Have Live and 2K Reached their Ceiling? - gdh5503's Blog

gdh5503's Blog

Have Live and 2K Reached their Ceiling?

Posted on June 6, 2012 at 06:09 PM.

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Based on the E3 loop-la interviews, previews and videos, what I have noticed from this and over the years; these guys spend so much money on strategy marketing and development that they forget about gameplay, player models, AI adaptability and most importantly authenticity. I don't care what is coming from their mouths and they can�t convince me otherwise through articles, explanation, videos and all that, because when I get my own hands on the game I formulate my own opinions. I don�t see where their articles and videos apply when the control is in my own hands. I have not seen it; I have not seen the application. With that being said, I thought to myself after watching E-3 It has been 13 years and we still don't have a basketball sim to revolutionize the way we play basketball video games. 2k in my opinion still has another echelon to go and they would probably agree, but unfortunately I don't think they will do it this year either. I really don�t see it coming.

Give Live credit for NBA "Elite" for one thing, at least, at least they made a courageous attempt to try to revolutionize basketball video games and the way we play them. Forget all the theories that are out there about Lives attempt, I personally thought it was a marketing ploy because they changed the name of the franchise, which I still stand by, but at least they had some guts in a lot of instances. They put themselves out there, they stepped out on the ledge but unfortunately they failed. It happens and then they had the guts and gall to scrap it because they were honest with themselves. They knew they were putting out a product that was not worthy of consumer dollars and time. We all know it but at least give them credit for not being afraid to attempt to make a revolutionary basketball video game before the rise of the next gen consoles.

Nonetheless, I still don't see anything spectacular happening this year either for both Live 13 and 2K13 maybe I am being a pessimist or maybe I am being realistic based on the track records. No one would say after Metta World Peace�s track record �I cannot believe Ron Artest just did that�?? I don�t care what �new� name he supposedly gives himself or what alias he wants to go by he is still Ron Artest and his actions let us know that his words mean absolutely nothing at this point in his career� I don't know what 2K and Live are waiting for but they haven't wowed me. I mean think about it for a second, just really sit back and think about it. Have we seen a basketball sim that has revolutionized the way we play simulation basketball at this point in our generation? It is going on 2013, 2013! Have you truly and genuinely been immersed into 2k�s product?

I have yet to be influenced into playing a full 82 game season on that game, or even full rounds of the playoffs. It has been over 13 years we have spent our dollars trusting in the fact that the videos and what the marketing strategies have told us that this is the game to revolutionize the way we play basketball video games. But in reality we have not seen anything too dramatically different over the years from one game to the next. I�ll humor you for a second. Remember the bounce pass and half court alley-oops in like 2K2 and 2K3 I believe, well what happened to that in the last several builds of 2K? Well according to Kotaku http://kotaku.com/5916138/competitio...plays-the-game hints of new passing capabilities are coming, well passing has been terrible in 2k before, fans have made a lot of complaints over the years about passing ability but now I can assure you they will guise it as a new feature for the user this year in 2K13! Mark my words. They will show bounce passes that we missed from previous version of 2K and maybe just maybe even some passes that we haven�t seen before, but we all know you should have had the capability early on. We have yet to find out. Bottom line they should have never gotten rid of passing abilities before in the first place but instead build upon them over the years.

Again this is the stuff I am getting at� Just see where I am going. You hear basketball players, athletes alike talk about getting better and getting better, practice makes perfect, but you can�t really say the same for 2k (excluding Live because they have been out the game for two years, we are talking about 2k because of their solo product dominance, plus I hold them to a higher standard because of the way they talk, the way they market, you know, the track record) why would you take something out to put something else in that doesn�t upgrade the game one way or the other? It doesn�t make sense. Why would I exclude working on my efficient jumper that I worked so hard on for two years, only to add the post-game to my repertoire? Now I have a jumper that is going to be suspect because I stopped working on it for a year and now I am taking a chance with my suspect post-game. That is a prime example of what is called going backwards. How about keeping both, which will make me more of a lethal threat against any competitor? As a matter of fact as I continue to get better I will keep ALL that makes me better against opposition and keep adding to what I am already dominating with, that way, I remain dominate and crush whatever opposition arises against me.

I don't feel the need to bring up too many examples of this, just think about all the issues that anger you most about 2k and ask yourself if it remained in the game the following year. Did they get rid of it? Or did you find yourself shaking your head and saying while you were playing the new version; "man they still got that in this game"! I find myself bored, tired, frustrated and cheated after about a month into playing 2K. Initially you are excited because of the fact that it is new, that is how we as consumers are, we are pretty happy when we get something new. You know, it�s a new game straight out of the plastic, the smell, the feel, but just a little while into it maybe a month into it you find yourself disappointed, frustrated maybe bored like me and you can�t wait until the year is over to take a crack at it again, but this is the same old same old every year and you hope to be wowed by presentation, gameplay, commentary, supposed AI adaptability, online issues to be fixed and then what, your let down and you feel cheated.

After all the glitz and glamour of the marketing strategies sucked you in, even though you told yourself that they would not pull the hokey-doke on you again, but you fell for it. I can honestly say that I have more than once for so many years and probably will again in the future. But this time it�s going to be different I will not be duped into falling for 2k's antics again (sarcasm). I am not talking about the development of simulation basketball over the years because I give them credit in the sense that holistically you can say without a doubt that there has been improvements. They have come pretty far from a graphic and control standpoint and the things you can do as a user, the control that you have is much better, i.e. the dribble moves, post moves shooting and stuff you can pull off. But what I am taking about is changing the NBA experience while you are playing and how the AI plays against you without cheating. The NBA is glitz and glamorous, the stars are glamorous and they are praised all the way from in game commentary to fans in the arenas, to critics, analysts and highlight reels on sports center. Do you get that when you play 2K or Live?

