Could NBA 2K16 be Implementing College Hoops?

[dwayne12345]

WWE is a bit different though. If those indy guys sue the WWE they'll never get a chance to work there.

Since the NBA has a players union getting on the bad side of the association doesn't hurt your chances of employment as much as it would in the WWE (a unionless monopoly).

[Pokes404]

Quote: Originally Posted by King_B_Mack

I would have to disagree with that sentiment. I'd bet that there's been more attempts to sue over that sort of thing than we really have or will ever hear about. Mostly stemming from the fact that they A) lead nowhere and B) are probably so early in the process that nobody ever knows. I say all that because if there's a chance for somebody to make a few quick bucks from compensation for something like that, they'll jump all over it. I also look at games like the WWE series. There's been an insanely more robust and accurate roster sharing/creation tool in WWE games for over a decade and counting now with little to no legal ramifications coming of it. If there's one group of professional athletes you can count on to look for the kind of publicity a lawsuit against a big video game developer would net them in addition to a large sum of money, it's professional wrestlers. With the addition of logo creators in the WWE series you can create an share other entire wrestling companies in the game to the point that you could confuse someone into thinking you're not even playing a WWE game but another companies game. In fact, you can PERFECTLY create NBA or NCAA players in the game with all their trademarks, logos and likenesses and share it with the rest of the WWE community. I've yet to hear about one of the thousands of indy wrestlers who're getting paid like 50 bucks a night to do a show in the gym come calling for a lawsuit because his/her perfect recreation is turning up on these games. Same with the NCAA players that have been in 2K Draft Classes created and shared throughout the entirety of this whole legal battle over likenesses. Bottomline, if there were actual legal grounds to sue these companies over the roster sharing aspect of these games, someone would have jumped all over it by now.

I do agree with that. You'd think someone would have jumped on the chance to possibly earn a few extra bucks from these companies. Of course, lawsuits are an expensive proposition. Even if you're proven right, you have to weigh whether the time, effort, and cost is really worth the fight. The Ed O'Bannon & Sam Keller cases were about more than just video games. They were also looking at jersey sales, TV money, promotional items, etc. So the potential payout opportunities from something like that might have been enough to convince them to push forward with the lawsuit.

Again, I don't really know the legal basis for holding 2K/EA accountable for content created by a user, I'm just saying that in EA's case, its roster sharing feature is potentially more ammunition for lawyers to throw out there at how EA is knowingly profiting off of players free of charge. It's sort of like Napster back in the early-2000s claiming they were strictly a file-sharing program and couldn't be held accountable for what users were using their program to share. The courts ruled that wasn't the case, and they were responsible for any copyrighted material being illegally shared through their system. Now, obviously there's a pretty big difference in Napster's case as we're talking about sharing copyrighted material owned by a third party. But it's an example that companies can be held accountable for what their users are doing, especially if it can be proven that the company knew their product/software was being used in such a way. I can see the EA board of directors deciding that it's in the grey area and just cutting it from the game to be safe.

I've talked about this too long now, and I really have no legal expertise to be doing so haha. Simply put, I can see a situation where roster sharing features could potentially be used against companies in court and those companies removing it to be safe rather than sorry. I pray that isn't the case though.

[King_B_Mack]

Quote: Originally Posted by dwayne12345

WWE is a bit different though. If those indy guys sue the WWE they'll never get a chance to work there. Since the NBA has a players union getting on the bad side of the association doesn't hurt your chances of employment as much as it would in the WWE (a unionless monopoly).

That's not really a significant difference though. The only real difference is wrestling doesn't have a union. Other than that, same deal mostly. WWE is the biggest promotion in the world and where you can make the most money in your profession, though you can make a few decent dollars in other promotions. The NBA is the biggest basketball league in the world and where you can make the most money in your profession, though you can make a few decent dollars in other leagues. Players getting blackballed out of a league is not unheard of in the biggest American sports.

Quote: Originally Posted by Pokes404

I do agree with that. You'd think someone would have jumped on the chance to possibly earn a few extra bucks from these companies. Of course, lawsuits are an expensive proposition. Even if you're proven right, you have to weigh whether the time, effort, and cost is really worth the fight. The Ed O'Bannon & Sam Keller cases were about more than just video games. They were also looking at jersey sales, TV money, promotional items, etc. So the potential payout opportunities from something like that might have been enough to convince them to push forward with the lawsuit. Again, I don't really know the legal basis for holding 2K/EA accountable for content created by a user, I'm just saying that in EA's case, its roster sharing feature is potentially more ammunition for lawyers to throw out there at how EA is knowingly profiting off of players free of charge. It's sort of like Napster back in the early-2000s claiming they were strictly a file-sharing program and couldn't be held accountable for what users were using their program to share. The courts ruled that wasn't the case, and they were responsible for any copyrighted material being illegally shared through their system. Now, obviously there's a pretty big difference in Napster's case as we're talking about sharing copyrighted material owned by a third party. But it's an example that companies can be held accountable for what their users are doing, especially if it can be proven that the company knew their product/software was being used in such a way. I can see the EA board of directors deciding that it's in the grey area and just cutting it from the game to be safe. I've talked about this too long now, and I really have no legal expertise to be doing so haha. Simply put, I can see a situation where roster sharing features could potentially be used against companies in court and those companies removing it to be safe rather than sorry. I pray that isn't the case though.

Yeah, I know the case and the details involved as far as what they're suing for. I'm just saying if you're going to tell me the reason that there's no problem with NBA 2K's roster sharing is because nobody is suing them, then we should probably look at why they aren't being sued for that. Best answer I can come up with is that there isn't any legal ground to stand on for that. 2K, EA all these guys have their own team of really smart, highly paid lawyers just like the Ed O'Bannon's of the world. The second this likeness issue came up and certainly once the rulings started to go against them, you really think they would ship out a game with the roster sharing still in it? EA Sports won't even make the United Center's home ice design for the Blackhawks look at least kinda similar to how it actually looks because they don't have the rights to the UC for the NHL games and they don't want to risk getting sued otherwise.

[videlsports]

Then get drafted by the 76ers and stay there for a while, so the Sixers can continue being a terrible team acquiring draft picks and assets... lolol Joking about that part.[/quote]



LOL unfortunately you are telling the truth Bro.


College basketball from 2k sports.. another big time seller like 2k.


Then college FOOTBALL!!!!

[DC]

@darrenrovell: 2K has indeed gotten the licenses to at least 10 college teams & will have college basketball.

[Clappington]

Quote: Originally Posted by DC

@darrenrovell: 2K has indeed gotten the licenses to at least 10 college teams & will have college basketball.

Yup just saw that on twitter, wonder if he knows anything we dont.

[huntt26]

Quote: Originally Posted by DC

@darrenrovell: 2K has indeed gotten the licenses to at least 10 college teams & will have college basketball.

Well, that is some awesome news! Unfortunate it's a small number of schools, but gotta start somewhere.

[jfsolo]

IMO, paying a licensing fee just for utilization in cut scenes/storytelling would be a waste of money. I know that a lot of people are super big on authenticity in all things, but they should just use all fictitious schools if there isn't going to be any playability with the real schools. Use that coin on something else.