The tough question facing 2K very, very soon - RaychelSnr's Blog

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The tough question facing 2K very, very soon Stuck

Posted on October 6, 2010 at 08:23 PM.

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The folks at 2K Sports are probably popping the champagne right now and partying like it's 1999 all over again.

As they should be.

Not only has the 2K Basketball team completed a masterpiece of a game, they've also managed to create perhaps the best sports game not only of this generation, but of all time. Time will tell whether that is a title NBA 2K11 can hold or not, but I can guarantee the game will at least be in the discussion.

And after the champagne is drank, the party over, and the office back to normal the folks at 2K have to answer what might be the most important question of all:

"What next?"

Because in the business of yearly sports game releases, there's not much time to celebrate or enjoy success. It's back to work, trying to one-up your previous effort, keeping the formula fresh, yet not too fresh.

Ask Kobe and the Lakers how hard it is to defend a title and stay on top of the mountain. It's tough business defending a championship.

Expectations are going to be very high for next year. The temptation to stray away from what got you to the top t in order to innovate your way to a new hit will be present...as will the temptation to not mess with things too much at all in order to protect what's already there.

Both would be gigantic mistakes.

There are some things which 2K is going to have to inevitably fix, things which come with their basic approach to basketball, like being stuck in an animation at points during the game. 2K is also going to have to figure out how to deliver a mode like the Jordan Modes in 2K11. Because unless 2K Sports is going to go with a perennial coverman, they're going to probably not be able to keep the Jordan modes in the game as is. Then there is the issue of expanding in depth and usability the other modes of the game such as Association mode.

2K finds itself inside of a trap of stellar expectations mixed with harsh realities. However, you can't go away from what got you to the point you are too much too fast but you can't also sit on your release and issue a title many would call stale next year.

The developers at 2K Sports are simply going to have to find the magic medium.

This year, 2K Sports went above and beyond what they've ever done in a yearly release, but that was after a year which the series possibly regressed slightly and at least was going nowhere by not pushing the envelope in any meaningful ways. Thus, they're one for two the previous two years.

My request is: don't stray too far from what got you here, but just know there are some fundamental issues with control which need to be fixed. However, also realize you have perhaps the best sports game ever, but also realize it's not perfect.

We could go round and round on this for hours you know?

2K should be very pleased with their title this year, it's nothing short of a bonafide all-time classic. However, in several months gamers will begin asking the question which will need a good answer. I hope you are ready for it 2K Sports:

"What next?"

Chris is the Executive Editor of Operation Sports and maintains this blog on the site. He is also a native Oklahoman and avid storm chaser. You can follow him on Twitter @ChrisSnr.

Comments

# 16 bigsmallwood @ Oct 7

This is a good problem to have! However concerning Isomotion, I agree with TreyIM2: NBA Elite despite its horrific appearance, gave you full control over the dribbling and made you feel like you were determining what happened next. With ISOmotion, I do not get the same feeling. But overall, 2K has an all-time classic on their hands and it is going to be difficult to top this one!

# 17 ceej989 @ Oct 7

They have done a great job with the player models but some of them still look down right atrocious. I think pretty much every player on the Knicks looks awful. And Luke Ridnour, what is up with his hair?? I've noticed a couple of times the ball going through players and some other clipping issues. A better tutorial on playing the game and such would be wonderful. My Player mode would benefit from that greatly. I like the ideas of what they're did this year, and I think the presentation has been fantastic but if they can get those little things ironed out, it'd be wonderful.

# 18 Galarius @ Oct 7

Definitely more classic teams, and with ALL the players, even the scrubs....being able to play full historical seasons is probably too much to ask for, but i think 20-25 classic teams(some multiple of same franchises of course) to use in playoff mode and/or association is reasonable.

The post game replay feature is stunning...individual and game hifghlight packages, and aalso the great 50 photo press feature is great....Expand the abilty of this by allowing users to just save the entire package, player or game highlights.Allow these highlights to be merged into weekly/monthly/season/playoff recaps that really give a sense of 'what happened'..allow files to be saved to external hard drives or USB flash drives so users can put into CPU to burn to DVD, and of course post them all over the internets

I would like to see V.I.P. playback extened into Association /Playoff modes so you can vary the CPU gameplay ebven more.It is GREAT this year, but variance is always welcome.I personally would like to create V.I.P. profiles for each team and use them to play against in something other than an Exhibition game

Haven't played online yet, but i hear there are problems again, so that needs addressed for sure if that is true

Also, please remove the annoying 'Coach Mode Active' graphic that sits up there the whole time i am using coach mode.Glaringinly insidious

2k11 is probably the best sports game of all time and i'd like to thank 2k for their superb effort.