I have not been genuinely immersed into a basketball sim yet. It is a bland and generic experience. It is not adaptive, ranging from commentary, presentation, gameplay and longevity. I should be able to play the same 2k for at least two years. Honestly. Maybe that is pushing it because I can�t play a full 82 game season, a full round in the playoffs for one year before I am buying the next in hopes that I can fully play for a full year. I do know one person who played 2K11for two years before getting 2K12 when it came out. One of my Xbox live friends played 2K11 for a very long time and he just recently got 2k12 about a few months ago. So maybe he knows something I don�t, maybe he is frugal with his finances or he could be 9-13 years of age. That age group doesn�t know too much about the game of basketball (no offense). Their patience and contentment contains a higher threshold then some older people in some instances one being video games. Or maybe his parents are frugal. Maybe that is the target age group 2k wants? But if they want to keep the fans that they have had for all these years plus the up and coming younger generation, then they better hit that revolutionary button quick and tap into that higher cognitive echelon and make some dramatic changes to 2K. However, I can�t be too surprised because of 2k�s rep, you know the one where they get rid of something and add a �new� feature. Like all those shoes they had in 2K11 all the Retro Jordan's, Nike's all that, but where are they in 2K12?

2K has yet to suck me into that "experience" that they talk about every year. Presentation, gameplay all that is okay but not spectacular the way it is hyped up to be before launch. I repeatedly find myself skipping through the new presentation features about a month into the game; record breaking time for me actually is probably a few weeks into it I find myself skipping most of the presentation. Why? Because it is not adaptive, it is bland, boring and generic once it begins to settle in, once the hype of the �new� game has died down. The biggest challenge for 2K is keeping consumers satisfied for a long period of time. The best way to do it is having that unpredictability factor that maintains throughout the course of the game. Both competitors are making claims about simulation, gameplay experience, ESPN this, Sprite that, and neither Live or 2K has delivered. Live especially, these dudes been out the game for two years and their build is below average at this point and they don't have very long to go to launch and I fear for them.

Look how long it�s been that we have played these basketball games. Just sit and think about it. What are they waiting for, Next Gen consoles? I hope not because we will be right back here again when Next Gen launches because I don�t think these basketball games will ever deliver at this point. It�s been over 13 years. It�s been a very long time that these basketball simulation video games have been out and we are still being tickled with gameplay and visuals. Just think about it as a consumer. Does anyone feel somewhat cheated but me? Just my opinion either 2K and maybe Live for that matter are holding back for something big for next year because it is not this year and I can guarantee that based on what I have seen so far and we all know they don't have a whole lot of time to scrap and build again before launch. Or in reality it could be that they have reached their CEILING.

Where is that EXTREME MAKEOVER from player models not just faces, to presentation and commentary adaptability, replays and halftime reports, a real deep and immersive Dynasty mode, deep and immersive Create a Player not just My Player but Create a Player in Dynasty mode (College 2K hoops commentators said my full name at one point in the series, where is that technology now in the NBA 2K series?), Olympic games and teams not in a mode only but also into the deep and immersive Dynasty mode and so on. It�s been over 13 years?!!?? I cannot stress that enough, two generations of consoles, remember Dreamcast you can still see glimpses of it when you play 2K today.

I hear the talks about the greatest athletes are never satisfied with just dominating the stat sheet. They want to win and win some more, they want championships, hardware, best records; they want their legendary performances of winning to reside in the minds of their viewers, fans and family members and the world over. How did Magic Johnson and Larry Bird save the NBA? They REVOLUTIONIZED the game by not being satisfied with just dominating, they wanted to win and did whatever it took to win. The great Michael Jordan revolutionized the game by winning. Shaq revolutionized the Center position with his dominance and winning, Kobe Bryant is not satisfied until he gets championship rings. The greatest players want to win. If 2K wants to be the greatest If Live wants to be the greatest, legendary, one of them is going to have to push the revolutionary button. If they don�t then it must be they have reached their ceiling and might have shown signs of it years ago.

When you resort to taking things out of a game several years before and then implementing it in the new build and guising it as a �new feature� then that is a sign of weakness. When so many years go by and fans of the game suffer a boring All Star weekend in Association mode in which I can�t remember the last time I actually played an all Star game because like I said before I don�t even play full 82 game seasons, and I skip rounds in the playoffs, plus I fall asleep sometimes while playing 2K after about a month or so into the game, but then you finally decide to unleash a full All Star weekend with dunk contest? But wait there�s more! It is not even incorporated into Dynasty mode? It�s a DLC. Even if they need permission to get the model of the new All Star jersey models at release and the arena in Houston and all that, what does that have to do with putting it in there now; it will just be what it is, the Orlando arena and last year�s All Star jersey models.

So much to say and so little time, but like I said, I believe there are signs that they have reached their ceiling and there is more practice of word and manipulation play then there is application. I don�t know what goes on behind closed doors in these places but I don�t care all I know is we are heading into the year 2013 and I have not seen a revolutionary basketball simulation video game yet. That last wow factor hasn�t happened since Dreamcast 2k Sports NFL and NBA series arrived. That was worthy of a wow back in those days, compared to what we had before it. I hope it is a matter of buying time until Next Gen Consoles hit the market, then it is that 2K and competitors really have a ceiling and running out of ideas. Unfortunately for now we will have to wait and see.