NBA 2K16 Road to the Finals Qualification System Rewards Best Cheesers, Not Best Team

[iam31yearsold]

You can say that business is business all you want, buy if someone put out an indie basketball game based on balanced, realistic, and strategic gameplay for online competition (ala Rocket League) it would do well and people would spend money on it.

You don't need tatts, NBA teams, and a fully licensed game to sell copies or have people love it.

I mean in ProAm, you either play Black vs Yellow or created jerseys and courts...a game could easily have that, and put all focus into gameplay insted of licences and gimmicky modes.

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[Junior Moe]

Oh no man, I totally get what you're saying. Completely. I don't think people would care as much about the online "cheese" if there was another online component where more hardcore "sim" oriented players could get on and play their preferred brand of basketball. Neither one is better than the other; it's just a matter of preference. Heck, I'd take just being able to use one of these great slider sets here on OS and having that as a starting point. I really think that it would only benefit 2K as both camps could be happy.

[downsouth]

There is no game genre that isnt watered down or some easy mode added in to get and keep broader paying player base. Look how easy mode for example online rpg like world of warcraft are compared to the first couple generations of that genre. Its not a coincidence that was the same time revenue skyrocketed.

For me i will play a balance of sim and whats fun within the framework of the game. Do i want NBA Jam? No. Do i want to labor to a slow pace, free throw filled, slow moving, hack a deandre or Harden like super simulation of real basketball? No not really online. Maybe a separate offline mode.

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[Junior Moe]

Quote: Originally Posted by iam31yearsold

You can say that business is business all you want, buy if someone put out an indie basketball game based on balanced, realistic, and strategic gameplay for online competition (ala Rocket League) it would do well and people would spend money on it. You don't need tatts, NBA teams, and a fully licensed game to sell copies or have people love it. I mean in ProAm, you either play Black vs Yellow or created jerseys and courts...a game could easily have that, and put all focus into gameplay insted of licences and gimmicky modes. Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

You say that man but I honestly don't think it's that easy. In addition, NBA2K is a wonderfully polished game out of the box. The on court gameplay is widely considered the best. With a few slider tweaks I'm in basketball game heaven. There are some legacy issues I'd like to see fixed but by and large the gameplay is marvelous, IMO. And I can see and feel a clear difference between 2K16 and 2K15 (and 14). I don't care much for MyCareer or The Park or any of that stuff but I don't feel as if gameplay has been sacrificed for those modes. Online gameplay is a different beast entirely. That's why I avoid it. Though, I would like to see a more "sim" option available to folks like us who prefer that over the street ball stuff.

[iam31yearsold]

Quote: Originally Posted by Junior Moe

You say that man but I honestly don't think it's that easy. In addition, NBA2K is a wonderfully polished game out of the box. The on court gameplay is widely considered the best. With a few slider tweaks I'm in basketball game heaven. There are some legacy issues I'd like to see fixed but by and large the gameplay is marvelous, IMO. And I can see and feel a clear difference between 2K16 and 2K15 (and 14). I don't care much for MyCareer or The Park or any of that stuff but I don't feel as if gameplay has been sacrificed for those modes. Online gameplay is a different beast entirely. That's why I avoid it. Though, I would like to see a more "sim" option available to folks like us who prefer that over the street ball stuff.

That's kind of what I'm saying. A stand alone game based solely on online competition. Offline, is no question very very good.

I think it would do well in sale, if made well. To play and have fun online, I just don't think people need a fully licensed game. More money to be put into polishing gameplay.

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[nuckles2k2]

Quote: Originally Posted by iam31yearsold

That's kind of what I'm saying. A stand alone game based solely on online competition. Offline, is no question very very good. I think it would do well in sale, if made well. To play and have fun online, I just don't think people need a fully licensed game. More money to be put into polishing gameplay. Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

I kinda like this idea. Separate NBA 2K & The Park/Pro-Am.

Who knows, maybe we're heading in that direction, but I don't see Take Two/2K Sports severing the tie between their NBA license & their tremendous revenue stream (VC).

I'm not saying they need to piggyback on the name "NBA 2K" to make money in micro transactions, but that's exactly how executives tend to think. They're not the developers, they don't necessarily relate all of the data the way it needs to be.

If the people who actually make the decisions on obtaining the NBA & NBAPA licenses & how they're used, as well as deciding to green light obtaining Khaled, Premier, & Mustard, also Spike Lee, and Jay Z in the past, etc -- are the same ones who'll pour over the details of "see...the majority of VC purchases come from people using it for parts of the game not associated with the NBA..." then we MIGHT see a separation of NBA 2K & MyPark/Pro-Am in the future.

I just don't see why they'd even go through looking at who buys what micro transactions for what purposes. And it'll continue to be a packaged deal.

[JayBillups36]

I just had this conversation with my friends. We were really hoping to see the work up to greatest of all time like play now has. Would have made perfect sense. Now we're trying to get matched up with the worst team and we get rewarded for blowing them out of the water? Not very fun. And I do not want anything like EASHL to happen again, I worked my *** off for my 65 badges and 99 overall. If you don't put in the same work I should be better than you on the floor.

[Kodii Rockets]

Visual Concepts should let Pro-Am teams work their way up the seeds for a full month of unlimited, uninterrupted preliminary play. Once a team wins the first seed, it qualifies for the Road to the Finals knockout tournament:

8th seed, 10-game series -- 2 wins to advance, you can't drop any lower than this
7th seed, 10-game series -- 3 wins to advance, 1 win to stay put, 8 losses for a demotion
6th seed, 10-game series -- 4 wins to advance, 2 wins to stay put, 7 losses for a demotion
5th seed, 10-game series -- 5 wins to advance, 3 wins to stay put, 6 losses for a demotion
4th seed, 10-game series -- 6 wins to advance, 4 wins to stay put, 5 losses for a demotion
3rd seed, 10-game series -- 7 wins to advance, 5 wins to stay put, 4 losses for a demotion
2nd seed, 10-game series -- 8 wins to advance, 6 wins to stay put, 3 losses for a demotion
1st seed, 10-game series -- 9 wins to advance, 7 wins to stay put, 2 losses for a demotion
If an even number of teams make the final tournament field, then the bracket is easy to setup:

Seed the teams based on how quickly they completed the ladder. The first team to qualify plays the last team to qualify, then so on down the list.

If an odd number of teams make it in, then all you have to do is hold a single play-in game between the last two teams to qualify, with the winner earning a spot in the even-numbered field.

We're only in the “preseason” stages of Road to the Finals, with the first official qualification event not starting until February 15, so why not scrap this easily exploited points-based system and switch to something where winning is all that matters?