Is 2K Sports Fit for Survival?

Feature Article

Submitted on: 01/24/2012 by Thomas Surovy

2K Sports has survived in the shadow of industry leader EA Sports since its origin as a developer of games for the Sega Dreamcast. Over the years, 2K Sports has produced some highly regarded sports games, including its NBA 2K series, NFL 2K5 and College Hoops 2K8. With the exception of the NBA 2K series, the sales figures for 2K Sports have not matched those of EA Sports. Since 2K has discontinued a handful of their titles, and the low sales of NBA 2K12, sports gamers are beginning to wonder how much longer the company's window will stay open.

We’ll take a look at each sport and where 2K Sports stands at the moment and my outlook for the developer based on that analysis.

NBA 2K is the final stronghold for 2K Sports.

NBA 2K

The NBA 2K basketball series is far and away 2K Sports’ most successful franchise. Its success led to the demise of its competitor NBA Live and a two-year break from releasing NBA games by EA Sports. NBA 2K11 was a tremendous success, spending nine consecutive months among the top-10 best-selling video games. 2K Sports was not able to replicate that success with its follow-up, NBA 2K12, as the game was only in the top-10 for one month. While some of the blame can be placed on the NBA lockout,NBA 2K12 didn’t provide the next step in NBA gaming that many were expecting. The NBA’s Greatest Mode was a welcomed new feature, but it didn’t generate the excitement that NBA 2K11 provided with the addition of Michael Jordan and his greatest games.

2K Sports’ monopoly on the NBA simulation market is expected to be broken in 2012 with the release of EA Sports’ unnamed NBA franchise. EA definitely has some work to do to regain the trust of NBA gamers after the complete failure of the first NBA Elite demo, but the mere presence of a competing game has to the NBA 2K team. The future of the franchise could depend on whether 2K13 represents a big step forward like 2K11, or a modest one like 2K12.

College Hoops 2K

2K Sports’ College Hoops 2K8 ranks among the most beloved games here at Operation Sports, and many sim gamers would welcome its return with open arms and wallets. However, the series did not produce the sales numbers to justify the expensive cost of the NCAA license, which is why the franchise has been dormant ever since. The college basketball market is not as lucrative as the NBA, as even EA Sports has been absent from the NCAA basketball market for the past two seasons.

In a previous article, I suggested that a later release date, further from the NBA 2K release and closer to March Madness, could help sales of the College Hoops series. If the developers were able to build on the strong foundation that they created with College Hoops 2K8, there would be an opportunity for 2K Sports to strengthen its hold in the basketball gaming market. Unfortunately, 2K Sports has given no indication that they are willing to jump back into the college basketball gaming market again.

MLB 2K12 might be the swan song of the series if prior comments by Take Two brass say anything.

MLB 2K

After EA Sports secured a third-party exclusive license with the NFL in 2004, 2K Sports obtained its own exclusive third-party license with Major League Baseball the following year. The arrangement has been a disappointment to both 2K Sports and baseball gamers. Sales figures have been disappointing even with MLB 2K being the only MLB simulation available for Xbox 360. On the Playstation 3, Sony’s MLB: The Show series dominates the market in sales. The MLB 2K series has been plagued with gameplay issues that really hurt the series’ reputation among gamers. While the more recent versions of the series have improved on those issues, the damage to the series has been done.

2K Sports’ exclusive third-party license runs out in 2012, and Take-Two executives have suggested that the company will get out of the baseball market unless the terms of the next contract are more favorable. With EA Sports and their highly-regarded MVP Baseball series waiting to get back in the baseball market, MLB 2K12 will very likely be the last game in the series and represent another defunct series in the 2K Sports family.

