Submitted on: 06/26/2008 by
Chris Sanner
This week, Operation Sports staff members Richard Chavez, Matt Gagnon, Rob Fetter and Chris Sanner are under the microscope as they seek to answer key questions on gamings future. We go from NBA Live, to an EA Console, to Madden and then finish things up with some 2K Sports banter. Be sure to check out their answers and add your own input!
#1 NBA Live is clearly on the rebound this year.
Richard Chavez - Fact. NBA Live was solid last year, but nearly unplayable in seasons prior. With the NBA 2K games basically stagnant, if the Live series was going to make a push it would be now. Tony Parker on the cover isn't the direction I'd go in, but NBA Live 09 should be a competitor along with NBA 2K9.
Matt Gagnon - Fact. I think Live 08 showed some improvements but given where the title was headed that's not a hard thing pull off. I think the game could improve even more this year but again it's still far off from it's heyday. Early screens seem to show improved player models and crowds which is desperately needed. So it could technically improve but still need work. I highly doubt it'll be near NBA 2K9.
Rob Fetter - Fact. If rebound means improving then it is without a doubt a fact, it's not hard to improve on what NBA Live has been over the past decade. I was talking with someone more in the know than I about this very topic today, and his general feeling is that with game designers from 2k making their way over to NBA Live this year it should be the year that Live pulls even with 2k. I don't know if Live can make that big of a jump this year, but I think that this will be a year that they start to close the gap.
Chris Sanner - Fiction. No, NBA live is not clearly on the rebound. It appears as such, but I have my reservations right now with the past several NBA Live games being incredibly bad. The features they have added seem to be sending the series in the right direction, and the graphics look good as always. But, I don't want to say that NBA Live is clearly on the rebound until we see some actual gameplay. I wasn't that impressed with the trailer, so we shall soon see.
All but one of our staffers believe NBA Live 09 is clearly on the rebound this year.
#2 EA Sports' future use of peripherals is another sign of a slow shift into the hardware market.
Richard Chavez - Fiction. EA makes too much money for them to make such a huge leap. It is very difficult for developers to jump into the hardware market, it only happens the other way around. I could see them pairing with one company to corner the market, but I doubt we'll see the EA Gamebox competing with the Xbox 720 and PS4.
Matt Gagnon - Fiction. Ask Sony how easy it is to release a console. They've lost billions of dollars despite the huge success of their previous two consoles. So I don't see EA getting into that arena. EA makes their money because any gamer has access to their titles across all platforms. If they were to release their own console surely they'd limit the release of their titles on competing consoles so they had better have a kick-ass system or else they won't sell anything. I think it's a loser for EA and while people can rip on their games and business practices (And rightfully so), they do seem to know what they're doing when it comes to maintaining a successful business.
Rob Fetter - Fiction. If they did it would become an instant must own for sports gamers. EA owning sole rights to create games for the NFL, FIFA, Nascar, and NCAA Football would leave gamers without an EA console out in the cold. A funny addition to that fact would be that it could mean a return for the MVP series, since EA would be allowed to create an MLB game for their own console just as we see Sony create The Show. Overall I think that it would make leagues not renew their contracts with EA so leagues could sell games over multiple consoles, and could end up creating more competition for EA's current games. Personally I think that EA is making enough money the way they're currently going about business to take the risk, although it is a scary thought.
Chris Sanner - Fact. All of this speculation is coming from the proposed EA/TT buyout which is on indefinite hold. If EA secured that big prize in Take Two and convinced Rockstar to stay on, you have got the power of Grand Theft Auto behind any console you want to create. When you take into account you and you alone would have the best sports games on one console, it would be a must own for everybody at that point. I think creating some small peripherals is indeed a sign of a slight shift to test the waters of the hardware market. Let's just hope any eventual console is better than the Rock Band hardware!
Games like NASCAR 09 could soon be an exclusive entity on an EA console if speculation ended up true.
#3 The overall presentation for Madden appears to be a huge improvement.
