With Madden 09 in stores, sports fans can now look forward to the next batch of games they’ll be playing this season. For basketball fans, NBA 2K9 is at the top of the list. Details on the game are sparse but Take-Two held an event in Washington, D.C. last week that revealed some precious details about the new features we’ll be seeing in NBA 2K9. They didn’t share everything but they did take the time to discuss five-on-five online and let us know that there is another huge online feature they will reveal in the future.

First I’ll go over the five on five. Filling every player on both teams seems to be the new hot thing to do in sports games. Imagine playing in a competitive game with five of your friends against five others with everyone yelling for the ball and trash talking galore. It has the potential to change the way we play online basketball games. It also has the potential to be a waste of time if not handled properly.

Take Two needs to make sure their servers are perfect. In a game like basketball where quick movements and reactions can make or break you, lag can kill a game quickly. I’ve played NBA 2K8 online numerous times with no problems, but who knows how the game will react trying to relay the game to 10 different consoles instead of two.

Another thing that can ruin the five-on-five online for everyone has nothing to do with Take Two and Visual Concepts. It has everything to do with the people playing the games themselves. If you’re playing with strangers, certain people will fight over who plays as whom and they will pout if they aren’t able to get who they want -- a common problem with NBA Live last year after they incorporated five-on-five play. Say you’re stuck playing as Erick Dampier while everyone else gets Dirk, Kidd, Josh Howard, or Jason Terry -- a lesser man would play terribly, loaf around or quit in the middle of the game. You have to be sure you’re playing with the right people or else you could be stuck picking up the slack.

A yet unnamed new online feature could put NBA 2K9 over the top.

In years past, Visual Concepts has brought the fans the features they have wanted. Last season it was the slam dunk contest and three point shootout and the year before it was signature shots for star players. This year they’ve added to both and added a new broadcast team, a Player DNA system, and a fresh franchise mode. Even with all that, they’re still holding out on one major online mode.

While nobody knows what it is besides the 2K development team, we sure can speculate. One thing that could be a hit is an online franchise mode. No other major professional sports game has it and while the series needs some work done in the franchise department it could still be a blast. It’s a great feeling taking the lowly New York Knicks from the cellar and making them a top tier squad. It would feel even better doing it against online competition all trying to tear your team apart to get the championship themselves.

Another feature they could add is being able to play your season or franchise games against online opponents. This feature began in Madden 06 but has not really made the leap over to basketball. It is not as interesting or exciting as an online franchise but it could still be fun. It would make playing your season a little bit more interesting as it does get tiring playing against the AI.

While an online franchise mode or being able to play your season or franchise opponents online are not confirmed, either could be a key online improvement that gives NBA 2K9 the edge over the competition. Online five on five could be amazing, or another First Person Football. We’ll know it all on Oct. 7, 2008 when NBA 2K9 hits stores for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PS2.