Inside 2Ks Journey To The Top Of Sports Gaming

[Junior Moe]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-sports-gaming

It's a few years old but man its fascinating. I never knew those head scans were 10,000 a pop, or that EA attempted to buy 2K back in the early 2000s.

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[simbayless]

Of course EA tried to buy 2k
They hate having to work hard to compete 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[King Gro23]

Really enjoyed reading that. Gave great detail and perspective into the saga between EA & 2k.

2k always wanted to prove it makes a great game.

EA has always just had the financial backing.

A few lines literally sum up 2005-2023
“12 month iterations are like changing a cars oil”

And then the attention to detail on animated body language “if there’s a moment missed where the user is like, why is the guy screaming. Then we already lost”

2k cares and EA literally has nobody with the integrity to give a crap lol


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[zello144]

Do wish the article could have mentioned why NHL 2K and MLB 2K aren't around anymore.

[Junior Moe]

I just think it's wild how it was Mike Wang doing mocapfor 2K7 and that he, as far as I know, started the whole Signature Style stuff we see in all the sports games now.

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[JAY_D1]

This is awesome read.

I remember the early 2000s when Live and Madden were kicking butt.. Im talking soundtracks and special songs remixed JUST for the games.. and 2k was like that lowkey game that was decent.

Back in them days, games cost $49.99 ($54 with tax) and there were numerous NBA games out and 2k did a way with that with the 20 dollar hollas... man, I remember thinking "This game cheap as hell and its dope without the dunk contest!" because at that time Live came out with the All Star Weekend.

I hope all this younger cats on here can read up on this just to understand and have a bit of appreciation. 2K could be gone, but its still here.

Appreciate what you have, tables do turn

[zello144]

Take Two got lucky when they bought them from Sega. 2K/Take Two those names they go hand in hand and someone suggested renaming them.

[VDusen04]

Good read.

I'm old enough to remember most of those times pretty well. First 2K I ever owned was NBA 2K2. My friend and I made the move after years of NBA Live because NBA Live's commitment to authenticity appeared tenuous. We rented Live '02 and I remember being so off-put with the way the entire backboard would violently shake after every dunk.



After that, we finally went in for the game I'd been intrigued by for a few years by then, since seeing how real it looked in magazine advertisements and on television.



2K3 was amazing, 2K4 (aka ESPN NBA Basketball 2004) was a bit of a mess, as it seemed 2K sort of abandoned the authenticity I loved in order to try to ride Live's coattails, the latter of which had experienced success with a more arcade approach (and their Freestyle controls). I remember blocked shots on 2K4 having contrails. And things like this would suddenly happen.



Meanwhile, this was probably the craziest moment I lived through in sports gaming history...

Quote: Originally Posted by Bleacher Report

Visual Concepts knew it had to do something to shake up the market. At the time, new titles typically sold for around $50. So when it came time to release NFL 2K5, the company decided to undercut Madden's price point, selling its game for only $19.99. The gambit worked, boosting sales and forcing EA to drop Madden NFL 2005's price to $29.99.

There was so much anticipation behind NFL 2K5. And then, not only did they drop its price to $19.99 out of nowhere, but they released the game weeks early. It was sheer madness, and it was amazing (all 2K sports games sold for $19.99 that year).

The word back then was that EA was going to try to go after exclusive basketball rights following the NFL move, but I'm grateful that never happened. NFL 2K5 remains the last football game I've owned.

It's been interesting to see 2K's growth over the years. I accepted long ago that they'd always be No. 2 to NBA Live. So to see that 2K supplanted and eliminated Live years ago is still pretty wild to me. A part of me misses 2K being the underdog - the indie tracks, the grass roots vibe to it all. But they've done a lot of good with their clout too, so I'll take it.