NBA 2K14: It's Time to Revamp Presentation

Feature Article

Submitted on: 01/06/2014 by Dustin Toms

Despite the struggles that NBA 2K is facing right now, the development team has still hit it home with presentation and commentary the past few years. The team of Kevin Harlan and Clark Kellogg, with recent additions Steve Kerr and Doris Burke, has become the so-called Holy Grail of sports video game commentary and everyone knows it. But when will 2K set the bar even higher? Even though they’re the best doesn’t mean that they can’t be better, which is exactly what they should do.

In NBA 2K14, the commentary is slowly becoming – dare I say it – stale.

After playing so many games it’s what should be expected, but hearing the same lines over and over, especially when you play quick game on next-gen (andhalf the time it’s all you can do). But my biggest gripe with the commentary lies after the first 82 games – the playoffs.

The NBA Playoffs, to any die-hard hoops junkie, is a three-month long Holiday event. The world’s best athletes on the world’s biggest stage. It reeks of epic. So shouldn’t everything about 2K’s playoffs be just as epic? The stadium crowd and sounds have definitely improved after atmosphere used to be one of the series’ biggest problems, but now it’s safe to say that we need more. That’s where adding more postseason-specific commentary comes into play. Commentary from the season, our season, that just finished.

The announcers don’t make a Game 6 feel like a Game 6. Hell, they don’t even make you feel the pressure of an elimination game. All four of 2K’s broadcasters show great emotion during other moments during the game, but that needs to be ramped up to a brand new level once the postseason stretch begins. As a Game 7 progresses, I want to hear the booth talk about how Miami staved off elimination because of Ray Allen’s gorgeous, career-defining moment. I want to see these storylines that we create in our Association (or My GM) matter when the game is being played. Don’t you want to hear people talk about how you changed the course of the NBA? You're a gamer with stick skills. Be proud of your own career-defining moments.

Take-Two is showing signs of life from a presentation stand point, though. In 2K14 on next-gen, the Real Voices are a nice touch even if it needs a lot of work. And I’ve been told that we can expect major improvements with RV as the series progresses further. Possibly as soon as next year.

The series should also revamp the overall presentation we see so often during games. On the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the integration of the overlays during gameplay become a nuisance and feel laggy. And it gets old when you have to see the same rebounding leaders game after game – switch it up a bit more? I remember a day when skipping through the added tidbits was rarely done. Now, not so much.

What NBA 2K built on the last-gen consoles was created from a solid foundation and turned into the best NBA sports series to date. Now it’s time to take that finished product from last-gen and have it become the foundation of next-gen. And it all starts with the NBA Playoffs, and allowing you to be able to feel the pressures and thrills of a Game 7.

What would you like to see added, or changed, in NBA 2K’s presentation and commentary?

NBA 2K14 Videos

Member Comments

# 81 Junior Moe @ 02/20/14 10:34 AM

Quote:


	when someone gets fouled there are usually a few replays before the free throws. when someone makes a good play they usually talk about how they got into position for that good play or how the defense lapsed enough to let it happen. the focus is mostly on what is happening now vs what happened in the off-season.

I agree with this, more game specific detail are need. The commentary team should also incorporate a few generic lines, filled with player detail, into the commentary when a player is at the line or makes a play. Something along the lines of:

Kevin: "So Steve, what do you think of the ____ year (player position) out of Florida?"

Steve: "I really like this kid (player last name), Kevin. He was drafted ____ overall in the ____ draft. The (team) really like his skillset. He just needs to work on his (pick his lowest position specific rated attribute) some and be more consistent. I don't think he will be a star (the game knows his potential rating) or anything, but he can (pick highest rated attribute), and if he continues to work at it he can be an asset for the (team).

Kevin: "He's an intriguing prospect. That's for sure. He's averaging _____ (rebounds, points, or assists) so far this season. And that is on par with his production last year."

Just some sort of generic banter that can fill us in on the production of lesser known players and generated rookies in the Association/GM modes.

# 82 Candymandagreat @ 02/20/14 11:25 AM

Im not a fan of doris burke dont like her on real games or on nba2k im also not a fan of clark kellog so what i would like to see is just harlan and kerr only. you could add david aldridge or craig sager, that would be cool. doris to me has to go.

