Reader's Choice

3. NHL 16

In the second year of the broadcasting duo of Emrick and Olczyk , the NHL 16 developers doubled down on the NHL on NBC vibes while adding a lot more life and vibrancy to the arenas. Some folks made fun of the amount of press mascots got during the ramp up to NHL 16, but the mascots are one aspect of many that helped the NHL arenas feel like they were truly buzzing. The variety of fans, the soundscape and just how busy the arenas feel really all help to make NHL 16 feel alive. The commentary still isn't anything special, but because everything so closely resembles the NHL on NBC, it helps folks more easily feel like they're part of a TV broadcast.

2. MLB 15 The Show

Commentary continues to be the one thing that holds The Show back, but despite that, people still really love the overall feel and look of presentation in this year's game. The stat overlays are slick, and it's hard to hate much about the ambiance and feel you get inside the lively stadiums in this game. Until the commentary becomes consistent the readers will probably always have The Show peak at second-best, but it's a testament to how strong everything else is here that the game can continue to earn so much respect.

1. NBA 2K16

The champ retains its status as the presentation overlord in the sports genre. NBA 2K16 added more talent to the game this year (Kenny Smith), but also had to replace Steve Kerr with Greg Anthony. Anthony does a solid job replacing Kerr, but it could be argued that the commentary took a slight step back having to replace years of Kerr's commentary in one cycle. Regardless, it's still the best commentary in the sports genre. On top of that, Kenny Smith, Shaq and Ernie Johnson help introduce an all-new halftime and postgame show in this year's game. And while neither the halftime or postgame show is necessarily what people want from a halftime/postgame show, there is still lots of funny moments to be had here -- plus it's hard to dislike things too much when they're entertaining. The Spike Lee Joint also adds to the presentation elements at play, and overall, no game tries to do as much -- let alone as well -- as NBA 2K16 does in this arena. So it should come as no surprise that NBA 2K16 is the Reader's Choice for Best Presentation of 2015.
 

NBA 2K16

Our choices were identical to those of the readers (for once!). Again, I don't know how much more I have to justify NBA 2K16 as the selection here because it's almost a given at this point that NBA 2K's presentation will be held up as the standard by which all other sports games strive to get to. While at times the praise can sneak into the realms of hero worship, the accolades are justified here. Again, NBA 2K16 not only gives you a wide breadth of different presentation elements, almost everything the developers choose to undertake ends up being something that adds to experience. With that thought in mind, NBA 2K16 is the Staff's Choice for Best Presentation of 2015.