What game(s) do you feel exemplify what post-release support should look like in sports gaming? What items do you feel each game should universally have?

Kevin Groves: Once again, NBA 2K has set the bar for post-release support. While some might say that three patches post-release is a sign of a game that was released with flaws, others would counter with the fact that 2K has listened to community feedback and acted quickly to address issues. With 2K pushing the envelope further than any other gaming company as it relates it Career Mode, it has to be expected that issues would arise. If you take into account the number of patches and the roster/accessory updates, NBA 2K is once again proving to be the standard-bearer for all sports games.

Jayson Young: NBA 2K14 certainly wouldn't have won my vote, because of its week-long server outages and super-inflated player ratings. NBA 2K15 didn't fare much better, since Visual Concepts never fixed the pervasive online input lag, or the 7'3" "Demigod" glitchers who are still running around that game's ruined parks.

But NBA 2K16 has finally taken this franchise's post-release support to the top of the sports genre, with up-to-date roster moves, multiple ratings/accessories tweaks per week, and three large, gameplay-focused patches already arriving in a little under two months.

This year, there's been no better company in sports gaming than Visual Concepts when it comes to keeping their ears to the streets and adjusting their game according to fan feedback. The gamble Visual Concepts took when they brought several passionate NBA 2K community members into their development team is really paying off right now, and I hope that it leads to other sports developers interacting more often with their hardcore consumers.

Chase Becotte: I think some items that have to be in post-release updates are usually already there in most sports games, and I'll just call these "reality" updates. What that means is timely roster updates, equipment edits, stadium tweaks and so on. Basically these updates are anything that help relate the video game to what's happening to the real sport on an aesthetic level.

On top of that, post-release content has to include items that help keep your online modes fresh, which we see with Ranked Online Champions in Madden this week, or new items for the card-collecting modes that are now a given in every sports game.

Beyond that, you have the "live" updates that change the ratings of players on the rosters and keep the game dynamic. I'm of two minds when it comes to these as they are clearly done with minimal data in mind. In other words, many folks know now in every sport that small data sets are misleading. A player shooting 50 percent from deep on 12 attempts does not mean he should now get a plus-20 boost in 3-point shooting and be a flamethrower from deep. That's an extreme example, but the point is I believe in being slow with boosting and degrading player ratings.

That being said, it's imperative these type of small tweaks be made for some of the online modes as it helps play into the "reality" of what's happening in the real sport at that moment in time. Giannis Antetokounmpo can go from starting out hot from three-point land and everyone saying "he's doing it, he's taking the next step!" to now not being able to hit an outside shot the last bunch of games. When that happens, you just have to be as quick to change back the ratings to stay on top of things. Either way, it makes things like Ultimate Team and online ranked games more enjoyable when these small tweaks are happening day to day, it just offends my sensibilities as a "stat nerd" of sorts.

As for what exemplifies post-release support, I'm not sure any sports game has quite nailed it as of yet. Jayson and Kevin seem pretty high on NBA 2K, and while I'm not down on it, their aggressive patching has done more harm than good at points, and it sometimes feels like the folks at 2K end up patching something without having the proper animations, and checks and balances in place to keep it all balanced. In a way, the patches become a test ground for next year's game, which probably helps make next year's game better but sort of impacts the current game in a negative fashion at points.

In a perfect world, my ideal post-release sports game is one that just keeps the game fresh on all fronts. We're close to being there in terms of roster updates and all the aesthetic goodies. So now it would be cool if we could start getting more live content such as new commentary audio that talks about what's happening with teams in their current season and so on. Something like Ranked Draft Champions isn't an all-new mode, but it's closer to something like what Hearthstone does where they add new things like "Tavern Brawl" and so on that keep you coming back to see what's new in the game throughout the year.