACTLY like their real life counterparts. For example, they had a #15 QB for Florida who played and looked identical to Tim Tebow. And Ed O'Bannon was mad because they actually used him in the game without paying him. They ACTUALLY used HIM in the game. Could you imagine NBA 2k using Charles Barkley in NBA but his name was just #34 for the Suns? That's essentially what they did and why they had to fork over cash.

Instead, they could easily just get the team licenses and put 100% generic players in there and allow everyone full editing. I mean, there's no issue with people creating Charles Barkley in NBA using the CAP feature, so I don't see why there'd be a reason why they'd have to take out full player editing in a college game.

# 71 KingAmar12 @ 06/16/15 06:25 PM

I just hope they fix the terrible wait time to get a damn Blacktop game in. They messed up what was dope in NBA 2K13.

# 72 dwayne12345 @ 06/16/15 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BA2929


	Sorry for the double post, but I didn't want a wall of text: I don't think the editing of players was the issue with the lawsuit. It was that EA was basically creating players who looked and performed EXACTLY like their real life counterparts. For example, they had a #15 QB for Florida who played and looked identical to Tim Tebow. And Ed O'Bannon was mad because they actually used him in the game without paying him. They ACTUALLY used HIM in the game. Could you imagine NBA 2k using Charles Barkley in NBA but his name was just #34 for the Suns? That's essentially what they did and why they had to fork over cash. Instead, they could easily just get the team licenses and put 100% generic players in there and allow everyone full editing. I mean, there's no issue with people creating Charles Barkley in NBA using the CAP feature, so I don't see why there'd be a reason why they'd have to take out full player editing in a college game.

Actually if you remember the NBA Live series in the late 90's they couldn't afford to pay Jordan to be in the game so for many years there was a 99 rated SG on the Bulls named "Player" or something like that. So it's not like likeness wasn't used in other pro sports in games to afford licensing fees.

# 73 CaseIH @ 06/17/15 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DustinT


	Spike Lee is going to take NBA 2K16 to another level with his inclusion in the game’s MyCareer story mode. Story is everything, after all. My Career is going to follow the world of your player (Ronnie 2K has confirmed “Frequent Vibrations” is not your only option) as he continues his hoops journey in high school. That sounds great, but what’s the real underlying question here? NBA rules state that a player cannot jump straight to the pros. All three of the covers released for 2K16 feature the star from their college days: Steph Curry at Davidson, Anthony Davis at Kentucky and James Harden at Arizona State. Could college hoops, after eight years and one console generation, be returning to the PlayStation and Xbox? There’s also the potential of walking in Emmanuel Mudiay’s footsteps, and playing overseas after high school. Either way, with the option to play overseas or choosing the length of your college career, simulation would be taken to the next step for sure. And Spike Lee is definitely the kind of guy that could make this happen. Here’s to College Hoops. I hope.

If college hoops was somehow implemented in the game, and it wasn't just for My Player mode, this would definitely get me to buy this game day 1. I really miss CH2k, I played that game more than any other game back in the day, and I still enjoy CHoops more so than I do NBA.

# 74 nchary18 @ 07/14/15 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarvellousOne


	I doubt we see a full scale college hoops ordeal but perhaps 2k has gotten licensing of some major colleges to select from, nothing keeps a company from getting individual licensing from a college, they are not allowed to have the NCAA brand, but if I'm not mistaken any school can agree to be used if they so choose.

I think 2k will get the individual licenses from however many colleges and put the rookies from this coming year on the team. For example they'd put jahlil okafor, justise winslow, and whoever was drafted from that duke team and put them on duke. Because they are no longer in college they wont have to pay them. They could then fill up the remaining roster spots with generics.

# 75 Ward13 @ 07/14/15 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iTofu


	Honestly, I'd rather have the option to go to Euroleague or China than go to College. I always wondered why more players didn't do that. Get that cash now!!! Especially given how you never know how small your window is for being lucrative in basketball. I suppose Jennings and Mudiay may have been drafted higher if they had been in the NCAA. Then get drafted by the 76ers and stay there for a while, so the Sixers can continue being a terrible team acquiring draft picks and assets... lolol Joking about that part.

