OS Roundtable: Who Made the Bigger Mistake, EA or 2K?

[RaychelSnr]

We all remember where we were when Jesus appeared in a Lakers uniform at half court in the fateful NBA Elite demo. But do you also remember where you were when 2K Sports potentially ended its NHL 2K series last week?

There is no doubt the NHL is far less popular than the NBA in America today -- the sales of the video games should be enough evidence to prove that statement. However, while it looks like 2K might be giving up on hockey, EA is simply trying to give basketball a good ol' mulligan. Given what we know about the financial impact of each decision, which company is making the bigger mistake: 2K for dumping NHL games entirely (for now) or EA for taking at least one more year to develop a new basketball franchise in the face of a monster of a competitor?

Read More - OS Roundtable: Who Made the Bigger Mistake, EA or 2K?

[khaliib]

Interesting with the Hockey scenerio, 2k just getting a piece would be considered a good business move, but but creating some type of Generic College Football/Basketball with Full Customization, has been shot down as a bad business move.

With how the Gaming community received the Customization feature in NBA 2k11 (which is the single most innovative thing that changed the game and set a new standard) is what tipped many gamers to spend more time playing their basketball vs EA's version.

Were 2k is making the biggest mistake is not utilizing this moment and the current Gamer Customization high to produce Quality games in College Football/Basketball.

Baseball, Hockey, Soccer, Tennis and Golf are sports that have a small following, but not a big enough following were more than one developer can really make profit.

Football is the #1 money making Sports Video Game with basketball following right behind.
The replay of these two video game genre's probably occupies over 90% of gaming time of all Sports titles in a year (my guess).

With NBA Basketball being 2k's money maker, they need to find a way to incorporate the College aspect into their Pro series.
There is a major void in this area, and at some point, the NBA series will need something different added to it extend it's replay value.

I think the greatest error is 2k trying to compete against EA through Exclusive License's.
The biggest thing the NBA 2k 11 showed, was that the more you allow Gamers into the Customization of the game, the greater the ability you'll have to draw and retain those gamers.

The first thing Gamers do after purchase, is look to utilize the Customization features to edit Names, Ratings, Coaches, Uniforms and/or Courts or Fields.

Backbreaker proved that by providing a Non-limiting Editor, there is no need to shell out money for Exlcusive License's or to individuals to use their likeness.

Even worse, ist that 2k is watching their biggest cometitor utilize their Customization concept as EA decides to test it out on their Madden series for 2012.

If EA injects this concept into their next Elite/Live Series, 2k's money maker will be in trouble because I think the Customization was the feature that put the most distance between the two developers Pro Basketball versions.

In a nutshell, 2k better find a way to get back into the Football and/or College game as the other genre's are not strong enough to support when EA starts to slowly take away slices of the whole pie their currently in possesion of.

"Just my rambling thoughts as the wife bewails my ears to go to the grocery store..."

[savoie2006]

2K is, but the NHL series has never been a money maker. Even during its prime years on Xbox and PS2, the game was still outsold by EA. As far as the NHL ever recovering, it won't at this point, not until the next systems drop. Yes NHL 2K10 showed potential, but it was too little too late and the time to take a year off should have been before 2K9. Besides, money spent trying to bring the NHL series back on the 360/PS3 at this point could be saved to help bring the NFL sereis back should EA finally give up the exclusive.

Basketball is a much more popular sport in the states than hockey so it will be easier for EA to recover from the last couple years off. As long as they come back with a deep game that plays anything like basketball it will sell. Maybe not as much as 2K at right away, but it will be more profitable than 2K would be trying to bring back the NHL series.

[jlandryst]

2K is in trouble. They have one year to get the basketball game where its suppose to be. Everyone knows that 2K cant compete with EA when it comes to the servers and the myplayer.Most of my friends that have NHL for EA play in the EASHL only. If EA can get NBA Elite to that level or close then 2K is going to be in real trouble.

[Boogiemanjay]

They both drop the ball when they couldn't keep a college hoop game

[statum71]

2K....

EA has FIFA, their real cash cow.

[mirrored32]

customization. yeah that is my key. I know for my money i would rather have a game that i can customize to my hearts content over a limited contracted game.

[pabryant]

Yeah, maybe 2k may be putting most of its eggs in one basket but if they use the hockey resources to pick college basketball back up, it will be worth it,.. in my opinion. If Take Two creates a college b-ball game that mimics the quality of NBA2k11,.. EA may have a serious problem on their hands.
I know the NCAA license is a bit of a sore spot right now, but we all know, their WILL be another college b-ball game in the future. EA better hope its not anytime soon and definitely not by 2k. 2k has pretty much branded itself as the "king" of basketball titles. NBA2k8 and College Hoops2k8, together, was the most complete basketball gaming experience ever created by man, and another such endeavor executed at the level we all experienced from NBA2K11 could produce a sports gaming series that rivals even EA's monster football titles.

[savoie2006]

I think people underestimate Take Two. Thinking they can't compete with EA. They are big time company and have the financial resources to compete with EA Sports. The big question is do they want to or are they concerned with their non sports games such as Bioshock, Red Dead Redemption, and GTA? I think the answer is obvious, but that doesn't mean they couldn't compete with EA in all areas in regards to their sports games.

