NBA 2K12 Accomplished One Thing: EA Has an Open Door to Online Gamers Hearts - RaychelSnr's Blog

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NBA 2K12 Accomplished One Thing: EA Has an Open Door to Online Gamers Hearts Stuck

Posted on October 10, 2011 at 01:51 PM.

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If you would have told me a year ago that EA Basketball would have an in-road to the most hardcore of the basketball gaming crowd without releasing an NBA game in roughly 24 months, I would've called you crazy.

But here we sit, 2K Sports' flagship (and really just about only) title still has proven it can't do online well. While fixes are abound, we all know the most important period for the game is in the first few weeks. After all, what happens to Battlefield 3 or Call of Duty if it's game servers continually crash the first week after the game is released?

Yeah, that wouldn't be pretty either.

I've written extensively about how 2K Sports is in a precarious position -- and I don't like to say that -- but they're one great NBA Title from EA away from being out of the game for good. 2K Sports has always set the sports simulation bar (and they're good for business here at OS), but I'm officially putting them on the endangered list after the events of the past week.

2K Sports flagship title promised huge updates to My Player (underwhelming), Online (non-functional at least half the time), and to the Legends mode (a second dip into novelty, can't last forever). A lot of the focus this year has gone by the wayside because a lot of the new additions have basically fallen flat on their face.

The lockout has something to do with a bit of a cold attitude among many about 2K12, but also creating such a good game last year is something else you can't discount as a reason for the discontent this year.

NBA 2K11 was the pinnacle of this series, and the follow-on attempt was going to be met with huge expectations. In many ways, 2K12 delivers but in many others, it disappoints heavily. Some gamers are saying the game is a huge disappointment -- it's not because the gameplay or presentation are lacking.

The gameplay and presentation this year are unmatched in our genre. Actually get into a game of basketball in 2K12 and you'll find an experience more enjoyable than most any other games out there. It's to the games credit that with some of it's game modes essentially broken, the game STILL got an 8.5 on our new scoring scale.

That's a HUGE accomplishment all things considered.

At the same time, gameplay and presentation are things which can always be improved but eventually -- especially if you have competition -- people are going to grow tired of it. It happens with real broadcasts much less in a video game where the rules are more static. Watch an NBA broadcast from 5 years ago and one from today, there are several subtle if not outright differences in how games are presented. Narrow the ability for variety and you'll see why video game presentations are always in constant danger of becoming stale.

While 2K12 offers a gameplay/presentation package pretty much unmatched, the rest of the game is completely vulnerable, especially the online modes. The folks at EA Tiburon have to keep that in mind. EA's new NBA Title set for release next year should focus on Online Play. Thus, a smooth and balanced gameplay experience with a solid presentation should be their primary focus. You don't have to beat NBA 2K13 in quality to be a success -- but you do have to offer an alternative to the marketplace people will find value in.

The door is wide open. If EA succeed where 2K fails time and time again -- with online -- then the NBA 2K series' fate will already be sealed.

If EA gets that in-road into the hardcore basketball gamers heart next year, NBA 2K will simply biding it's time until EA overtakes them in sales. 2K has to fix the servers this year ASAP to just get some goodwill back. And next year, they have to deliver from day one. Another year of failing at online, especially in the face of a competitor that is serious about winning the digital NBA arms race, will spell total disaster.

NBA 2K, you've been put on notice. You are basically the Lebron James led Cleveland Cavaliers, good enough to win and win big in the regular season -- but when the playoffs come around, you've got some serious flaws that your competition can take full advantage of.

If NBA 2K's vulnerabilities aren't solved and soon, the 2K Sports brand isn't long for this world.

Chris is the Executive Editor at Operation Sports and hosts the OS Radio show. He is a Jesus-Freak, Entrepreneur, Speaker, Stom Chaser, owner of the Tornado Titans Brand, and generally an incredibly busy man. You can follow Chris @ChrisSnr on Twitter.

Comments

# 76 eye guy @ Oct 12

@JaySmoov

Quote:


	All EA needs to do is provide lobbies and that alone will poach some 2K customers

Again, would you play Elite 11 with great online services? Do you not think 2K would counter by making the improvements to their online? Would that be enough to push 2K to make these improvements?