Ikr, Jennings and Mudiay were both drafted 10th and 7th overall in their respected draft classes and were millionaires before playing a game in the NBA. Sure its a culture shock that most American teens aren't ready to handle but I'm all for making money for something you've dedicated your whole life towards doing. It's nothing more than taking a great paying job out of HS and having to relocate to wherever that position is based.

# 76 Pokes404 @ 07/20/15 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BA2929


	I don't think the editing of players was the issue with the lawsuit. It was that EA was basically creating players who looked and performed EXACTLY like their real life counterparts. For example, they had a #15 QB for Florida who played and looked identical to Tim Tebow. And Ed O'Bannon was mad because they actually used him in the game without paying him. They ACTUALLY used HIM in the game. Could you imagine NBA 2k using Charles Barkley in NBA but his name was just #34 for the Suns? That's essentially what they did and why they had to fork over cash. Instead, they could easily just get the team licenses and put 100% generic players in there and allow everyone full editing. I mean, there's no issue with people creating Charles Barkley in NBA using the CAP feature, so I don't see why there'd be a reason why they'd have to take out full player editing in a college game.

I really wish I could find it, but I swear I remember reading somewhere that part of EA's settlement was agreeing not to allow roster sharing in any future installments. The only thing I can provide is a comment Pastapadre made on one of his articles. He voices a similar opinion, but like I said, I can't find anything concrete. And a post from someone on the Internet, even from someone fairly credible, certainly shouldn't be taken as the final word on the matter. Hopefully we're both mistaken because I'd love to see the college games return, and generic rosters with the ability to edit and share them would seem to be the simplest solution.

- pastapadre in reply to > Emperor GaSouthernEagles06 • 4 days ago "My understanding is the settlement may have included terms that prohibited EA from allowing users to share rosters, had they continued making a game. If that's the case, which I think EA would likely pull it even if they weren't required to do so, it's hard to see them making a completely generic (players) game."

And the reason there isn't a problem with people creating Charles Barkley in NBA 2K is because no one has tried to sue them over it yet. The problem with EA is that they have been sued over the player likeness issue, and now they're going to air on the side of caution on anything that could even remotely be used against them. So like Pasta said, even if they weren't required to pull roster sharing/playing editing, they might do it just to be safe. They know there's some lawyer out there who could make an argument that EA is knowingly using the roster share feature as a workaround to profit off of the student-athletes' likenesses without paying any player-likeness fees.

If the college games ever come back, I think they'll either have to be completely generic (with possibly limited, or even zero, player editing ability), or EA is going to have to pay player-likeness fees to the NCAA, which they can disperse to the players after their eligibility is up. But in either case, whether the games are still financially viable at that point is up for debate.

Now that we know college teams are going to be involved in some way in NBA 2K, it'll be interesting to see what that looks like. If they are teams that you actually get to play with (not just present during cutscenes or something), it might give us a sneak peak at what college games (should they ever come back) could look like in the future.

# 77 King_B_Mack @ 07/20/15 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pokes404


	I really wish I could find it, but I swear I remember reading somewhere that part of EA's settlement was agreeing not to allow roster sharing in any future installments. The only thing I can provide is a comment Pastapadre made on one of his articles. He voices a similar opinion, but like I said, I can't find anything concrete. And a post from someone on the Internet, even from someone fairly credible, certainly shouldn't be taken as the final word on the matter. Hopefully we're both mistaken because I'd love to see the college games return, and generic rosters with the ability to edit and share them would seem to be the simplest solution. - pastapadre in reply to > Emperor GaSouthernEagles06 • 4 days ago "My understanding is the settlement may have included terms that prohibited EA from allowing users to share rosters, had they continued making a game. If that's the case, which I think EA would likely pull it even if they weren't required to do so, it's hard to see them making a completely generic (players) game." And the reason there isn't a problem with people creating Charles Barkley in NBA 2K is because no one has tried to sue them over it yet. The problem with EA is that they have been sued over the player likeness issue, and now they're going to air on the side of caution on anything that could even remotely be used against them. So like Pasta said, even if they weren't required to pull roster sharing/playing editing, they might do it just to be safe. They know there's some lawyer out there who could make an argument that EA is knowingly using the roster share feature as a workaround to profit off of the student-athletes' likenesses without paying any player-likeness fees. If the college games ever come back, I think they'll either have to be completely generic (with possibly limited, or even zero, player editing ability), or EA is going to have to pay player-likeness fees to the NCAA, which they can disperse to the players after their eligibility is up. But in either case, whether the games are still financially viable at that point is up for debate. Now that we know college teams are going to be involved in some way in NBA 2K, it'll be interesting to see what that looks like. If they are teams that you actually get to play with (not just present during cutscenes or something), it might give us a sneak peak at what college games (should they ever come back) could look like in the future.

