Is it Time to Stick a Fork in the NHL 2K Series?

[RoyalBoyle78]

Pasta Padre has done some extensive research, it looks like the NHL 2K series is dead. He posted an update, right here. A few other sites have also chimed in with their thoughts. What say you?

"Ever since Take Two decided to shut down College Hoops due to the lack of sales potential vs development costs the next game that appeared to be in danger was the NHL 2K series. Sales have been dropping to miniscule levels as EA Sports NHL has grown and dominated the market. While it has been clear that resources have been limited with NHL 2K there have been no official statements made as to the future of the franchise.

However now there is an indication that NHL 2K11 may not be in development. In the Q4 fiscal report from Take Two on Thursday the games planned for the next fiscal year were laid out. Noticeably absent from the list is the mention of NHL 2K11."

Is the End Near for the NHL 2K Series? (First Cuts)

"I reached out for comment, and received this note back from Brian Roundy with 2K Sports:

2K has the following comment:

“We are currently in the process of evaluating our sports portfolio and have not announced any new NHL titles at this time."

2K Sports benching NHL series? (Gamespot)

"Dropping the NHL series would make some sense for Take-Two. 2K's games have been a distant second to EA's efforts this generation, both critically and commercially. And while the recent Wii edition of NHL 2K10 was warmly received by critics and vigorously supported with TV advertising, that hasn't significantly boosted sales over last year's edition. With the publisher's stated focus on AAA game development, a middling licensed franchise with a limited potential audience up against tough competition every year might be a tempting target for cost-cutting."

NHL 2K11 likely canceled, 2K Sports in trouble? (Destructoid)

"This is not an entirely shocking prospect for 2K Sports, whose NHL 2K games have been badly outsold in the past two years by EA Sports’ celebrated hockey titles. Competition in the simulation sports genre is very tough, to be sure: NHL 2K9 and 2K10 weren’t bad games, by most accounts, but it just so happened that NHL 09 and NHL 10 were better. If it turns out that this is, indeed, the end of NHL 2K, then I’m sad for all the folks at developer Visual Concepts who may soon be out of work."

[Flyermania]

No NHK 2k11?

Found this story over at pastapadre's site:

Ever since Take Two decided to shut down College Hoops due to the lack of sales potential vs development costs the next game that appeared to be in danger was the NHL 2K series. Sales have been dropping to miniscule levels as EA Sports NHL has grown and dominated the market. While it has been clear that resources have been limited with NHL 2K there have been no official statements made as to the future of the franchise.

However now there is an indication that NHL 2K11 may not be in development. In the Q4 fiscal report from Take Two on Thursday the games planned for the next fiscal year were laid out. Noticeably absent from the list is the mention of NHL 2K11.

One might think it was just an omission or the game was too far out from release to be cited. That is not the case though as NBA 2K11 is included and the NBA game comes out a month after the NHL game. The list is based on all titles planned for the coming year.

I went back to the previous year’s press release for Q4 2008 results which does display NHL 2K10 as being on the horizon. The 2007 Q4 report mentions NHL 2K9. That suggests there is a reason that it’s missing this time around.

When College Hoops was canceled it wasn’t until mid-January that Take Two made an official statement. Interestingly enough it was missing from the mentioned titles in that fiscal report but it wasn’t known until a month later that it was gone for good. That seems to be the exact situation that we have here with NHL 2K.

So there really may be something to this. Just recently it was 2K Sports MLB license deal that was stated to be the drag on the company but no mention was made regarding NHL one way or the other. Should any news make its way out regarding the future of NHL 2K I will be sure to update.

Link: http://www.pastapadre.com/

Link to Yahoo Finance: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/TakeTw....html?x=0&.v=1

Poor marketing/sales of the game lend some weight to this if it is true...maybe someone from 2k can shed some light on this?

[Spear]

Re: No NHK 2k11?

There are definitely more 2K10 commercials for the Wii here then there are NHL 10 commercials. But EA Sports has warped so many Canadians into buying their game, its a wonder if 2K could ever steal that fan base.

I've always been a sucker for 2K hockey but it's been a roller coaster ride to be honest. Some years its acceptable and some years it isn't, nonetheless I'd be sad to see it go.

[slickdtc]

Re: No NHK 2k11?

I hope this is nothing. Nobody wants to have an NFL type situation where there's only one game being released. The difference here is, it would be all on 2k Sports, not on the greed/evil/whatever you wanna call it of EA Sports. NHL 2k was the better and higher rated game in the middle of this decade, but its descent has been astonishing since 2004/2005. Who would've thought this series could be defunct only half a decade later?

The only saving grace here is that EA's NHL series is still a good option. But the two companies pushing each other, I believe, is why both titles are worthy of their price tags. I hope NHL 2k can continue because I enjoy the product and I want to see each company strive to be the greater game.

