The State of the Association

[RaychelSnr]

There is an ongoing basketball gaming dilemma.

Every year 2K Sports and EA Sports battle it out to become the king of the basketball universe. In fact, besides trading blows when it comes to features and gameplay, they seem to be recruiting the most talented developers like they are head coaches going after McDonald's All-American players. For example, Mike Wang was originally a NBA 2K developer. He went to the NBA Live/Elite franchise but then returned to 2K after finishing development on NBA Live 10.

The point is these companies want to be the best around. The dilemma is that basketball games are really hard to make.

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[myownsun]

Re: The State of the Association



Wow That is Mj to a T

[threes_co]

Re: The State of the Association

Good read...

[jaynny]

See, this is great...NOW, we just need football gaming to have this type of competition..the more competition, the better for the customer

[HiTEqMETHOD]

A refined lead pass ability would be amazing in 2K. Thinking about how it's implemented in soccer games specifically, it would open up so many possibilities on the offensive end.

[trufootball]

likewise ...

[wxn8822]

I would rather have a gameplay like real basketbal that may be getting in to slow tempo. Because this era is not the era when extreme fun expierence is predominant.

[Stickz24]

What ? I like a sim game as much as the next man -- but from a business stand point. Not enough people understand basketball to appreciate a true basketball sim. They'd be coaches .. if they did. The true sim gm we ask for would turn 60-70 of the 2k population off. I'ma just enjoy the best gm out .. as my video game retirement date is fast approaching.

[kennyacid]

Re: The State of the Association

See, this is great...NOW, we just need football gaming to have this type of competition..the more competition, the better for the customer

football being my fav sport; i really miss the days when i had a choice of games i could choose from instead of being forced to only play one game in order to get my nfl fix..smh

[Gotmadskillzson]

Honestly all sports games need to ignore the fluff extras and stick to the core fundementals of that sport. Once you get the core down, THEN you can add on the fluff at the end. Over the years I have watched Madden add more and more fluff to their games, while the core gameplay suffered. I can careless about madden coins, madden cards, madden moments, accelerators.

With the college football games I can careless about mascot games, road to glory. With the basketball games I can careless about black top mode, nba jam, etc. I buy a sports game to play the actual sport itself and not some fantasy over the top BS.

Of all the sports games, only MLB The Show is the truest representation of the sport it suppose to be portraying. When you play that game it looks like real baseball, sound like real baseball, feels like real baseball.

[duckfever8]

Re: The State of the Association

NBA 2K11 is miles ahead of NBA Elite 11. Have you seen the franchise mode in Elite. Same thing it's been for 6 years now. 2K updates it every year with something big. Plus better gameplay. Elite 11 has the edge in presentation Ill give you that.

[DGMikeBarker]

I think companies should go for gold. Try to make a game with real-time physics, looks like a real basketball game, and have the sim factor of a basketball, all with great responsiveness. You may have to live with a few disappointment, but it will payoff at the end.

[Dazraz]

I think you sum up the problem that the gaming industry has perfectly in your final sentence. Making a game fun whilst maintaining realism.

I think the problem often stems from the type of sport that is being simulated. Ice Hockey & soccer are relatively fast paced & physical sports whereby the developer as more flexibility in blurring the line between reality & fantasy. Sports such as baseball & football, however, are much slower & exacting in nature & thus more open to scrutiny from critics.

As for basketball, although certainly a fast pace sport, it still however has a very rigid structure that is difficult for developers to modify without degrading the simulation aspect of the game. Add to this the fact that fans of basketball videogames are amongst the most passionate & the task for the developer is made that much harder. This is why games such as NBA Jam exist. The rule book can be thrown out of the window & a no holds barred extreme variation of the sport can be created.

Ideally all games would be released with both a arcade style or strict simulation playing option. This has been done before but what tends to happen is that you end up with a game that does neither job that well. Until developers find a way of incorporating both gaming styles within one package successfully there will always be a part of the market that the game fails to attract.

I personally look for a game that is as realistic as possible. I have no interest in games such as NBA Jam. That said I do understand that there are people out there who want a more straight forward pick up & play experience.

[Fngb3]

I feel like I've been stating the obvious a lot today but, Mr. Bartlett makes a very important point near the bottom. These teams are trying to take human beings doing some of the smoothest, most athletic things human beings can do, and get people the ability to replicate that WITH LIKE 10 BUTTONS. I'm blown away by 2K this year. It's hard to say that because I'm not sure heaping praise on these guys is the best way for me to get the best basketball game they can make NEXT year. But credit where credit is due. I think they've done an amazing job, based on the demo. Many thanks

[JWiLL02]

Re: The State of the Association

Elite 11 has the edge in presentation Ill give you that.

In what way?

Maybe it's just me, but slapping ESPN on things doesn't add whole lot. The commentary is pretty decent, but at the same time it's frustrating how much they've neutered JVG. Maybe it was the league saying he couldn't be his usual self, and not EA, but the point stands. I'm not sure how much "BANG!" and "Mama there goes that man" I can handle, I have a feeling it will get old pretty quick.

I'll take 2K's "broadcast" feel over what Elite offers. The improved broadcast cam and camera cuts have looked fantastic even in a 4 minute demo.

The post game highlights from the release party footage looked amazing as well.