"NBA 2k10: Servers Are Down"
[U][B][CENTER]NBA 2k10: "Servers are down"[/CENTER][/B][/U]
I just finished playing a few death matches on MW2 and I had a great user experience. At no point did I feel hampered by lag. Then I popped in Forza 3 and had a hell of a time racing/crashing my stable of whips online.
So I proceeded to give NBA 2k10 a shot at rocking my online world as it occasionally has in the past (knowing full well that server quality is an area in which 2k as a company DOES NOT excel.)
Low and behold, the first message that pops up as the game is loading…
[B]2K SERVERS ARE CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE[/B]
You got to be kidding me.
[U][CENTER][U][U][B]Questions:[/B][/U][/U][/CENTER][/U]
Are servers a fixable issue?
[B]Yes[/B]
How do I know?
[B]I just played 2 games online (MW2 & Forza 3) that require just as much server power (if not waaaaay more) flawlessly, on the day that arguably boasts the largest surge of online users (the day after Christmas.) And thats without even mentioning how EA manages to connect players around the world for lag free matches of FIFA 10. If FIFA 10 can manage to serve its worldwide user base, then NBA 2k10 should have eliminated this issue years ago.[/B]
[U][U][CENTER][U][B]My NBA 2k Frustrations[/B][/U][/CENTER][/U][/U]
In my humble opinion, NBA 2k10 is a great, if not the best, offline “association mode” game ever, which ironically, is a harder goal to achieve from a development standpoint. Everything about the actual game (i.e. gameplay, graphics, animations, fun-factor, commentary, etc.) is more then high quality, however, their online experience, (most notably their server,) continues to be about as dependable as a car with three wheels.
What’s most frustrating is the fact that “servers” (in the assumed scheme of everything that has to get done for an NBA 2k games development,) really shouldn’t be an issue. I’m no mad scientist myself, but if EA, Infinity Ward and Turn 10 can figure it out then why can’t 2k sports? The only other explanation is that they know how to fix the problem but don’t have the capital to, as BeYonce would say, “Let me, Let me upgrade” their servers. I’m not sure which one is worse, (BeYonce not included.)
[CENTER][U][B]More Frustration[/B][/U][/CENTER]
2k has managed to gain and keep control of the basketball gaming market and is CHOOSING to let servers sink the reputation that took them 10 years to build! I mean this is the second straight year they have advertised game modes/features that literally DO NOT WORK. That’s some crazy s***, considering the NBA 2k series is single handedly keeping 2k relevant in the sports gaming market. It speaks volumes about the leadership over at (what's soon to be) 2k sport, or lack there of.
[CENTER][B]NBA 2k11 development team, you have 3 choices.[/B][/CENTER]
1. Either fork out the cash to seriously overhaul the servers that are killing your major sports franchise or
2. Stop cramming so much unpolished S*** into your game. I’d rather have no My Player mode then a My Player mode that doesn’t work. I’d rather pay $30 and have no online capability then pay $60 and have 50% of the online modes not work and the other 50% down on the weekends (or any other busy gaming times) due to server errors.
3. NBA 2k11 development team, you have one final option and I hope it never comes to this.
Continue operating the way you are and risk lower sales for NBA 2k11, lower overall ratings for NBA 2k11, less respect for 2k sports as a development team, less overall sports gaming market share and less support from your once rabid fan base. I’m sure that will do wonders for your ever-dwindling stock price. And sadly, if the NBA 2k series fades into the dark (which is what its currently on course to do) they will have only themselves (rather then a license buyout,) to blame.
I just finished playing a few death matches on MW2 and I had a great user experience. At no point did I feel hampered by lag. Then I popped in Forza 3 and had a hell of a time racing/crashing my stable of whips online.
So I proceeded to give NBA 2k10 a shot at rocking my online world as it occasionally has in the past (knowing full well that server quality is an area in which 2k as a company DOES NOT excel.)
Low and behold, the first message that pops up as the game is loading…
[B]2K SERVERS ARE CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE[/B]
You got to be kidding me.
[U][CENTER][U][U][B]Questions:[/B][/U][/U][/CENTER][/U]
Are servers a fixable issue?
[B]Yes[/B]
How do I know?
[B]I just played 2 games online (MW2 & Forza 3) that require just as much server power (if not waaaaay more) flawlessly, on the day that arguably boasts the largest surge of online users (the day after Christmas.) And thats without even mentioning how EA manages to connect players around the world for lag free matches of FIFA 10. If FIFA 10 can manage to serve its worldwide user base, then NBA 2k10 should have eliminated this issue years ago.[/B]
[U][U][CENTER][U][B]My NBA 2k Frustrations[/B][/U][/CENTER][/U][/U]
In my humble opinion, NBA 2k10 is a great, if not the best, offline “association mode” game ever, which ironically, is a harder goal to achieve from a development standpoint. Everything about the actual game (i.e. gameplay, graphics, animations, fun-factor, commentary, etc.) is more then high quality, however, their online experience, (most notably their server,) continues to be about as dependable as a car with three wheels.
