OS Roundtable: Can a College Basketball Game Succeed in 2011?

[sithlord06]

Doesnt EA hold licensing to college B-Ball too? If so, I would not want their game. 2K8 was a great college game and I would welcome a DLC update for 2012, it would be incredible to see the subtle changes and college atmosphere placed on a game that I know 2K could develop. Imagine, a hyper version of 2K11 (best basketball game ever) on a college level with recruiting, March tournament, juco transfers, one and done freshmen, this should excite any true lover of hoops.

[whittleboy615]

Quote: Originally Posted by sithlord06

Doesnt EA hold licensing to college B-Ball too? If so, I would not want their game. 2K8 was a great college game and I would welcome a DLC update for 2012, it would be incredible to see the subtle changes and college atmosphere placed on a game that I know 2K could develop. Imagine, a hyper version of 2K11 (best basketball game ever) on a college level with recruiting, March tournament, juco transfers, one and done freshmen, this should excite any true lover of hoops.

The licensing is a contract that has to be renewed/repurchased continually. Currently, no one has the license. If someone did, they would have published a game to make money. It wouldn't make sense to buy the license and just sit on it.

[jconpoet]

to answer the guy that mentioned putting NCAA and NBA in the same game... I recall an SNES game doing this with football with the exception that they didn't have the NCAA or NFL licensing for the real teams and players and it was pretty good and fun for what it was in its day... and that would be the only way a game developer could put college and pro sports in the same game is without the licensing seeing as someone like Kemba Walker isn't yet in the NBA Players Union which offers their licensing to allow for majority of the NBA players to appear in games like the NBA 2K series, the NCAA license wouldn't allow for Kemba to officially be in the game only "UConn PG #15".

The best bet is for 2K to release College Hoops 2K on the same night as Midnight Madness which is the first official day of practice for college basketball teams or wait until the end of February and release it as people prepare for March Madness and the Final Four

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Could 2K make a game with one of those editors like the old NHL games had where you could take a photograph and basically scan the face into the game and couple that with 2k share and people would have a way to get their players to really look real

[Behindshadows]

If they don't release one, we'll just keep modding the game.....

I agree the market for it is strong and selling it cheaper isn't going to solve the problem, it's just going to make it worse. Remember NFL 2k5 $20 now gone!

The cost of the license vs the sales of the game is what ended College Basketball games. So lowering the price will just cause more issues. So we can eliminate that suggestion, but what they do need to do is release the game before the NBA title and really market it too death with real highlights of last season.

Pump it up, during commercials of NCAA games on tv, ESPN, TNT, TBS, CBS, etc. Especially around tournament time, to sale those copies that didn't in the beginning of the season.

People will buy it, they just have to do better marketing, less on the web and more in the real world.

[supermanemblem]

They can start by negotiating more favorable licensing fees with the NCAA and remind them of their mission. Now that the NCAA has gone a couple of years without the cash, exposure and interest that a game would bring, they may liwer their demands. Second, pool creative and design processes with the NBA product, economies of scale. I'm not convinced that downloadable versions or moving the date will help. They need more aggressive marketing of the product--ads, sponsorships on major network games and promotional bus tours. They can find youngsters who would love to tour the country partying and playing video games. Madden is a powerhouse and yet EA promotes the game like mad. Marketing doesn't have to be expensive to get the job done.

[oneamongthefence]

As I don't religiously watch college basketball don't hang me but it seems that the difference in gameplay between college and pro is minimal. But presentation is where its at. Also integrate it into 2k.

[Dazraz]

If a developer was creating a basketball game from scratch, then you could argue that it would be hard to justify those development costs against the sales forecast of a college basketball game. After all those gamers that yearn for such a game, myself amongst them, aren't really interested in a budget title with little depth.

However 2K already have the core of the basketball game to hand. All they would really need to do is convert it to the college experience. New commentators, more flamboyant college style cut scenes & revised playstyles & they could be on their way.
Ultimately we would have to be satisfied with a rebadged NBA 2K11 but I for one would go for that rather than no game at all.

Those who want a completely new college game built from the ground up could be left wanting for a long time.