[kcxiv]

Re: No NHK 2k11?

i wouldnt mind see'ign this if they were going to concentrate on a football game. lol. I been without a football game almost 3 years now and 5 for NFL. I am hurting bad. lol

If they dont, then i hope they keep this, but if its a choice, later hockey. lol

[CarryTheWeight]

Re: No NHK 2k11?

I saw this coming from a mile away. If this is true then we have no one to blame but Take 2 and 2K Sports itself. But Pasta's not exactly the best source of this kind of information. I would take everything he speculates with a grain of salt, as he is a notorious 2K basher (MLB 2K9 as the worst sports game of the year? Over the completely unplayable and sloppy Tecmo NBA Unrivaled? C'mon man...).

However, if this is indeed true, I point the finger squarely at Take 2 (not Visual Concepts or the developers, but the higher-ups). You expect this game to sell well, yet don't promote it. You don't release a demo, instead letting a select few Californians attend a single day of gameplay at the VC Novato offices. Instead of releasing information gradually throughout the offseason, you release it a month or so before release. Their process and method is to blame, not EA's market share.

And here come the EA fanboys, saying "they deserved it". But like I've been saying ever since this speculation came around, expect the end of a solid EA NHL series without any competition. Yes, I know Dave Littman is an amazing lead developer and a great guy, but do you really expect EA to come up with groundbreaking, realistic features instead of gimmicks without an NHL 2K on the market? EA's NHL will turn into the Madden of the hockey world without 2K on the market. Mark my words.

[Blzer]

Re: So long good freind...2K all but Dead...

This is sad news. It's not like I own NHL 2K10 (and in fact I like NHL 2010 more), but this just feels like the death of 2K altogether. Hopefully this means resources jumping over to another series though, be it baseball or perhaps even a secret football project.

But I'll miss the NHL 2K series either way. I'll miss the news pouring out, etc.

[CarryTheWeight]

Re: So long good freind...2K all but Dead...

Like I said in the other thread about this, there's no one but the Take 2 higher-ups to blame. Ineptness all around. So don't complain when EA Sports's NHL series becomes the Madden of hockey video games.

I'm more angry than saddened, So I'll let this image speak for itself:

[Money99]

Re: So long good freind...2K all but Dead...

If this is true it's a big bummer. One that I felt could happen.

How many other hockey games, that were on the cusp of great things, were cancelled before they could realize their potential?

Powerplay 98, Fox Sports Championship, NHL Hitz (rumored to be going more sim before Midway pulled the plug), NHL2K3 (Treyarch was near "The Show" perfection) and now NHL2K11.

I hope this isn't true.

[Flyermania]

Re: No NHK 2k11?

pastapadre's site has an update giving 2k's response (courtesy of Chris Littmann at First Cuts):

“We are currently in the process of evaluating our sports portfolio and have not announced any new NHL titles at this time.”

IMO that comment does not bode well.

[savoie2006]

Re: No NHK 2k11?

I'll be sad, almost depressed, if 2K Hockey goes. It's nice having two options to choose from. I like EA Hockey, but 2K always felt less scripted to me. The fact that NHL 10 basically requires you to play a certain way to score and defend, makes for a rather dull experience offline. It's not really suprising though as it's been expected by many since 2K8.

[original6]

Re: No NHK 2k11?

I'll be sad, almost depressed, if 2K Hockey goes. It's nice having two options to choose from. I like EA Hockey, but 2K always felt less scripted to me. The fact that NHL 10 basically requires you to play a certain way to score and defend, makes for a rather dull experience offline. It's not really suprising though as it's been expected by many since 2K8.

Couldn't have said it better myself. EA just hasn't done it for me the last 3 years. Without 2k11, I'll be either playing 2k10 or nothing next year. Wouldn't be the end of the world, though. I'd save myself some money and be spared from my annual slider tweakfest. Plus, I'd definitely be deep into a franchise after playing the same title for over a year. I'm not gonna stress about it. What happens, happens and is out of my control. I'll be disappointed not being able to see where another year of development might have taken 2k10. But, I'm rather happy with 2k10 as it is and definitely can get some long life out of it.

[Jangle Leg]

Re: No NHK 2k11?

More resources for NBA and MLB 2K?

[bukktown]

Re: No NHK 2k11?

I think I am a jinx. The first year I ever bought College Hoops ended up being their last year making it. Now this is the first year I have ever bought 2k hockey and look what happens. sigh. At least I was able to buy it at full retail and give a little extra money to the company that deserves it.

[Money99]

Re: No NHK 2k11?

It wasn't very long ago that 2K was king in the hockey world.
It routinely beat out EA for critic ratings and sales.
Then next-gen came and EA took back the thrown in a big way.

If you had to name one thing that EA did to re-establish itself as the king of the rink, what do you think that is?
For my money, I'd say Skill Stick.
Read any reviews and everyone gushes over it. It's probably the main reason it won so many awards.

If 2K had stolen this control scheme for 2K8 or at the very least 2K9, I think things would be different today.

I'm still wondering how such an innovated idea wasn't stolen. It was the deal breaker.