Yes, yes they have.

I love the "Princess Bride" reference! INCONCEIVABLE!

Great piece. The story of 2k's rise to power is really quite inspiring. It's the story of David vs Goliath, but in this case David defeats Goliath and then grows to be a giant himself. I remember the time when Live was seen as the "name brand" of video game basketball and 2k was seen as second rate. When you compare it to shoes, in the mind of the general public EA was like a pair of Nikes and 2k was like a pair of sneakers from Walmart. A lot of people knew 2k was better, but Live continued to sell based on the EA brand recognition. That "EA" logo on the box kept Live afloat for longer than it deserved. 2k's rise to prominence is the perfect example of a company just making a better product and eventually beating their competition with quality. 2k overcame all the brand loyalty and marketing B.S. There game was just that much better than it was impossible to ignore. In the end, quality will always beat brand recognition and marketing.

Depends on the glitches and errors that will popup in 2k's game this year tbh.

I disagree with the whole 'just won' thing. First of all, if you played 2k for the last 3 or 4 years, 2k has 'won' since that long ago. People talk about NBA Live 10 was a decent game, maybe it was i never played it. I dont personally know anyone who played a live game since like 07 or 08, and those of us who knew was like what are yall doing?? Lol soon they figured out the way to go was 2k. So actually 2k 'won' like 4 or 5 years ago to be precise.

I think 2k won two years ago with the release of 2k11. EA killed itself when it scrapped all the great things about Live 10. 2k11 was a masterpiece and I doubt Live 11 would have competed had it not gone the elite route. But to completely scrap a great Live 10 title and turn it into the disaster that was Elite and then basically try to re-release the same game 2 years later that's slightly prettier is a sports gaming abomination.

This is how you win a battle. Not with money or exclusive licenses but with hard work, passion for the game and gamers, and A+ gameplay. Regardless of competition from an 800lbs gorilla 2K Sports stayed focused on what was most important and got rewarded for all of there blood, sweat, and tears. NBA 2K13 is a testament that if you work hard enough you will earn the respect and money from gamers, if not then don't even bother You earned mine 2K Sports!

2k wins, but the consumer lost...

as much as I didnt care for Live, the fact that there were two choices for gamers to choose from was good...we've seen what having only one football title has done. Well let me speak for myself. I havent bought a football title in years b/c of the lack of effort shown by the company with the License to make NFL games...

I agree, 2k won this with hardwork and actually listening to fans, so I cant fault them for finally reaching the top spot, but with no one to challenge them, how will their games be now?

I have been a converted 2K fan since NBA 2K11; i played LIVE 10 tons; but couldnt get past the controlls for 2K9 '10; but as i played more and more 2K11, i found out that LIVE 11 (NBA ELITE 11) needed alot of work, and never released. As of right now! 2K13 has implemented the LIVE 10 controls; i may never go back to playing anything bball related by EA, unless the game looks and plays just like "real life!". wishfull thinking. lol
cheers

I hate and love EA sport at the same time! EA need to feel a failure, they need understand a simple truth that not everything can be bought with money. Right now I really want to Konami made ​​interrupted dominance of Fifa. Possibly after all, they start developing a really quality and authentic sport games.

The bobcats almost beat the heat though...Lol.

And to think, if the NBA went with an exclusive licence similar to the NFL we probably would have been stuck with.... NBA NOTHING 2013

2K has been firing plenty of shots with their gameplay, presentation etc ... they practicaly nuked Live.

@ tsbmolina - Well, money DOES help. Lol. Just gotta use it wisely, especially when a powerhouse like EA has a buttload of it but u definitely make a GREAT point. I don't want to speak as if I truly know EA and what happened that landed Mike Wang then made him take flight but from maybe it was because of EA supposedly being rigid as a company, overall, and not wanting to give him the control he needed to carry on what he saw fit to build on Live 10 for Live 11.

I could really see a company like EA not having a pulse on what people were really saying, even many NBA2K diehards, about the great direction Live 10 went in. EA misread and even the understanding that, in most likelihood, THE MAJORITY of us grew up on their b-ball games whether it was the "VS" series that started it all the way to Live. Hell, they had ppl on their seats for Elite 11 even tho it did look a bit odd that our beloved beluba went BACK to 2K, even after some feuding back and forth between he and his, at the time, old 2K squad.

Many of us may have defected but many still had a deep down desire whether it was said or not for Live to make a comeback. They kept letting many down until the gem of hope came in Live 10 BUT THEY EFFED IT ALL UP!!!

2K wins, definitely, for now. They actually FINALLY fully immersed me with NBA2K13 with the new controls but like I continue to say, EA can pull ppl back by focusing on those intriguing controls introduced in Elite 11 to separate themselves a bit from 2K and animations, first and foremost, imo. Decent graphics, solid AI, and good offensive/defensive gameplay can round it out for a playable Live 14 to get them back in the game. The RTP may have to be left out if they cannot get those animations top notch, to marry well with the tech, at the very least.

Perhaps the worst thing I can take from the recent events of the past 2 years is this could potentially mean that EA will take an even more aggressive pursuit of a long term NFL exclusivity deal due to (A)...Madden being their biggest homerun hitter here in the states, and (B)...they won't stand to take a chance at the threat of 2K possibly ruining another franchise of theirs. There a so many implications this can have.