Not the Bottom of the Ninth, But a Big At-Bat Coming For MLB 2K10

[baa7]

Quote: Originally Posted by jayhawker

Methinks you just like to ride a very high horse, and do very little critical thinking.

Quote: Originally Posted by jayhawker

It would seem you are trolling

Interesting how many posters on OS can engage in a dialogue on the subject at hand, while others such as yourself get so worked up over others' comments regarding these games that you have to resort to off-topic personal attacks.

2K has put out broken, untested, half-finished games for four years in a row. And what the article in question identifies is why that is -- 2K is handicapped via a lack of resources and support. Too bad for them, nevertheless it only confirms what many on the MLB 2K forum have been saying for 2-3 years. Stay far, far away from MLB 2K on release day. Read the reviews, rent it, do whatever. But don't purchase it until it's clear they've finally made a commitment to putting out a quality product.

[Pared]

If you have no interest in games published by 2k, I fully expect you to avoid the forums accordingly.

You've been doing nothing but trolling the forums for years and it's interesting you don't even have the games.

[DaveDQ]

I read a lot of "2K should have never signed that 3rd party exclusive deal." They didn't. Take Two did. All 2K is is a brand that Take Two publishes. In that brand you have your developers, Kush, VC etc. VC is now the developer behind 2K Baseball (after replacing Kush in MLB 2K9).

Visual Concepts (VC), the developer behind the beloved and sometimes overly appreciated NFL 2K series. Also, the developer of the basketball game that took the crown from the NBA Live series, VC can develop. There is no doubt about it. They can also market (Beta 7..lol).

I happen to think they are over worked and under a sinking publisher in Take Two. But it's not VC's fault. It's the fault of Take Two for signing a limited exclusive license that was more knee jerk in light of what happened with Madden and the NFL.

I'm of the opinion that 2K Sports should be doing three games right now. Basketball, Baseball and Football There is simply no profit in a hockey title, especially in competing with EA's NHL. APF was given one shot and then nothing else. work on refining those titles and don't be tempted to join the mix of sub-titles like boxing, hockey etc.

[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by DaveDQ

I read a lot of "2K should have never signed that 3rd party exclusive deal." They didn't. Take Two did.

Not to sidetrack the thread but I'd also like to throw out another thing to possibly consider about the MLB exclusivity agreement. When the NFL/NCAA/Arena League deals went down, they happened all within months of each other - might've been weeks. I'm not going to make the argument that anything EA did was illegal, but the moves were certainly aimed at eliminating it's competition. And at the time, many of us felt the NBA was next - and in fact, the NBA was in play for a while until David Stern wisely opted to allow competition. So at the time, there was a distinct possibility 2KSports could've been eliminated as a viable sports developer had they not done something. EA already had exclusivity deals with FIFA & NASCAR, when it added the NFL & NCAA.

In retrospect, the MLB deal is looking like it may not have been good for 2K. But at the time, there was a very real danger that all the major sports leagues were going to be wrapped up to an exclusive deal with someone. I think that needs to be considered when people on these forums play Monday morning QB and cite how foolish they think this deal was (not directed at the person I quoted obviously)

[Trevytrev11]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

In retrospect, the MLB deal is looking like it may not have been good for 2K. But at the time, there was a very real danger that all the major sports leagues were going to be wrapped up to an exclusive deal with someone. I think that needs to be considered when people on these forums play Monday morning QB and cite how foolish they think this deal was (not directed at the person I quoted obviously)

I think most agree with this, but are just frustrated by the lack of effort and quality that followed. Looking back on them handing the reigns over to Kush, one must wonder what they were thinking. They (Kush) were completely incapable of making a quality title and failed for multiple years. They signed Brinkman, which may or may not have been a bad decision, but did they give him enough resources to succeed?

He may have been pulling the strings with MVP, but if had twice the staff and twice the budget over there than he would with 2K, then they had to know the game was not going to compare.

I understand why 2K did what they did, but it seems like they didn't have the right plan in place to succeed after the deal was done. It was more of a reactionary move than a well, thought out with a plan in place, move...and those are the ones that get you in trouble more often than not.

[baa7]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pared

If you have no interest in games published by 2k, I fully expect you to avoid the forums according.

I rent these games each year and will continue to post my observations and thoughts, just like every one else at OS.

[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by Trevytrev11

I think most agree with this, but are just frustrated by the lack of effort and quality that followed. Looking back on them handing the reigns over to Kush, one must wonder what they were thinking. They (Kush) were completely incapable of making a quality title and failed for multiple years. They signed Brinkman, which may or may not have been a bad decision, but did they give him enough resources to succeed?

And I'd agree. I tried arguing in another thread that the progress of this game parallels Madden (no one has taken me up on it yet) to some degree. It's just that people are less forgiving when it comes to this game for whatever reason. The next gen MLB2K6 was horrible and simply a mistake; had to set them back. But I think after hiring Brinkman the series improved steadily, and actually innovated in some ways with it's use of the right stick. Although there were people here crying for Brinkman's head by the end of 2K8 (much of it because of feeling slighted about the PS3 if I remember correctly), I seem to remember people having a generally positive view on the game after the big gameplay patch [for 2K8].

While last year's game wasn't a large leap forward, it wasn't a large step backward either. It was VC's first year, and it progressed forward. I just think there's this huge perception that the game is horrible because people have this expectation that it's supposed to be exactly what they perceive The Show as being. The fact is the series has progressed steadily since '06, it hasn't regressed (imo). And in fact it's shown innovation in key areas where it's on par with or more forward-thinking than The Show, in areas like batting/pitching/fielding/baserunning/real-time presentation/interruptible commentary. I don't see people arguing that the button-mashing interface or cutscenes are the way of the future.

I'm not trying to slight The Show, just saying that MLB2K would seem to deserve a chance especially when compared to other sports titles that are looked at favorably simply because they've improved, like Madden or Live. As I argued in the thread below, Madden hasn't really innovated with much of anything - and no one's disputed me in that thread. But the outlook is overall positive. For whatever reason this game isn't given the same benefit of the doubt:

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...ball-2k-4.html

[BigL]

Quote: Originally Posted by jayhawker

2K made a mistake by investing too much money in their deal with MLB, for a sport that just doesn't translate nearly as well to videogames as football, basketball, or even hockey.

Sorry but I completely disagree with that statement. To me baseball translates the best to video games. In football its so difficult to mimic blocking schemes, coverages, tackling from different angles etc, in hockey and bball there are so many variable things that can happen its tough to put it all in a video game. A baseball game is not that difficult to mimic, pitch the ball, hit the ball and have a realistic physics system in place to make the hits realistic. Of course from there you have to fill in the rest of the gaps, AI Intelligence, fielding, etc but I think baseball games translate the best