I would have to disagree with that sentiment. I'd bet that there's been more attempts to sue over that sort of thing than we really have or will ever hear about. Mostly stemming from the fact that they A) lead nowhere and B) are probably so early in the process that nobody ever knows. I say all that because if there's a chance for somebody to make a few quick bucks from compensation for something like that, they'll jump all over it. I also look at games like the WWE series. There's been an insanely more robust and accurate roster sharing/creation tool in WWE games for over a decade and counting now with little to no legal ramifications coming of it. If there's one group of professional athletes you can count on to look for the kind of publicity a lawsuit against a big video game developer would net them in addition to a large sum of money, it's professional wrestlers.

With the addition of logo creators in the WWE series you can create an share other entire wrestling companies in the game to the point that you could confuse someone into thinking you're not even playing a WWE game but another companies game. In fact, you can PERFECTLY create NBA or NCAA players in the game with all their trademarks, logos and likenesses and share it with the rest of the WWE community. I've yet to hear about one of the thousands of indy wrestlers who're getting paid like 50 bucks a night to do a show in the gym come calling for a lawsuit because his/her perfect recreation is turning up on these games. Same with the NCAA players that have been in 2K Draft Classes created and shared throughout the entirety of this whole legal battle over likenesses. Bottomline, if there were actual legal grounds to sue these companies over the roster sharing aspect of these games, someone would have jumped all over it by now.

# 78 dwayne12345 @ 07/20/15 03:37 PM

WWE is a bit different though. If those indy guys sue the WWE they'll never get a chance to work there.

Since the NBA has a players union getting on the bad side of the association doesn't hurt your chances of employment as much as it would in the WWE (a unionless monopoly).

# 79 Pokes404 @ 07/20/15 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King_B_Mack


	I would have to disagree with that sentiment. I'd bet that there's been more attempts to sue over that sort of thing than we really have or will ever hear about. Mostly stemming from the fact that they A) lead nowhere and B) are probably so early in the process that nobody ever knows. I say all that because if there's a chance for somebody to make a few quick bucks from compensation for something like that, they'll jump all over it. I also look at games like the WWE series. There's been an insanely more robust and accurate roster sharing/creation tool in WWE games for over a decade and counting now with little to no legal ramifications coming of it. If there's one group of professional athletes you can count on to look for the kind of publicity a lawsuit against a big video game developer would net them in addition to a large sum of money, it's professional wrestlers. With the addition of logo creators in the WWE series you can create an share other entire wrestling companies in the game to the point that you could confuse someone into thinking you're not even playing a WWE game but another companies game. In fact, you can PERFECTLY create NBA or NCAA players in the game with all their trademarks, logos and likenesses and share it with the rest of the WWE community. I've yet to hear about one of the thousands of indy wrestlers who're getting paid like 50 bucks a night to do a show in the gym come calling for a lawsuit because his/her perfect recreation is turning up on these games. Same with the NCAA players that have been in 2K Draft Classes created and shared throughout the entirety of this whole legal battle over likenesses. Bottomline, if there were actual legal grounds to sue these companies over the roster sharing aspect of these games, someone would have jumped all over it by now.

