We’ve crossed into an uncertain era of NBA 2K on the "last" generation systems.

With the the PS4 and Xbox One set to receive their first full development cycle, it must leave current generation users wondering, “What’s left for us?” And because almost a decade has passed since we last found ourselves in this generational position, it’s difficult to look at history here as evidence for how 2K will approach the situation.

We don’t even know exactly how many more iterations we can expect for the series on PS3 and the 360. Could this year’s release possibly be the last one, or are there probably a few more releases left for these consoles? How long do we have? The clock is ticking.

Let’s take a look at how 2K might approach different areas of the current generation game, and focus on my idea of Player DNA.

Player DNA

In this month’s staff roundtable, in which we discussed adding a new feature to NBA 2K15, I suggested adding a revamped Player DNA.

Having players and teams who truly play like themselves would add a ton of depth to the series, and it could be implemented across both generations. The depth would come from having to gameplan every AI opponent differently. In the series as it stands now, once you figure out what strategies work for you, you can pretty much “play your game” and expect to win.

It doesn’t work that way in real life though. While you do want to play to your strengths, you also have to consider your opponent and prepare for them carefully. In the NBA, every team and every major player has a few things they excel at and really love to do, and it’s up to the opponents to try to contain those actions and tendencies. A deeper Player DNA system would reflect these things in the game. You’d get burned over and over if you tried going under a Stephen Curry pick-and-roll, or get pulverized by the Grizzlies in the low post if you don’t bring help. NBA teams seek out those types of mismatches and exploit them ruthlessly. The AI teams in NBA 2K don’t.

The difference between real life and video game stars becomes even more stark when you look at the game’s more unique players.

Video game Kevin Love and Dirk Nowitzki rarely pick-and-pop for threes, an action you see frequently from them in the NBA. It’s a staple of their games, one of the skills that enables a significant part of their other successes, but the game doesn’t capture it.

NBA 2K’s Curry will make his 3s because his ratings dictate it, but he’ll only shoot them when he’s wide open or the shot clock is running down. He won’t look for his perimeter jump shot off the dribble. The 2K Warriors’ offense doesn’t try hard to get him those looks either.

Any NBA team that faces the Timberwolves, Mavericks, or Warriors knows they have to prepare and work hard to contain those shots. That preparation is a central part of their thinking going into a game and throughout the contest.

If 2K gamers faced a similar challenge in preparing for each opponent, each individual game would take on a life of its own. It would breathe life into a current generation game that feels stagnant. That life would carry over both to NBA Today games and The Association.

Assuming there’s still a meaningful sharing of resources between the current and next generation development processes, this type of Player DNA could be implemented in both versions. 2K could take what they learn from it and continue to hone the implementation, especially in the next generation version in years to come.

It’s what I want to see most going forward.

What would you like to see from the current generation NBA 2K as the clock ticks down?