2K Sports also utilized the MLB License to develop other baseball games like The Bigs and Front Office Manager. The Bigs is an arcade-style of baseball with over-the-top features while Front Office Manager was a sports management simulation. The Bigs series has been generally well-received, and The Bigs 3 is scheduled for release in 2012. However, 2K Sports’ relationship with MLB after 2012 will probably determine that franchise’s future. Front Office Manager was tagged by most critics as a broken game and 2K Sports’ effort to draw fans of text-based simulations like Out of the Park Baseball was viewed as a complete failure.

NFL 2K

EA Sports’ exclusive license agreement with the NFL brought about the end of the NFL 2K series. 2K Sports tried to remain in the market with All-Pro Football, which featured fictitious teams and real-life NFL legends. However, the lack of real NFL teams, players and missing features proved to be too large of an obstacle to overcome. 2K originally planned to release the football game every other year, but shelved those plans and got out of the football gaming market altogether. While the EA/NFL agreement expires in 2013, it’s hard to imagine that the league will abandon the best-selling sports franchise and allow 2K to get back into the NFL market.

NHL 2K went before it's time -- likely never to return.

NHL 2K

After several years of falling behind EA Sports’ NHL series in sales, 2K Sports cancelled its NHL 2K11 game for all platforms except the Wii, based on the rationale that the company wanted to focus on that console and return with improved games on all consoles in 2011. However, 2K Sports decided not to release an NHL 2K12 for any console, which led most observers to believe that 2K Sports was finished with its hockey franchise.

Other Sports

2K Sports has released games for other sports like tennis and boxing. Its most successful franchise among these sports has been the Top Spin tennis series, based on 2K Sports’ commitment to producing several games in the series. The most recent edition, Top Spin 4, was released in 2011 to modest sales. 2K Sports also tried its hand at boxing with Don King Presents: Prizefighter in 2008.

Final Thoughts

As 2K Sports’ library continues to dwindle, questions about its future will be raised. 2K Sports has a multi-year licensing agreement with the NBA and it may take EA's NBA several years to recapture the sales lead, so the 2K’s flagship franchise appears to be safe for now.

2K Sports and Major League Baseball are likely to end their affiliation this year, and with the video game industry as a whole going through a bit of a down period, it is very doubtful that 2K Sports will revive any of their discontinued franchises or attempt to start any new ones. There also remains the very real possibility of EA Sports purchasing 2K Sports from Take-Two and integrating the NBA 2K series into its stable of games.

However, if that purchase doesn’t occur, and as long as NBA 2K remains a successful franchise, I think 2K Sports will survive, even if it is the developer’s only remaining sports game franchise.

What do you think the future holds for 2K Sports? Are you optimistic that they will bring back some of their beloved franchises? Will they be acquired by EA Sports? Or will they continue along as a one-franchise developer?

Member Comments

# 21 TheTodd84 @ 01/24/12 08:28 PM

I tend to agree with most people on here about this issue. But here is the thing... 2k was a victim of their own mistakes. When you have such a huge player like EA out there, and you are not close in terms of resources and staying power, then you have very little margin for error. Every decision you make must be a good one, or you risk losing everything. We are seeing that come to fruition today. 2k didn't make a bad decision to try and make all-pro 2k8, they just didn't put forth their best effort. And those things simply cannot happen with such little margin for error. I know it is crazy to ask them to make huge strides with nba 2k every single year, but again, with no margin for error, that has to be the case. Especially since EA will be rejoining the basketball market again soon, and if 2k slips up even a little bit, it's all over for them. Yes, that is a lot of pressure on them, but that's the nature of the beast.

The same theme can be said the for the NHL 2k series. Bad decisions followed by sub-par execution led to the demise. EA can afford, literally, to not execute well, 2k cannot. That's ultimately what did them in.

I dunno about the NCAA football licensing or the game, but 2k really does have a serious opportunity there. And again, it would be ill-advised to not try and pull out all the stops to at least garner some sort of license for a college football game. Maybe the NCAA wants it to be exclusive, I don't know. But, I did hear a rumor that NCAA 2013 may be the last iteration of the series and EA might be getting out of college football. Should that be the case, then 2k would be stupid to not try and take advantage.

