MLB 2K12 Cover Athlete is Justin Verlander

[rudyjuly2]

Re: MLB 2K12 Cover Athlete is Justin Verlander

That said though, I also don't believe that most people who hop on here ranting about cover athletes are ultimately concerned with a company's marketing success (unless everyone here owns stock in one of these companies...which I doubt).

I just don't see the disappointed reactions stemming from a thought of "oh no, I sure hope Company X picked a guy that will help their sales." It seems to stem more from "my guy didn't make it" or a baseless belief that the cover somehow affects product quality.

So, while it does indeed affect marketing, my question to someone who gets overly emotional about this crap would be "why do you care?" Marketing is a fine argument for why Sony or 2K or EA should care, but it's a cop-out for why someone feels justified in railing about a game because their favorite didn't make the cover or by making dramatic "...or else" type statements as though a company should feel threatened by choosing "wrong."

It's true that some guys will use any point to take shots at a game or promote a game. Who is on the cover has never been a big deal to me. It has nothing to do with how good a game will be. Of course I've never cared about sock length options on player edits. Some guys go nuts for that stuff. I truly don't understand some arguments people have but sometimes I think it is simply because we are all wired a little different. I personally think that way too many people at OS think people are trolling when expressing a strange or different point of view. Some people are simply different. There would be far fewer arguments to moderate if people just let people express their opinions without feeling the need to attack an opposing point of view. Every argument doesn't have to have a winner and a loser.

[SoxFan01605]

Re: MLB 2K12 Cover Athlete is Justin Verlander

It's true that some guys will use any point to take shots at a game or promote a game. Who is on the cover has never been a big deal to me. It has nothing to do with how good a game will be. Of course I've never cared about sock length options on player edits. Some guys go nuts for that stuff. I truly don't understand some arguments people have but sometimes I think it is simply because we are all wired a little different. I personally think that way too many people at OS think people are trolling when expressing a strange or different point of view. Some people are simply different. There would be far fewer arguments to moderate if people just let people express their opinions without feeling the need to attack an opposing point of view. Every argument doesn't have to have a winner and a loser.

Hmm...I see your point, but I'm not sure what that has to do with what I posted (or the topic in general, as nobody's done that on either side, from what I've read...most of that seems to fall into the off-topic discussion of the other game). I don't disagree with the sentiment at all though.

My only point was (in response to the comments directed towards people who say "it doesn't matter"), to clarify that when I say it doesn't matter to me, it is never a debate about what constitutes good marketing. I feel that is a separate issue from where most of the disagreement comes from (which is a disagreement over the highly subjective notion of who "deserves" the cover, etc).

[rudyjuly2]

Re: MLB 2K12 Cover Athlete is Justin Verlander

I'm just a little tired and confused. Read you post too fast and didn't fully understand it lol. To get back on topic, Verlander is an excellent choice although I do think they should probably go non pitcher next year.

[truintellectplaya]

2K is very lazy. The Bigs looks much better than MLB.

[Pared]

Re: MLB 2K12 Cover Athlete is Justin Verlander

I think one of the problems sports games face today is the feeling that the games aren't changing fast enough. That MLB 2K12 will be MLB 2K11.5. Same goes for the Show. Putting the same guy on the cover adds fuel to that fire.

You say this while someone else says that the cover doesn't matter.

It's quite interesting reading all the comments that conflict with each other.

[rudyjuly2]

Re: MLB 2K12 Cover Athlete is Justin Verlander

You say this while someone else says that the cover doesn't matter.

It's quite interesting reading all the comments that conflict with each other.

No doubt. Everyone will have a different opinion. I do think covers can be cool and not just for avatars. The NBA 2K12 covers this year were really cool. EA's football covers the last couple years were also excellent with the paint splatters and additional images. The baseball covers haven't been as nice. Nothing really cool or special about them.

I have no idea how much impact a cover has in terms of sales although it certainly is a part of marketing and every edge has to help. Putting Jordan on the cover of NBA 2K11 seemed to work very well last year although that was tied to the Jordan moments they put in. Putting someone on the cover specifically to promote a new feature set or gameplay addition might be the way to go.

[Ceteris Paribus]

Re: MLB 2K12 Cover Athlete is Justin Verlander

Putting someone on the cover specifically to promote a new feature set or gameplay addition might be the way to go.

That's the main reason 2K has been going with pitchers. Pitching is the deepest part of the gameplay, and the real difference maker. It's also why they emphasize the perfect game giveaway.

If there is one thing 2K excels at over any other baseball game ever created, it is the pitching mechanic and strategy.