Lol, this blog post must be a joke.

METHOD...you are definately entitled to your own opinion. My blog is just that...my opinion. But do you care to elaborate on why you think this is a joke?

It would be nice to get a demo, which will hopefully prove me wrong. I would love to play a great b-ball game this year. Last years demo didnt come out till the last possible minute if I recall correctly.

Its a joke because 2K basketball is the only sports franchise that is improving each year. Everyone has their own opinon but lets be honest, from 2K8 (the first one I played) til now, I've seen updated rosters every few weeks, every player customized to their real life look, now they draft combine, I mean if EA took half as much effort in their games, Madden would have done more than add waist towels and a few QB's throwing motions.

I respectfully disagree. Live has been steadily improving since 07. It's just that Live 07 was so far behind the curve that EA is still playing catch up to 2K as far as b-ball goes. Look what EA has done with the NHL franchise...since 08, its improved dramatically. In fact, I would say most sports games improve from one year to the next with the exception of MLB 2K (I dont know what the hell they are doing). And yes, 2K Basketball has the real-life counterparts down pat and the draft combine was a nice touch, though I wasnt overly impressed with it. But what major changes have they made to the GAMEPLAY?

I understand where you are coming from with this blog, but I wouldn't say that its going to be a bad year for B-Ball....2K10 is going to be really good....and NBA Live 10 is going to be good as well. Its a shame that EA spends time in the wrong areas of their games.....meanwhile, Presentation is hurting ( All 5 players come and stand around like its a wild west shootout???.....No -Tip Dunk.....smh isn't this Live 10 and not NBA Live 99'.....)

2K10 is really NBA 2K9.5 in disguise, but it'll be more accepted because the gameplay in 2K is light years ahead of NBA Live....both will be interesting...both will be good.....but it'll be a decent year for fans of both franchises!!!!

Yeah, you are right. I dont think it will be a bad year by any means. Just not a great one. And I have to admit that when I first saw the new tip dunk animations in the draft combine I went nuts. Live needs to step it up on the tips no doubt.

I totally agree. Iam a die hard basketball fan and I've found myself playing NHL 08 and 09 the last 2 years. This is due to mediocre basketball games the last few years. Sure I've enjoyed the 2k series since 2k7 but the gameplay does have issues that arent getting any attention. I think I will be buying Live 10 this year, but ill still be spending the majority of my gaming on NHL 10 (and Cod!!).

to me this is just a forum post that shouldn't be a blog. We all know you will buy 1 of them so stop it!

The sports games I play are basketball, football, and I guess MMA is a sport now so I cant speak on any others. But to say they've improved Live is pointless because its so crappy anything is an improvement. I mean honestly NBA Live 08 on 360, Jesus anyone who bought that I feel sorry for you. And how has 2K's gamplay changed? Why would you change something that is already so good? Sounds like you are an EA optimist who wants anything to get excited about and unfortunately you cant. BTW, lets see what EA Sports MMA game does after Dana White said anyone who signs on wont fight in the UFC.

You're actually serious!? Wow, I really did think you were joking. Sorry if it seemed that I was trying to convey any negative connotations toward you in any way. I was waiting for you to say it was a joke in the comments but I see now you are serious.

To elaborate why I don't agree with your views it's simple, 2k has been steadily progressing in terms of pretty much every aspect of NBA 2k. The addition of signature shots from a few years ago to the in depth player tendency system in 2k10 by way of 82games.com, even though some of the features are taken from Live (DNA, but to be fair Live has taken from 2k as well. This however is a good thing, it allows for constant innovation within the respected franchises.) they are continually adding something to the game.

I personally loved the draft combine. The improvements are pretty obvious. The post game, the off ball defense, despite what some say there are signature isomotion moves in the game. Which is evident not only in the trailers/gameplay vids but the dribble move packages in the draft combine also indicate this.