Anyway, you get my point. When you have little margin for error, mistakes are magnified, ask any double-digit underdog in sports in a big game.

# 22 LiveBaller @ 01/24/12 09:12 PM

To be honest it might be best that 2ksports only does have 1 or 2 games to develop in a year. If NFL 2k was still around do you think NBA 2k would be as good as it is today? NBA didn't get good until the developers for NFL came over. Why other marquee title do they have in there lineup now besides NBA?

Sent from my PI39100 using Board Express

# 23 cheo25 @ 01/24/12 09:19 PM

Maybe if they didn't make bug-filled games like NBA2K12 that repeatedly freeze their future wouldn;'t be in doubt.

# 24 TreyIM2 @ 01/24/12 10:06 PM

While I DON'T want this to happen to 2K (NBA2K COULD be better, imo and I don't eff with their baseball ish. Got The Show for that fix), I think it most likely will. I wholeheartedly believe it's just a matter of a year or 3 before NBA2K is going to be snuffed out by EA's b-ball game. EA has already bucked down their hockey and as well as PES by rising to the challenge by both those games when they both seemed like roadrunners, speeding away with sales for both. Now that they're roadkill, instead, u think EA isn't trying to hit nitro and in order to catch up to and take out that last birdie which is NBA2K??

EA already has the confidence that they can do it because they've done it twice before AND they ate quite a bit of crow with the Elite debacle. True champions don't stay down if knocked down even if it takes them almost a full count to get back up and if they can't rise to the bell in that fight, there will be another and they'll be hungrier than ever to avenge what happened previously. Not to mention, EA has da big coin, unlike 2K. That coin bought them a huge breather in purchasing that NFL license...

That being said, 2K gotta get with their motivation in fixing issues with NBA2K, offer analog dribbling as an option, fix those damn servers (personally, I don't online but I've sheard a plenty bout dem servers!) and whatever else they need to do otherwise, gulp, it's gunna be a wrap for them. I'd hate to see them go...

# 25 TreyIM2 @ 01/24/12 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TreyIM2


	While I DON'T want this to happen to 2K (NBA2K COULD be better, imo and I don't eff with their baseball ish. Got The Show for that fix), I think it most likely will. I wholeheartedly believe it's just a matter of a year or 3 before NBA2K is going to be snuffed out by EA's b-ball game. EA has already bucked down their hockey and as well as PES by rising to the challenge by both those games when they both seemed like roadrunners, speeding away with sales for both. Now that they're roadkill, instead, u think EA isn't trying to hit nitro and in order to catch up to and take out that last birdie which is NBA2K?? EA already has the confidence that they can do it because they've done it twice before AND they ate quite a bit of crow with the Elite debacle. True champions don't stay down if knocked down even if it takes them almost a full count to get back up and if they can't rise to the bell in that fight, there will be another and they'll be hungrier than ever to avenge what happened previously. Not to mention, EA has da big coin, unlike 2K. That coin bought them a huge breather in purchasing that NFL license... That being said, 2K gotta get with their motivation in fixing issues with NBA2K, offer analog dribbling as an option, fix those damn servers (personally, I don't online but I've sheard a plenty bout dem servers!) and whatever else they need to do otherwise, gulp, it's gunna be a wrap for them. I'd hate to see them go...

Oh, and baseball is safe, for 2K, for now, at least when it comes to Xbox. Don't let EA get a grip on that. Smh. The Show may survive if EA got back to MLB because they have similar coin to compete. Sony betsta not sleep, tho. Heh

# 26 Eski33 @ 01/24/12 10:49 PM

Bring back College Hoops.

I wish all exclusive licenses go away. Bring back competition.

# 27 geezmeister @ 01/25/12 12:28 AM

I just want my college hoops. Nothing else matters!!!!!!!!