I'd like to think so, which is why I don't understand how, even with this flaw, EA would get more than a foot on the floor.

Quote:


	why do people keep saying anything about gameplay?

Because the comparisons have always been about gameplay. whether you like to admit it or not, the order of priorities for us gamers is, gameplay first, everything else second...

# 77 jdareal21 @ Oct 13

Well online is huge for me, not the biggest part, but definitely 50/50 with association mode, and the fact that online has been consistently broken for 3+ years straight is almost unforgivable, I even touched on this subject in my own blog a day or so after the release.

It's absolutely inexcusable to already know the weakest area of your game and fail to address it on a consecutive basis. If this were EA, you guys would be killing them for it, whether you played online much or not, so let's not be hypocritical now...

# 78 wcwecw75 @ Oct 13

i one word to say lobbies! when is 2k nba ever going to put lobbies in there online mode lol? i dont play online that much on any sports games,and i have all the big sports games! i like the online for sports games,for the roster updates and unfotunatley the patches for horrible sports games that have come out this year! and know people on here know the games im talking about lol. i agree with alot of people on here talking about alot of the people that are complaining about the online of sports games across the board are the ones that have a ego problem,and they are the ones that cheat and exploit the online play so they can beatup on gamers that dont do that! that is the major reason why i dont care to play human opponets online!

# 79 wcwecw75 @ Oct 13

how many times have you gone online and to the lobbies and seen messeges from the sports game company of the game your playing and there are some statements from the company saying that there are gamers that are cheating and exploiting a weakness in the online play,such as doing things to boost there statistics so they can be higher on leaderboards for example? just go to the madden 12 online and you will see exactly what im talking about! and people wonder why gamers dont care to play online!

# 80 LRBTODAY @ Oct 13

I had a problem w/ online services for NBA 2K12.............On the PS3 version. So I took it back and exchanged it for the 360 version. BIG DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't had any problems playing online, or downloading from 2kshare. But then again I only play maybe one online game 2 or 3 times a week. With My Player, I just don't get into online like that. I mean to be real, everytime I go online it's over 90k users. Maybe 100k. And we're talking about how many people purchase NBA 2k? Almost all games have problems w/ online gaming. For three days straight I was unable to connect to EA Servers, and that was on Madden 12 and FN Champion. I think that people in general are spoiled. So when something is not working to someones liking people want to complain about how much money they spent on the game, and how they are going to change services. It gets old. I guess I'm a (FANBOY) for not getting all out of whack about this issue. Or maybe it's the one thing............THE ONE THING THAT I ASKED FOR......They hooked me up w/!!!!!! Read this post I put up last yr.

https://www.2ksports.com/forums/show...ONSHIP+EDITION

# 81 BRxSKINSx @ Oct 13

I could really care less what EA's online experience would be like...it wouldn't make me buy it over 2k..... If it topped 2k's game, maybe I'd consider playing it.....BUT I'd never choose EA over 2k...

# 82 eye guy @ Oct 13

Quote:


	it's not necessarily about what I want, it's about what some people are interested in

It's all about what we want. 2K/VC have their own ideas, but we've seen suggestions from gamers being implemented into the game. In fact, since 2007 (I don't recall lobying for these after 2K10), i've been asking for the mid-air shot changes to be done correctly. Done. I've asked for the D-League to be implemented in a way where players would come out a little bit better, rather than wasting in the free-agent pool (which still doesn't work as well as think it can)...

What online players want, is a functioning online. That's what they're interested in. And I agree, online functionality is definitely something that needs to be looked at by 2K, espescially with the addition of OA.

But I have to keep asking the question. What good is online functionality if the gameplay isn't up to standard?

Quote:


	there STILL would have been a small percentage of people who would've bought it

This is why, even a foot in the door doesn't make sense. I'd say that, that small percentage (and i'm guessing here) would be, even a smaller percentage of EA gamers. And if that's the case, then the loss of those customers really isn't a loss. I guarantee more of those EA players will stay for the long run.