Richard Chavez - Fact. For players of NFL 2K5, the presentation in Madden in recent years was extremely disappointing. Since they had the ESPN license, many fans assumed that Madden would have the best presentation in sports game history, especially with integration in the other EA Sports games. With the addition of Tom Hammond, Cris Collinsworth, and TV-friendly camera angles, fans should be happy with the new presentation, with or without full ESPN functionality.
Matt Gagnon - Fact. This is along the lines of the Live question. It's obviously looking a lot better than previous titles but the presentation was so bland before that any kind of change is for the better. It looks like a marked improvement but we'll have to wait and see if we're truly wowed by the presentation or if it's just OK.
Rob Fetter - Fact. EA has said that presentation was the number one thing they were focusing on this year in Madden, and it truly shows. It's great to have the EA Sports Radio guy gone. Sure the commentary might not be the best we've ever heard, but at least they're making progress. The addition of the split screen replays, and critical feed back replays are also big steps forward in creating a much better broadcast feel to the game. I don't think there is any way to argue other than fact on this one, if for no other reason than it has been so lacking of presentational polish in the past.
Chris Sanner - Fact. I think the presentation has improved quite a bit this year, but it isn't a huge leap towards games like The Show. The problem is, the presentation was so bad in the past few Maddens, a huge leap still means the presentation is, at best, average. So now the presentation is improving, but don't fool yourself into thinking it's the greatest presentation ever. I think we still have a year or two to go before the presentation is at a high level.
Let's just hope the Madden presentation is more must-see than this matchup will be this year.
#4 After yet another disappointing game in Prizefighter, 2K Sports needs to have a huge set of releases in the fall with their NHL and NBA games, among others.
Richard Chavez - Fact. With 2K Sports, their big releases were always the main four sports and tennis. With the loss of the NFL license and the disappointing All Pro Football 2K8 last year, it's time for 2K Sports to make sure that the NBA, NHL, and MLB games are at their absolute best. I don't think they should foray into sports they have no experience in, especially one like boxing where there is a clear cut leader. With Live on the mend and the NHL series always improving, 2K needs to milk the NBA 2K and NHL 2K games for all their worth.
Matt Gagnon - Fact. What does 2K have at this point? They pulled APF and College Hoops. MLB was a bit of a train wreck and Prizefighter was at the very best, average. That leaves NBA and NHL. Obviously NBA is the the best b-ball game out there but NHL was just so-so. Top Spin 3 has gotten some decent early reviews and MLB Power Pros did well enough to warrant another release, but those aren't huge titles. At this point NBA is their flagship but is that enough to keep them afloat? As good as the game is it still has gotten outsold by the mediocre Live series more years than not, and as we discussed, Live seems to be coming back from the dead.
Rob Fetter - Fact. I wish it were false, since I think we need to see 2k Sports stick around so that there is competition between games, and gamers can have a choice of what to purchase. Unfortunately though I think 2k really needs to bring it with their next titles in order to stay afloat. With all the rumors of Take-Two going under I'm scared that even if these titles are a success it won't guarantee seeing 2k Sports in the future. I just wish we could have seen a Links title out of them before their ship went down, but with 2k Sports seemingly on life support I know those dreams are all but gone.
Chris Sanner - Fiction. This is not because I think 2K has released great games this year, they haven't. What I am saying is that the 2K sports entity is so far behind the game right now, and with each new release it seems like they are just slipping farther and farther behind. Right now you can bet 2K has a great NBA game, an above average NHL game, a below average MLB game, and some other insignificant sports games which won't sell many copies at all such as Prizefighter and Top Spin. 2K has lost this year, and I don't think having two huge releases in the fall will change that, because their chief competition will be releasing several more versions and several more games than they will. Take Two, thanks to Grand Theft Auto IV, stays afloat for awhile longer. But the 2K Sports brand needs to pick it up quality wise as well as sales wise next year.
KG, you saved Boston. Now save console fans from a terrible year of NBA on our consoles.
Now it is your turn to sound off! What do you think about a possible EA console or the Madden Presentation or 2k Sports fall season? Be sure to give us your feedback on each question by submitting a comment!
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