# 19 statum71 @ Oct 7

@ amatrex....if they DID add a second commentary team, PLEASE don't let it be Marv Albert. I'm about sick of him as far as sports games. They kept him for way too long on Live.

@ TryeIM2....Controls? I don't want them to take a single thing from NBA Elite. One game is a all time hit, the other was so bad it didn't even hit the shelves. That oughta tell ya enough.

# 20 jazzchamp @ Oct 7

I recall Madden adding super bowl teams and runner-ups from the SB1 Green Bay Packers all the way up to the latest SB winner. What happened to that? I loved being able to pit the '85 Chicago Bears against the '77 Steelers. Why haven't any NBA licensed games done this already? I'd love to be able to recreate the '98 Jazz vs. MJ's Bulls sans push-off

. Maybe I'm hijacking the thread with this question, but I know I'd be interested in playing a game that has some historical depth to it.

# 21 Blak_Baki_Hanma @ Oct 7

Worst online experience ever. Can't get past the 1st quarter. Where are the devs? What is going on? Xbox360.

# 22 Dazraz @ Oct 7

Oh dear. Any 2K employee will look at this thread & think what the hell. The games been out a couple of days, it's ratings are through the roof, yet the pressures on already.

I say let 2K have a few weeks to wallow in the success & deserved appreciation.

I agree with jaosming however. Proper integration of the D-League with commentary & unique league presentation features. As it stands there is little reason to want to play a D-League game as it feels too dull & lifeless without the broadcast presentation elements.

# 23 naot2010 @ Oct 7

2001 Lakers, 60s celtics, 70s knicks, Lakers, 80s Lakers, 90s rockets, 2000s spurs. Find out who was the best? Create your own playbook and plays. Pat riley mode build team create a fan base hire or fire coach and take over team mid season to lead them to a title.

# 24 thegoons21 @ Oct 7

They could move on....................to football....could you imagine this great a product with an NFL shield?

# 25 Eski33 @ Oct 7

How about fixing the broken online play. That would be a great start.

Also, stating that this is the best sports game ever is a bit much. I agree that it will be in the discussion because the game is solid in so many areas. However, a game cannot be the best ever, especially in this generation, if you cannot play online...

# 26 jazzchamp @ Oct 7

@thegoons21
and so we've come back to the old standby OS debate: Madden vs. NFL 2K. You can beat a dead horse all you want, but this one will never die... wait - that doesn't even make sense!

I realize that doing this would require some kind of NBA Alumni association license. Is there such a thing?

# 27 scatman @ Oct 7

@ jazzchamp, there is only the NBA players association and the NBA Retired players association which primarily focuses on officially retired NBA player benefits (dead and alive). Then there is the Basketball Hall of Fame which takes care of players enshrined in it as well.

Classic teams hold a special place in all our collective hearts and the more the merrier. Would love to see the dominant late 50's/60's Celts, Showtime Lakers of the 80's. They gave us a great game this year and I couldn't be happier. If some classic teams are good, more is always better.

# 28 rudeworld @ Oct 7

Add more classic teams...maybe a top 10/20 moments and most of all fix the passing and update graphics...other than that leave everything the same

# 29 Shinyhubcaps @ Oct 7

Add more classic teams and classic players, upgrade the graphics (especially on PS3), and fix the bugs that are in every game. Add more customization, like editable shorts length, editable headbands, editable goggles, etc. More tattoos, better create-a-team... really a lot of the customization stuff can be vastly improved.

As for gameplay, I'd make it a bit smoother. I don't feel like I have the control of, say, NBA 2K10.

# 30 Jakeness23 @ Oct 8

Maybe the FIBA teams can get added in and every 4 years have the olympics and every however many years there could be the FIBA world championships. (incorporating the FIBA rules of course). Might be a cool feature to have separate and/or in association.

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