What’s most frustrating is the fact that “servers” (in the assumed scheme of everything that has to get done for an NBA 2k games development,) really shouldn’t be an issue. I’m no mad scientist myself, but if EA, Infinity Ward and Turn 10 can figure it out then why can’t 2k sports? The only other explanation is that they know how to fix the problem but don’t have the capital to, as BeYonce would say, “Let me, Let me upgrade” their servers. I’m not sure which one is worse, (BeYonce not included.)
[CENTER][U][B]More Frustration[/B][/U][/CENTER]
2k has managed to gain and keep control of the basketball gaming market and is CHOOSING to let servers sink the reputation that took them 10 years to build! I mean this is the second straight year they have advertised game modes/features that literally DO NOT WORK. That’s some crazy s***, considering the NBA 2k series is single handedly keeping 2k relevant in the sports gaming market. It speaks volumes about the leadership over at (what's soon to be) 2k sport, or lack there of.
[CENTER][B]NBA 2k11 development team, you have 3 choices.[/B][/CENTER]
1. Either fork out the cash to seriously overhaul the servers that are killing your major sports franchise or
2. Stop cramming so much unpolished S*** into your game. I’d rather have no My Player mode then a My Player mode that doesn’t work. I’d rather pay $30 and have no online capability then pay $60 and have 50% of the online modes not work and the other 50% down on the weekends (or any other busy gaming times) due to server errors.
3. NBA 2k11 development team, you have one final option and I hope it never comes to this.
Continue operating the way you are and risk lower sales for NBA 2k11, lower overall ratings for NBA 2k11, less respect for 2k sports as a development team, less overall sports gaming market share and less support from your once rabid fan base. I’m sure that will do wonders for your ever-dwindling stock price. And sadly, if the NBA 2k series fades into the dark (which is what its currently on course to do) they will have only themselves (rather then a license buyout,) to blame.
Total Comments 10
Comments
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Agreed. I'm really frustrated with 2k10 and its failed online support. Live 10 is a flawed game, but for online fun, I can't argue with its successes.
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I still can't bring myself to consistently play Live 10 (I own it too.)
Personally, I'm not really interested in spending time with a secondary basketball title (with regard to their franchise/association mode which is where I spend the majority of my time,) even if it does offer more consistency when it comes to online modes. Especially when there are so many other great games I can play (Forza 3 w/ racing wheel online, MW 2 online, i'm in an active Madden Online Franchise and an NCAA 10 Online Dynasty and thats just on my 360. My Ps3 slim gets no love and I got it 2 months ago. If NBA 2k drops the ball again and NBA Live 11 takes significant steps forward in the right ways, I may have to take another look at my choice for videogame basketball. |
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Come to think of it, I play College Hoops 2k8 on more of a regular basis then I play Live 10 (I played the live 10 demo more then I've played the actual game.)
It just isn't a gaming priority. |
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Great write up. I agree with you on many points made, and i too have "live 10" (came free with S.I subscript.) and to this day, the most i have put into it was looking at all of the sneakers they have for the players.
I have always been saying that I.M.O it is very clear that 2k is having serious financial troubles. From the other titles being cut, to the release of this game knowing 100% that it was not complete. I also feel that they went with 2k10 using NO TESTERS. It is very expensive to hire for thorough testing, compared to the same dev's/programmers just putting out a patch after release. (again,this is nothing factual, just kinda what i think) |
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Word...
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That's probably the reason why Mike Wang jumped ship. Maybe he foresaw 2k as a sinking ship and EA giving him a raise was a cherry on top. I've played the retail versions of Live 10 and 2k 10 extensively this year. This was my first year to play an NBA game since Bulls vs Blazers. I rented both on release date and favored Live at first, and eventually purchased Live because of its tighter gameplay engine. I went ahead and rented 2k again and loved the my player mode. Long story short I went ahead and sold my Live and switched to 2k. Not because 2k's a better basketball game than Live, because its not. My reason was the my player mode. If was playing online or a head to head game, I would go with Live every time.
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typo- If i was playing online or a head to head game, I would go with Live vs 2k.
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Nice write up. I've never really been bummed when the servers are down. I just can't make much fun of playing online. I don't like the lag.
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I agree, getting over the lag is a tough hurdle. I've found it to be a difficult adjustment switching from offline games to online games (with regularity,) in any of this years Sports titles.
Your timing is bound to suffer (at least for a quarter or too,) with the lesser played mode (online/offline.) |
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2K10 is quite possibly the best basketball game I have ever played. If I look up 3 years from now and Live is the only thing available I will probably not be picking up the next gen console. 2K really does need to fix there servers and overall customer service.
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