# 28 10k @ 01/25/12 01:04 AM

"2K Sports was not able to replicate that success with its follow-up, NBA 2K12, as the game was only in the top-10 for one month"

Yeah, this is wrong. Look up the NPD numbers, it was on the Top 10 for October and December 2011, probably didn't make November due to the lockout.

# 29 SHAKYR @ 01/25/12 01:46 AM

It seem like some of EA employees are answering this question. I know they frequent this site alot too. It's shameful. 2K is more than just sports. They have quite a few games that can carry them.

# 30 Find_the_Door @ 01/25/12 02:35 AM

Thomas why do you say 2k has a monopoly on the NBA market when anyone is free to make an NBA game, yet when you reference EA/Madden (which is an actual "monopoly") you refer to it as "EA Sports� exclusive license agreement with the NFL". Some hidden bias here?

# 31 cmidd @ 01/25/12 07:21 AM

If 2k goes, so goes my sports gaming exp., unless Tiburon and EA, or whoever is responsible for the decline in quality of Madden sees the error of their ways

# 32 boomhauertjs @ 01/25/12 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Batum Shaka Laka


	Thomas why do you say 2k has a monopoly on the NBA market when anyone is free to make an NBA game, yet when you reference EA/Madden (which is an actual "monopoly") you refer to it as "EA Sports� exclusive license agreement with the NFL". Some hidden bias here?

Far from it. I'm totally a 2k guy when it comes to NBA games. I haven't owned an EA NBA game since 2005. I was saying that they had a monopoly on the NBA sim market this year because they had the only game coming out, not because of an exclusivity agreement.

# 33 bigsmallwood @ 01/25/12 11:55 AM

2Ksports will survive into the next gen of sports gaming due to their NBA 2K game. Time and licensing will tell if they get to make another NFL game or any of their other sports games. #Pro2KSports

# 34 thbends @ 01/25/12 12:26 PM

It's a shame. 2k had so much potential... but EA played dirty like Microsoft has been known to do and basically shut them down. I won't even go in to the NFL thing. We all know how low that move was by EA and how it changed the sports game landscape forever.

EA aside I think 2k's real issue is management. They obviously have mismanaged (or not managed at all) many of their respective franchises and it has shown horribly over the years. Great ideas have been lost to lack of customer support. That also led to not following through with promised features.

I don't know the figures but it would be interesting to see how many work on a project for 2k compared to EA and for how long. How many do they keep staffed on a game post release? What is the pay rate compared to EA for employees? Why do I ask these things? It seems like 2k is under staffed or unmotivated. That is a management issue that is slowly squeezing the air out of the company.

Let's all hope that they keep their NBA franchise going. It's become one of the best sports franchises around.

As for one comment I saw about a possible soccer game... No go. EA has owned the WORLD market in that area. It's even bigger then Madden. I believe EA owns all the FIFA rights as well.

# 35 matt8204 @ 01/25/12 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thbends


	It's a shame. 2k had so much potential... but EA played dirty like Microsoft has been known to do and basically shut them down. I won't even go in to the NFL thing. We all know how low that move was by EA and how it changed the sports game landscape forever. EA aside I think 2k's real issue is management. They obviously have mismanaged (or not managed at all) many of their respective franchises and it has shown horribly over the years. Great ideas have been lost to lack of customer support. That also led to not following through with promised features. I don't know the figures but it would be interesting to see how many work on a project for 2k compared to EA and for how long. How many do they keep staffed on a game post release? What is the pay rate compared to EA for employees? Why do I ask these things? It seems like 2k is under staffed or unmotivated. That is a management issue that is slowly squeezing the air out of the company. Let's all hope that they keep their NBA franchise going. It's become one of the best sports franchises around. As for one comment I saw about a possible soccer game... No go. EA has owned the WORLD market in that area. It's even bigger then Madden. I believe EA owns all the FIFA rights as well.

