Imagine what NFL 2K would be like today....... - dtlm6's Blog

dtlm6's Blog

Imagine what NFL 2K would be like today.......

Posted on December 17, 2018 at 10:35 AM.

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Considering the success of the NBA 2K series and how NFL 2K5 is still arguably considered the best football videogame ever made (don't forget about Tecmo Super Bowl though), I often imagine what an NFL 2K series would be like today.

Back in 2005, like Pavlov's dog, I purchased Madden every year because college and pro football were/are my favorite games to play and, mainly through advertising, I believed this was the best game. I was aware of the 2K series but did not consider giving it a chance. However, when they came out with NFL 2K5 and offered it at $19.99, I admired that they had enough confidence in their product to offer it at a discount rate in order to get consumers to try it. I felt like they were talking to me directly. As time went on, I realized that I appreciated everything that the game had to offer. Specifically, I enjoyed the play by play commentary, the pre-game and half-time shows, and the sophistication of the franchise mode. I looked forward to next year's version of the game and was highly disappointed to find out that they would discontinue the series due to EA Sports exclusive licensing agreement with the NFL.

I mainly play sports video games and, since 2014, the two games that I consider the best year-in year-out are the NBA 2K and the Pro Evolution Soccer series. In particular, the NBA 2K series combination of licensing, gameplay, presentation and modifications are beyond compare from any other sports video game. As such, given their success with NBA 2K, I can only imagine how great NFL 2K would be today given the legendary status of NFL 2K5. For that matter, can you imagine a College Hoops 2K series still being active as well?

I understand the nature of business and I understand the tactics that EA Sports used. The only way sports leagues or sports federations such as the NFL or FIFA will not enter into these exclusive agreements is if it is not financially lucrative for them to do so. We the consumers can have a say but we're put in a very difficult position. I find that, based on the number of complaints, many buy Madden or other games year-in, year-out to satisfy their joy of playing video game football or whatever their favorite sport is.