Memo to NBA 2k Staff: Please be transparent when it comes to last gen games - NINJAK2's Blog

NINJAK2's Blog

Memo to NBA 2k Staff: Please be transparent when it comes to last gen games

Posted on August 26, 2014 at 09:31 PM.

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On the release date of Madden I choose to write this blog with a warning to NBA 2k staff/marketing : Don't employ EA's attitude of secrecy/silence when it comes to letting your buyers know what is/isn't in last gen titles.

Everyone at this site is a fanatic about one sport or another in regards to gaming. That is a big reason why I love the community here at OS. Whether that is soccer,basketball, football, baseball, etc. we are all passionate about one(or more than one) of them. We look forward to playing "X" title and starve for any and all tidbits of information we can get on them.

I was a big fan of the NFL 2k series and my passion for football games took a hit after 2k5 took a dirt nap. For about 3-4 years after that I survived with 2k5 and Finn's editor doing my best to keep the rosters up to date the best I could and refused to buy Madden. I survived for a while but eventually the work of tracking the constant player movement in the nfl along with adding hundreds of players a year was too difficult a task for me to keep up with and eventually 2k5 was retired back in 08/09.

Well I never paid for another NFL licensed game until Madden NFL 13 as I do love the NFL and had been eager to get a new NFL game into my console and couldn't hold out any longer. I thought it was a decent effort and it held my interest despite some issues (every game has them). Due to my love for the NFL and my appreciation for their previous effort I bought Madden 25. Again it had issues but was a decent effort imo but I guess I didn't really have a choice when it comes to an NFL game right???

Well Madden 15 time comes around NFL preseason starts and I'm thirsting for info on what Madden 15 has to offer. I see all these tidbits of info, screenshots , and videos covering what next/current gen has to offer in regards to Madden but absolutely zero info about ps3/360. Should we just assume that everything talked about in the ps4/x1 are in ps3/360 with graphics being the obvious exception? I don't know...Maybe???

Weeks turn to months with no write ups or previews regarding the 360/ps3 versions of this title. Last-geners have to become top notch investigators to find any morsel of information on these titles. Nothing is being put out there for Last-gen buyer consumption prior to release but we are bombarded with advertisements to preorder prior to release at the same pricepoint of the ps4/x1...WTF. EA the marketing giant has turned into this hardcore poker player who wears shades inside and is an impossible read, scheming to bluff you into folding your better hand and giving up your cash when all he has is a pair of 2's.

If it weren't for great guys like jpdavis , theringz__(sp?) and others impressions/videos here at OS along with some people on youtube I would know absolutely nothing in regards to last-gen...NOTHING! For an allegedly AAA title that's kind of scary and somewhat deceitful. No one at this point is expecting Madden to be groundbreaking on last gen but we should expect the developers to be one thing at this point..TRANSPARENT.

I say all this because I'm hoping 2k learns from EA's mistake on last gen Madden 15 and gives us a healthy serving of transparency in regards to what we can expect.

Is the removal of 1-3-1 a next gen exclusive for NBA 2k15? Does the 100% face scan claim hold true for last gen as well or will we be stuck with a crappy LBJ, KD35, or Parsons for the 4th year in a row along with a terrible cp3 that went completely backwards in quality from 2k13? Will last gen Butler/Rose/Davis get hair? Will Vince Carter after 4 years finally get his beard on ps3/360?

I do not work for a game developer and I don't know how hard some of these things are to do on last gen but 2k14 was the 1st time I felt they were borderline lazy in the art department(Using Roger Mason, Jr.s photo for legend Anthony Mason..Really?). I know what they are capable of though as some of those europlayer and rookie scans looked spot on.

We all know that the ps3/360 generation is coming to an end but the majority of the fans you enjoy now you have made through these systems so please 2k..Be transparent during these last years. Don't be silent and secretive hoping to milk the 99%-ers out of a few more dollars like EA/Madden and tell us absolutely nothing. We deserve to know what content is included and what improvements are made to your title and we should not have to be Sherlock Holmes to find out. $60 is $60 right? This behavior doesn't suit you and you are better than that. You have a lot of time until October 7th so make that time count.

If you took the time to read all this people..Thank You...

Comments

# 1 threattonature @ Aug 27

Great post and I agree fully. It's nearly impossible to find which features apply to next gen or current gen. So with this upcoming 2k I have read that some new settings such as shot fatigue and the new shooting meter will be in the current gen versions. In reality, they should just put out a fact sheet on both versions of the game saying what will be in each version and what modes are touched.

# 2 DJ @ Aug 27

Good write-up and you raise a lot of fair, balanced questions. With Madden 15, the little I had read led me to believe the new rear-defensive camera (similar to NCAA's player-lock) was in the 360/PS3 version. It wasn't until someone purchased the game and played it that I learned the camera, in fact, was not in the game.

# 3 DaBoyBk @ Aug 28

Great points made here and I agree 100% it has become very hard to find reviews for games for last gen and next gen separately. It appears as though the reviewers don't want to waste to much time reviewing games for different versions almost as equally as they don't want to review games for different systems of any generation. This can cause the customers to buy the games thinking they are getting a game with the same features with slightly less graphics and they encounter a big surprise. The companies should have more courtesy to make things clear on that end.

# 4 NINJAK2 @ Sep 7

Thanks for reading and the kind words guys. It's very concerning how these companies have become in regards to providing information, videos, screenshots regarding last gen versions of these titles. Ubisoft(watchdogs), EA(Madden) were very secretive regarding these titles. We know that 360/ps3 are no longer the shiny new toys on the shelves anymore but people still deserve to know what they are getting especially since we aren't getting the game at a discounted price.
I give major props to Bungie for bucking the trend and actually putting out a demo for Destiny on all consoles. I expected a demo on ps4/xbone but seeing it on ps3/360 was a welcome surprise and it showed faith in their product and respect to last-geners. While there are 15 million + next gen owners there are probably ten times as many last-geners. That's enough to justify some previews and information.