What Makes the NBA 2K League a Success or Failure?

[Steve_OS]

Unless you count the short-lived XFL as a serious professional league (and now it's coming back...

Written By: Josiah Cohen

Click here to view the article.

[splashmountain]

Quote: Originally Posted by Steve_OS

Unless you count the short-lived XFL as a serious professional league (and now it's coming back... Written By: Josiah Cohen Click here to view the article.

good article.

But I do have an issue with this part

Quote:

Here’s where the gameplay comes in. The NBA 2k League cannot compete with the NBA in terms of gameplay. That is the most important difference that must be made. The best, or the most exciting NBA 2K gameplay looks nothing like NBA basketball. The NBA 2K League gameplay will be nothing like NBA basketball, even with dedicated practice and strategy. If the league tries to market itself as NBA basketball in a video game, it will inevitably draw comparisons to the NBA, and it cannot win those comparisons. The NBA 2K League must brand its gameplay as unique and separate from the NBA. That’s the independence it needs.

It doesn't need to compete with the nba in terms of gameplay remember like you said in the article. This isnt ABA vs the NBA or XFL vs the NFL.

They are not competing at all. If the 2k teams makes a decision to make a 2k that closely resembles actual nba basketball not just by look but also how it plays. If you truly have the best in the WORLD playing the game, they can have the game looking like real basketball. It is possible. and that would not be a bad thing to do. The reason being, the NBA product is a great product to WATCH. Everyone can't be lebron james, but it surely looks pretty when you watch him play.

But here's the difference. there's a reason Steph curry's popularity went crazy. Steph is not a normal sized person in the grand scheme of average height for males/females. But on TV alongside the likes of the lebrons and other giants. he looks like one of us. Like a normal sized guy doing abnormal things. But event those things he does that are abnormal, to us seem closer to reality than any other stars from the past.

No one could be a 6'9 magic. Not even other nba players.

No one could be jordan, kobe is the closest we have seen and bron minus the passing. but we're talking about regular people. how many of us are 6'6 with insane athleticism and super sized hands? How many people can even touch the rim let along dunk, let along fly in the air, kick their feet hold the ball bring it back switch hands then lay it in? most people can't do that no matter how hard they practiced. But guess what a lot of people can do? They can dribble and shoot. Steph/Klay/James Harden = US. We can all learn how to dribble really well and shoot really well. We will never be shaq but we could one day become steph/klay/james harden. At least in our minds we think we could. it seems more accessible.

The same can be said for a video game league resembling the actual NBA. This could become a league where regular people can put their work in and become stars at the game they love. not video game they love. but the game they love. which is basketball. If it does not resemble the nba. then what will it resemble? I will answer that for you. Some vs of NBA streets/The 2k's the Park on a hardwood floor. a lot of over the top stuff that a select batch of a community will like to see but not many will LOVE to watch that over and over again.

Imagine the finals when Lebron took the L against the spurs. When it looked like he was afraid to take the open jumper since the spurs setup a Fence to stop him from driving. In that series he looked scared. Imagine if the 2k league/2k the game actually played like the real nba and someone had a lebron like player and the same spurs like defensive was employed. Then you saw how that player took those open shots and won the games, eventually winning the finals. Because it looks so similar to the real thing. It could become the talk for real nba players/ analyst " maybe lebron should take a page out of Dimez book and take the open shot."

Sam Pham admitted he didnt know or understand basketball until he started playing nba 2k. he got into real basketball via the video game. since there are some things about the game and the real thing that are very similar. You can continue down this road creating a game thats as close to a simulation of the real thing as possible. then it would create a league that is close to the real thing as possible. Kids would grow up watching the league, learning basketball from the league from the game then getting into the real thing since its so similar.

[techblogger911]

We don't need to make comparisons whether it is a success or a failure, as long as we enjoy every version that's enough for me