[DubTrey1]

2K in my opinion. EA has cash flow coming from so many different titles, it's hard to imagine they will suffer any longterm effects of not having a hoops game in the past year. Gamers are a fickle bunch. If Battelfield 3 blows the doors off of everyone with a absolute awesome title, how many will jump ship from COD? I am sure there will be a large volume of gamers..... even though BF has not been anywhere near the best seller COD franchise has been. SO, I would imagine EA will recover gamers all the same I think, even without a hoops title this past year. I mean, in the ultimate "what if" - what if 2K all of the sudden broght back NFL football? How many would flee Madden? A lot i'd bet.

[tabulaRasa]

2k, NHL was groundbreaking, ea stole bank board passing, boardplay, defensive stick etc from 2k. And 2ks game was dominant in gameplay nhl2k3 to nhl2k7. Ea bb game has never Been in competetion and the only reason were stubborn fanboys or homers WHO only play eas games. Its the same problem for konami and other developers. Eas fans are such homers even though eas games are inferior. Right now though NHL and FIFA are better. But to beat ea you have to break thru the blind fans not only have the better game. Nba2k and the show have broken thru though, both beasts of quality, but how many years did it take? Nba from ea have sucked for years and only 2k 3rd party Exclusive let Sony show their Awesome game.

[EHS_25]

is that really the graphics from the demo??? That looks awful, looks last gen or off the iphone app

[CX1329]

Re: OS Roundtable: Who Made the Bigger Mistake, EA or 2K?

2k, NHL was groundbreaking, ea stole bank board passing, boardplay, defensive stick etc from 2k. And 2ks game was dominant in gameplay nhl2k3 to nhl2k7. Ea bb game has never Been in competetion and the only reason were stubborn fanboys or homers WHO only play eas games. Its the same problem for konami and other developers. Eas fans are such homers even though eas games are inferior. Right now though NHL and FIFA are better. But to beat ea you have to break thru the blind fans not only have the better game. Nba2k and the show have broken thru though, both beasts of quality, but how many years did it take? Nba from ea have sucked for years and only 2k 3rd party Exclusive let Sony show their Awesome game.

I understand not everybody likes EA, but credit has to be given where credit is due. EA may not have been able to compete with 2K by putting out consecutive sub-par offerings, from NBA Live 06 through 09, but Live 10 was actually pretty good, and EA basketball was a big part of many people's lives in the early days of console basketball. Like it or not, the Live brand carries a whole lot of tradition, which is why many were upset about the new "Elite" franchise. I own all 2K basketball games from ESPN NBA 2K5 onwards, but I'd still try to get both games each year, even if just out of fondness for the Live name, and to keep my basketball gaming experience fresh after playing too much 2K, as well as support the competition between both companies.

That leads me to the topic at hand. I seriously don't think EA will suffer too much from skipping a year, as I'm willing to guess many of their customers will be willing to give them one last chance once they do come out with a new NBA sim. The profits will be small at first, but if they show some respect for their loyal customer base and slowly attract more basketball gamers by releasing GOOD titles, they will be okay in the end. The execs just need to realize that they won't be keeping people from buying 2K's offering anytime soon. They need to be realistic and refrain from changing directions once again when they fail to achieve monumental sales with their product (ala Live 10).

As for 2K and hockey, they're backed by Take Two, the publishers of GTA and other household names, so I very much doubt money is an issue. I also don't think Take Two will take any drastic measures as long as 2K's NBA series continues to do so well. If the next NBA 2K game turns out to be a success, I'm guessing 2K will continue to enjoy their reputation within Take Two.

Ultimately, it's obvious that 2K made the bigger mistake, but I wouldn't say either EA or 2K will suffer a huge loss once it's all said and done.

[xbreezex]

EA by a mile, nba elite 11 was one word. 'wow' in shock.

[RUFFNREADY]

Money talks! If you don't produce anything; then you cant make money off of it. No matter how bad it could be.
I was in shock as the rest of the world saw Boozer dunk from the free throw line; and couldn't stop laughing at the video from Hard8times and "Jesus Bynum"; but do you know what? People would have bought the game (NBA ELITE 11) anyways! They (EA) could still probably sell the game on PSN or XBL, and make some money. Just think about it; most crappy games that get released are purchased by somebody, and may not make a dime in profit for the company. Cancelling any game will be a lost revenues. NHL 2K is just going to miss out on their slice of the pie this year as well (lost money).
My point is that they both are losing money and stocks. Big money making companies are not worried about you and me as gamers; They are worried about their investors, and stakes they have on the market. Companies will push out a product (unfinished / or in BETA), sell it to you and i; and then have their highly paid PR people to smooth everything over with you after they have secured the money that you and i have just given to them; then they work you over like a lawyer would in a settlement case, and then by the time you know it, they are already releasing another version for the game, and giving you a list of great new, never seen, highly requested features; and then we buy it, and stop complain about the other game and start complaining about the new one. What a nasty cycle.
My question to you all reading this is: "Should we care if One of these large Corporations has made a mistake**?"
**note: There are 310 million people that live in the USA; and i would probably gather that 7,750,000 (1 quarter) play on some form of gaming console or PC like apparatus. they all would buy 1 game (good or bad) posssibly a year at say $40.00. (you do the math) Do you know how much $$$ they just made.
I am sorry, but i couldn't care less if they cancelled a game this year; because as you get older you understand that their are more fish somewhere in the OCEAN!

cheers