About 10 years ago, my college roommate and I found two scratch-off game cards tucked under our door. Like so many other marketing gimmicks aimed at students our age, they were littered throughout every hallway of the dorm. While I cannot remember what they were advertising, I certainly remember one of the prizes.

You see, for some reason, my roommate and I bothered to try our hand at winning -- instead of discarding them with the rest of the credit card applications and free samples of shaving cream. But before putting coin to cardboard, I remembered a trick I learned on the school bus during the days of a Topps Gold Card promotion. One properly equipped flashlight later, we were both "guaranteed" winners of a Sega Dreamcast.

For some reason, my roommate only received a T-shirt in the mail. I, however, found a large box with my name on it upon returning home for Christmas break.

Winning the Dreamcast not only made life more exciting during the short days of a Northeast winter; it also changed some insignificant habits: No longer did I direct my browser to the N64 pages of the then updated-once-daily gaming sites. Instead of going next door to use a buddy's Playstation, he was coming to me. Finally, I had a whole new line of sports game to check out, starting with the original NFL 2K.

From the beginning, the 2K line cemented its reputation (in my mind at least) as producing quality games with a knack for innovation and superior presentation. While there were some duds here and there (WSB 2K1), a 2K game was typically a good way to spend your money.

However, about 10 years after NFL 2K debuted, the 2K line has gradually gotten smaller. At one time, 2K boasted different games representing professional baseball, hockey, football, basketball, tennis, as well as college basketball and football. Currently, 2K's regular offerings consist of only professional baseball, hockey and basketball, with the occasional boxing and tennis game thrown in -- granted, 2K is milking the MLB license for all it is worth.

The decline of sports competition and rise of exclusive licenses has been well-documented and covered extensively on OS, and will not be rehashed here. That said, and with exclusivity firmly in place, what sports can 2K realistically tackle to ensure that its tradition of quality and creativity does not end?

Arena Football

To many, ESPN NFL 2K5 serves as not only the pinnacle of the 2K's repository of games, but console football games in general. And while All-Pro Football was a valiant attempt, it failed to make a strong enough mark to last. Most would argue the lack of a license, while having no effect on gameplay, did affect sales. Recently, however, EA actually dropped one of its licenses: Arena League Football.

While it certainly does not carry the marketing power of the NFL (not to mention the AFL may not even have a 2009 season), Arena League Football might appeal more to casuals and younger fans than APF's roster of legends. It would be yet another way to showcase 2K's excellent football gameplay, although it would be interesting to see how it carries over to the arena venue.

Perhaps an "open-field" mode would give users another way to play traditional football -- not sure if the Arena League would go for that. I would also advocate 2K keeping the great customization options available in APF and continuing the practice of offering great online leagues.

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is one of America's oldest, most under-appreciated and fastest growing sports. While it will never outsell Madden, a licensed, quality lacrosse game would appeal to its hardcore fans. Plus, since the sport is probably more familiar to most than the actual leagues, a license might not even be necessary. If the gameplay can be properly modeled and the features fully fleshed out, people might pick this up just to try something different. Online, this game might shine, similar to EA's recent hockey offerings.

Racquets or Rackets?

Branching out even farther, 2K could use the Top Spin engine to create a compilation of other racquet games. We have seen mini-game compilations be successful on the Wii, and Rockstar was on the right track with its table tennis game. Perhaps the market would be accepting of a package containing racquetball, table tennis, badminton and squash.

While I am not an expert in programming, I cannot imagine that it would take a year's development to modify the existing tennis game to create those four variations. Again, a license would not be necessary, saving some costs. While these are definitely fringe sports, if the game was well made, correctly priced and simply fun, it might be a family hit. Tennis is still my favorite Wii Sports game.

Babe Ruth 2K10

I mentioned that 2K is getting all that it can out of the MLB properties: the annual MLB game, Power Pros, The Bigs, Stickball, MLB Superstars and the upcoming Front Office Manager. I would not mind seeing one more release, that being a MLB version of All-Pro Football that incorporated baseball immortals. One of my favorite ways to play the classic MVP 2005 is with a roster that features each team's all-time greats. I would love a fully featured game of the same kind, with a multi-season mode, classic stadiums and perhaps a card-collecting element. Certainly, this one would require 2K to pony up for the license rights.

Creativity Is Key

For 2K to come back strong, I think the company needs to look outside the box to create some new sports titles. Maybe that means inventing sports, similar to the the Xbox title Deathrow. Maybe it means taking more risks like Power Pros. Can you imagine a Power Pros hockey game?

While I do not think it would appeal to most readers of this site, maybe mini-game collections like MLB Superstars serve as a bridge for kids, leading to more serious sports game.

No matter how 2K continues to operate, I will be rooting for 2K Sports to return to the prominence of the Dreamcast era, when I fell in love with a football game not named Madden and enjoyed all-night NBA 2K1 tournaments with my dorm-mates. Whether it takes the end of exclusive licenses or a wave of new sports games, having more titles provides us with the opportunity to make choices, which is never a bad thing when it comes to gaming.