I do agree with that. You'd think someone would have jumped on the chance to possibly earn a few extra bucks from these companies. Of course, lawsuits are an expensive proposition. Even if you're proven right, you have to weigh whether the time, effort, and cost is really worth the fight. The Ed O'Bannon & Sam Keller cases were about more than just video games. They were also looking at jersey sales, TV money, promotional items, etc. So the potential payout opportunities from something like that might have been enough to convince them to push forward with the lawsuit.

Again, I don't really know the legal basis for holding 2K/EA accountable for content created by a user, I'm just saying that in EA's case, its roster sharing feature is potentially more ammunition for lawyers to throw out there at how EA is knowingly profiting off of players free of charge. It's sort of like Napster back in the early-2000s claiming they were strictly a file-sharing program and couldn't be held accountable for what users were using their program to share. The courts ruled that wasn't the case, and they were responsible for any copyrighted material being illegally shared through their system. Now, obviously there's a pretty big difference in Napster's case as we're talking about sharing copyrighted material owned by a third party. But it's an example that companies can be held accountable for what their users are doing, especially if it can be proven that the company knew their product/software was being used in such a way. I can see the EA board of directors deciding that it's in the grey area and just cutting it from the game to be safe.

I've talked about this too long now, and I really have no legal expertise to be doing so haha. Simply put, I can see a situation where roster sharing features could potentially be used against companies in court and those companies removing it to be safe rather than sorry. I pray that isn't the case though.

# 80 King_B_Mack @ 07/20/15 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwayne12345


	WWE is a bit different though. If those indy guys sue the WWE they'll never get a chance to work there. Since the NBA has a players union getting on the bad side of the association doesn't hurt your chances of employment as much as it would in the WWE (a unionless monopoly).

That's not really a significant difference though. The only real difference is wrestling doesn't have a union. Other than that, same deal mostly. WWE is the biggest promotion in the world and where you can make the most money in your profession, though you can make a few decent dollars in other promotions. The NBA is the biggest basketball league in the world and where you can make the most money in your profession, though you can make a few decent dollars in other leagues. Players getting blackballed out of a league is not unheard of in the biggest American sports.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pokes404


	I do agree with that. You'd think someone would have jumped on the chance to possibly earn a few extra bucks from these companies. Of course, lawsuits are an expensive proposition. Even if you're proven right, you have to weigh whether the time, effort, and cost is really worth the fight. The Ed O'Bannon & Sam Keller cases were about more than just video games. They were also looking at jersey sales, TV money, promotional items, etc. So the potential payout opportunities from something like that might have been enough to convince them to push forward with the lawsuit. Again, I don't really know the legal basis for holding 2K/EA accountable for content created by a user, I'm just saying that in EA's case, its roster sharing feature is potentially more ammunition for lawyers to throw out there at how EA is knowingly profiting off of players free of charge. It's sort of like Napster back in the early-2000s claiming they were strictly a file-sharing program and couldn't be held accountable for what users were using their program to share. The courts ruled that wasn't the case, and they were responsible for any copyrighted material being illegally shared through their system. Now, obviously there's a pretty big difference in Napster's case as we're talking about sharing copyrighted material owned by a third party. But it's an example that companies can be held accountable for what their users are doing, especially if it can be proven that the company knew their product/software was being used in such a way. I can see the EA board of directors deciding that it's in the grey area and just cutting it from the game to be safe. I've talked about this too long now, and I really have no legal expertise to be doing so haha. Simply put, I can see a situation where roster sharing features could potentially be used against companies in court and those companies removing it to be safe rather than sorry. I pray that isn't the case though.

Yeah, I know the case and the details involved as far as what they're suing for. I'm just saying if you're going to tell me the reason that there's no problem with NBA 2K's roster sharing is because nobody is suing them, then we should probably look at why they aren't being sued for that. Best answer I can come up with is that there isn't any legal ground to stand on for that. 2K, EA all these guys have their own team of really smart, highly paid lawyers just like the Ed O'Bannon's of the world. The second this likeness issue came up and certainly once the rulings started to go against them, you really think they would ship out a game with the roster sharing still in it? EA Sports won't even make the United Center's home ice design for the Blackhawks look at least kinda similar to how it actually looks because they don't have the rights to the UC for the NHL games and they don't want to risk getting sued otherwise.

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