# 83 cowboy_kmoney @ 02/22/14 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Junior Moe


	I agree with this, more game specific detail are need. The commentary team should also incorporate a few generic lines, filled with player detail, into the commentary when a player is at the line or makes a play. Something along the lines of: Kevin: "So Steve, what do you think of the ____ year (player position) out of Florida?" Steve: "I really like this kid (player last name), Kevin. He was drafted ____ overall in the ____ draft. The (team) really like his skillset. He just needs to work on his (pick his lowest position specific rated attribute) some and be more consistent. I don't think he will be a star (the game knows his potential rating) or anything, but he can (pick highest rated attribute), and if he continues to work at it he can be an asset for the (team). Kevin: "He's an intriguing prospect. That's for sure. He's averaging _____ (rebounds, points, or assists) so far this season. And that is on par with his production last year." Just some sort of generic banter that can fill us in on the production of lesser known players and generated rookies in the Association/GM modes.

This all the way and add more talk and stuff surrounding teams and players when they wins titles and other awards. Real time injuries.

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# 84 Junior Moe @ 02/22/14 06:29 PM

In addition, the commentary team should also discuss some of the potential moves other teams could make. There is a "rumor mill" section on the NBA homepage already that shows potential trades and the players reactions to them, incorporated some of that into the Association/MyGM commentary. It would give the league some life and cut down on some of that repetitive useless commentary and replace it with something more substantive and organic.

# 85 spankdatazz22 @ 02/23/14 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by El_Poopador


	that is where they need to focus. instead of having a bunch of random back stories that we would hear every time we played with a certain team they need to concentrate on getting the commentators to recognize on-court play and whats happening in the broadcast.

I'm playing a Wizards game now and within the first 2-3min of the game I've heard the broadcasters refer to the recent trade of Maynor, refer to the Wizards last game win versus Atlanta (and HOW they won it), I got a steal with John Wall and they referred to the steal, the layup, AND a player on New Orleans not getting back on defense. Then began to refer to the potential of [some player] as the subsequent play was being run. It's a videogame, so of course with the backstory lines being static some will become tiring after a while. But the in-game commentary itself is more dynamic and runs circles around any other sports game out there. I'm not saying the commentary shouldn't continue to improve, but trying to imply it focuses more on backstories and improperly placed comments on non-relevant statistics is completely false imo.

# 86 cowboy_kmoney @ 02/24/14 04:03 PM

Kant wait till Wedesday till i get my Xbox 1 with the game so i kan play this game.

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# 87 El_Poopador @ 02/25/14 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spankdatazz22


	I'm playing a Wizards game now and within the first 2-3min of the game I've heard the broadcasters refer to the recent trade of Maynor, refer to the Wizards last game win versus Atlanta (and HOW they won it), I got a steal with John Wall and they referred to the steal, the layup, AND a player on New Orleans not getting back on defense. Then began to refer to the potential of [some player] as the subsequent play was being run. It's a videogame, so of course with the backstory lines being static some will become tiring after a while. But the in-game commentary itself is more dynamic and runs circles around any other sports game out there. I'm not saying the commentary shouldn't continue to improve, but trying to imply it focuses more on backstories and improperly placed comments on non-relevant statistics is completely false imo.

the thing is that youre only 2-3 minutes into a single game. and even in that 2-3 minutes 75% of what you said they talked about was not about whats going on in the game.

Quote:


	the broadcasters refer to the recent trade of Maynor, refer to the Wizards last game win versus Atlanta (and HOW they won it), I got a steal with John Wall and they referred to the steal, the layup, AND a player on New Orleans not getting back on defense. Then began to refer to the potential of [some player] as the subsequent play was being run.

talk about a trade: not on-court
talk about previous game: not on-court
steal>layup>defender not getting back: on-court
potential of [some player]: not on-court

it sounds good in one-off games but play a season with one of those teams. suddenly that nice discussion about the potential of [some player] gets incredibly annoying because they mention it every game. that discussion about the previous game will last 30 seconds and then its gone. same goes for that trade. from there they can only go into the same well of information that they had last game...and the game before...and the game before...or they will randomly bring up a set of statistics like where the wizards rank in rebounds assists and steals.

sure they can mention individual pieces of a play: the steal the layup etc. but they dont recognize the scope of activity throughout the game. the intensity doesnt ramp up if someone hits five threes in a row. they dont understand if okc is playing miami and it turns into durant vs lebron. they dont understand when someone is on fire. they dont understand when a team is on a run or makes a comeback. they dont understand when something out of the ordinary happens with the exception of an alley oop or buzzer beater. those are the types of things im looking for in next gen. they need to understand and comment on the game at hand.

im ok with them bringing up stats if they can do it dynamically and it flows with the action. lets say after that steal and layup they bring up the steals leaders. from there they can say something like "well john wall is Xth in the league in steals and now we see why". it should sound organic when compared to whats happening on the court.

and i still say that mlb the show has by far the best play by play commentary of any game ever. their color commentary is lacking but the play by play is years ahead of nba 2k or any other sports game.

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