Yeah, it's a tough market to get into when you don't have the important licenses and FIFA is such a juggernaut. Worldwide, it's easily the best-selling sports game.

# 36 Matt2486 @ 01/25/12 03:35 PM

I will be extremely upset if 2K Sports goes away. 2K is a solid company who routinely makes quality games. The NBA 2K series is, in itself, enough to warrant their success. I cannot go back to EA basketball after playing 2K's series. Also, whenever this EA Sports NFL chokehold subsides hopefully 2K can get back to the NFL 2K series. The reason NBA 2K12 did not sell well is simple...the lockout. No rookies was a huge turnoff for buyers initially, including myself. I waited to buy until the rookies were unlocked.

# 37 TombSong @ 01/25/12 04:00 PM

Where is it written 2K HAS to have multiple sports games to keep 2K sports alive ? EA the "industry leader" whos "shadow" 2K Sports has lived under has Lost their basketball market, and a NFL imposed monopoly is the only reason why EA has not lost their football market.

The reality is 2K has BETTER.....WAY BETTER sports game programmers. So the whole issue is liken to EA took the rockets from Germany in 1945 but 2K took the rocket scientists. EA can shine the rockets up and add different colors and sounds to the rocket, but its just a rehashed 1945 Rocket. 2K can make any rocket they want.

If gaming sites want to write a article about the games these 2 companies make, why not write one comparing the GLARING differences between 2K8 football and Madden 12. Madden 12 STILL does not do things that game does. You won't see that here though because its gonna step on toes, cause website woes because of EA foes............

# 38 fatta @ 01/25/12 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SHAKYR


	I hate to even think of 2K going under because EA would force feed us subpar garbage and expect us to accept it.

Like EA's FIFA soccer. It's getting better since they started to adept things from PES in the early 2k's, but it's still crap, and nobody really see it, cause they got no quality game (and especially licensed game) to compare it. (same for madden)

As well as PES was and still is the better game it just feels unreal without a license

# 39 Galarius @ 01/25/12 11:21 PM

In terms of survival and evolution, 2k is an entire generation ahead with their VIP system,,,What other game has the ability to play against team specific 'programs' that you cann create simply by playing?...And what game has the incredible amount of moves that NBA2k12 has?Along with the nhl and show series, nba2k is at the top.I have voiced similar converns for years that this article addresses.Hope 2k makes an NCAA football or basketball game soon?Didn't EA just let the NCAA Football exclusive rights expire at the end of the BCS game?

On a side note, I have discovered a new way to play against multiple VIPs in NBA 2k12...You need 2 controllers and at least 3 or 4 VIPs.I make mine by using exclusive teams so the play styles gradually develop into quite different robots...

1st, make sure you have a VIP fpr each controller set in the 'User Profile ' section....then go to exhibition team select screen and go to options.Assign a VIP to your 'oponent team'.As far as the CPU is concerned, 2 humans are going to play as you will have a controller assigned to each team......Enter The Game

When in game, take the contoller of the team you won't be using and go to coach settings....turn coach mode on and options like substitutions, timeout, playcalling, and so to 'auto'(you CAN have3 just one controller/player on coach mode and the other in regular play....then go to controller setting and player lock one of the positions you want the CONTROLLER vip to control(this is the one you had loaded for controller 2 in the user profile section)

More on this in a minute.......

# 40 Galarius @ 01/25/12 11:37 PM

(Con't)...So what you will have here is your controller VIP that you have programmed by playing many epic basketball games in charge of the position you selected for player lock and th eothehr VIP you assigned to control th eteam in the team select options menu controlling the other 4.The game will be a lot more realistic.Tough, but less cheap.Tweak your sliders, especially things like offensive awareness and passing set a little higher so your VIPs will play smarter.There will be a lot more vaiables and a much more human-like CPU opponent that will both make more great plays and also more mistakes.It is a lot simpler than it sounds.

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