When MVP Baseball came out, it got a late start and was missing features, level of game play feel and animations that gamers were demanding. The next year (a short timeframe given the timing of release of the first game) they were able to implement most of these, vastly improving their game. In 2005 the tweaked their improvements and then focused on the add ons.
2K games (or Sega) has been releasing this game since 2002, and it seems that there have only been tweaks to what is done from the get go. For the most part, the animations, player models, batter interface, defensive control, sound effects (did they get the bat to ball contact sound from whacking a plastic grocery bag with a fly swatter?), etc. (I could go on and on) have been used since the first current gen game was released. Yet when asked about changes to the game, problems/gripes that people have with the previous years game, the most common answer, to paraphrase, is “We are looking into that for next year”.
I was a huge defender of the 2k series, particularly in first year of MVP, I felt that video game baseball could not get better on the current gen than the 2k series, but eventually gave in to what evolved into a better game in less than a year. By 2005, MVP was so far superior to 2k it wasn’t even a choice for me anymore. I was hoping that the exclusive license (which I am not in favor of for any sport) would be the spark that 2k needed to get it going, but thus far I have found the information, Q&A, screens and videos very disappointing. Disappointing enough to inspire me to update my MVP 2005 rosters (have to maually update) rather than purchasing a new game this year. Particularly given the amount of "wait 'til next year" answers that are given. I dont feel like paying 40 dollars for a game that the producers are already (subconciously) admitting could be better. I am not saying that 2k is bad, only that it has been stagnant for quite a long time. Its evolutionary pace was lapped by MVP.
I guess what I am really wondering is: How did EA turn MVP into the game that it eventually became in a relatively short timeframe, but 2k seems to be stuck in development redundancy?
(rant over, cools head in toilet)
2K games (or Sega) has been releasing this game since 2002, and it seems that there have only been tweaks to what is done from the get go. For the most part, the animations, player models, batter interface, defensive control, sound effects (did they get the bat to ball contact sound from whacking a plastic grocery bag with a fly swatter?), etc. (I could go on and on) have been used since the first current gen game was released. Yet when asked about changes to the game, problems/gripes that people have with the previous years game, the most common answer, to paraphrase, is “We are looking into that for next year”.
I was a huge defender of the 2k series, particularly in first year of MVP, I felt that video game baseball could not get better on the current gen than the 2k series, but eventually gave in to what evolved into a better game in less than a year. By 2005, MVP was so far superior to 2k it wasn’t even a choice for me anymore. I was hoping that the exclusive license (which I am not in favor of for any sport) would be the spark that 2k needed to get it going, but thus far I have found the information, Q&A, screens and videos very disappointing. Disappointing enough to inspire me to update my MVP 2005 rosters (have to maually update) rather than purchasing a new game this year. Particularly given the amount of "wait 'til next year" answers that are given. I dont feel like paying 40 dollars for a game that the producers are already (subconciously) admitting could be better. I am not saying that 2k is bad, only that it has been stagnant for quite a long time. Its evolutionary pace was lapped by MVP.
I guess what I am really wondering is: How did EA turn MVP into the game that it eventually became in a relatively short timeframe, but 2k seems to be stuck in development redundancy?
(rant over, cools head in toilet)
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