Plus in the past while my experience with NBA 2k out of the box hasn't been the best, I've been able to get extremely realistic results/gameplay by manipulating the sliders. Which is something that I don't necessarily agree with, the default settings should be better, but like I said I just edit the sliders and it plays great (don't be lazy).

2k10 has a revamped presentation, is obviously improved graphically, and much better in terms of gameplay. So while I respect your opinion (I really didn't know you were serious.) I see to many holes in your conclusion to agree with your opinion.

No significant gameplay improvements? I just gave you a few examples and there are more so yeah, maybe you could emphasize on what you want added since it doesn't seem to have been implemented yet....or at least hasn't been since 2k7.

all live did good this year was dribble moves thats it name one other thing they did good

why u gotta hate? look for the positive

I agree with you to an extent. The Live 10 demo does have some legacy issues from previous Live's but I am in love with the demo after, at first, thinking, "Ok, it's Live...". I was one of the biggest champs of Live, this year, and I wasn't really impressed at first but the more I played it, the more I caught on to the nuances of the controls, the new animations and player reactions. And the arena sounds REALLY drew me in. Plus, I don't care what anyone else believes, Marv Albert is that voice that helps draw me in. I like Kevin Harlan and Cheryl Miller but Kellogg, uhh, needs to stick to, uhh cereal or sumthin AND 2K9 did NOT have great commentary. That stuff was uber repetitive. The best part about it was when they reacted, in unison, to dunks with that "OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!" thing they did. Other than that, they were lame.

sicksteen said something about 2K basketball being the only sports franchise improving each year - PLEASE! What are YOU on??? U can't go across the boards with all sports. EA's NHL and Fifa games are huge proof that you're way off base but as for console b-ballin', I've been playing 2K since the Dreamcast and only missed out, ironically, on 2K7, which is being hailed as the great 2K b-ball game of all time. I was still a PS2er then and got tired of the 2K same ole so I decided to wait til I got my PS3 the next year to get 2K8, which I really didn't even play much. Live 08 was starting to make the Live franchise come back so that was my b-ball game of choice since I was growing so weary of 2K's lack of control.

Personally, contrary to belief, EA DOES try to be innovative with their sports. Their prob is usually that they tend to NOT fix the core issues when it comes to Madden, even though they made a "valiant" attempt at Madden, and Live. That's still a reply towards sicksteen. And if your name is a spin on the age sixteen and/or your still just a teen, I will give u a pass...

Bottom line, personally, I think Live is going in a better direction than 2K, now. Live 10 seems more like a game to be played like a real baller than an online cheeser. I do like the indicator below the players in regard to using the "turbo" trigger. That's an innovation I will give 2K, this year. Other than that, based on the DC and the gamplay vids, I will take a pass on NBA2K this year, for the second time, since their first Dreamcast game. Just tired of the series, overall, and a ton of new animations just isn't going to cut it, this time.

METHOD...I respect your opinion as well but yeah, I was not joking.

I dont think the Isomotion has improved much since 2K7, as I still believe it at times can be unresponsive and overly complicated. 2k8 and 2k9 felt almost identical to me and if the combine is any indication, the Isomotion hasnt changed much since last year. I understand that breaking down a defender should not be easy, but I should be able to come down the court with C. Paul or D. Williams and cross a defender up without dislocating my thumb. This works 35-40% of the time. The rest of the time it does not do anything close to what I want.

Secondly, the post game and short range shooting has been neglected the last few years. The majority of points scored from me came from open layups/dunks, threes, and mid range jumpers - typically off picks. I will admit that the post game in the combine is better.

This new bit about changing sliders in a game out of the box to create a better experience is ridiculous. I should be able to get the most out of a game by only having to change the difficulty level. I have been playing games for a very long time and this was never an issue. Why do I have to do this now?? That's another topic for another day.

Anyway, I am not hating on the game and I dont think Live is better than 2K. I just think it's time for an NBA 2K rehaul.