NHL 2K10 News Post

Is it Time to Stick a Fork in the NHL 2K Series?

11:00 AM - December 18, 2009 by RoyalBoyle78

Pasta Padre has done some extensive research, it looks like the NHL 2K series is dead. He posted an update, right here. A few other sites have also chimed in with their thoughts. What say you?

Quote:


	"Ever since Take Two decided to shut down College Hoops due to the lack of sales potential vs development costs the next game that appeared to be in danger was the NHL 2K series. Sales have been dropping to miniscule levels as EA Sports NHL has grown and dominated the market. While it has been clear that resources have been limited with NHL 2K there have been no official statements made as to the future of the franchise. However now there is an indication that NHL 2K11 may not be in development. In the Q4 fiscal report from Take Two on Thursday the games planned for the next fiscal year were laid out. Noticeably absent from the list is the mention of NHL 2K11."

Is the End Near for the NHL 2K Series? (First Cuts)

Quote:


	"I reached out for comment, and received this note back from Brian Roundy with 2K Sports: 2K has the following comment: �We are currently in the process of evaluating our sports portfolio and have not announced any new NHL titles at this time."

2K Sports benching NHL series? (Gamespot)

Quote:


	"Dropping the NHL series would make some sense for Take-Two. 2K's games have been a distant second to EA's efforts this generation, both critically and commercially. And while the recent Wii edition of NHL 2K10 was warmly received by critics and vigorously supported with TV advertising, that hasn't significantly boosted sales over last year's edition. With the publisher's stated focus on AAA game development, a middling licensed franchise with a limited potential audience up against tough competition every year might be a tempting target for cost-cutting."

NHL 2K11 likely canceled, 2K Sports in trouble? (Destructoid)

Quote:


	"This is not an entirely shocking prospect for 2K Sports, whose NHL 2K games have been badly outsold in the past two years by EA Sports� celebrated hockey titles. Competition in the simulation sports genre is very tough, to be sure: NHL 2K9 and 2K10 weren�t bad games, by most accounts, but it just so happened that NHL 09 and NHL 10 were better. If it turns out that this is, indeed, the end of NHL 2K, then I�m sad for all the folks at developer Visual Concepts who may soon be out of work."

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Member Comments

# 41 videobastard @ 12/20/09 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcgudely


	They're not being picked apart by EA. They're being picked apart by 2K's own terrible management.

Its a combination of both. EA has definately helped make 2K games dissapear sooner then later. In regards to hockey EA put in analog controls, secured gary thorne for presentation, had better graphics, had better features and online stability. Some people even calling it the MLB the show of hockey. It was a no win situation for 2k regardless.

# 42 CaptainZombie @ 12/20/09 04:13 PM

I'm not a fan of hockey, but do enjoy hockey games in general. I didn't buy any this year, but this is bad news for many reasons stated here by others. I dislike one company making sports games.........there is no competition.

The list just keeps getting short for 2KSports:

-NFL2K5 - due to NFL deal.
-APF2K8 - a shame this wasn't made into a every other year release.
-Don King Prizefighter Boxing - yet another game with potential if it were released every other year.
-CH2K8 - (didn't really play it), met its death due to low sales.

Going to be next:
-MLB2K series - I know 2K9 was an improvement, but boy was it still lacking in many areas.

One thing that hurts 2K imo besides gameplay issues in some of their sports games, they tried too hard to innovate with control schemes that have caused some complaints. I also dislike their horrible menus in their sports games......NBA2K10 was actually a first year where they were decent, but could have been better.

Where will this leave Top Spin and The Bigs?

# 43 buzzguy @ 12/20/09 04:56 PM

Sad to read. I was a big 2K hockey fan from the DC days, up until 2K5. 2K4 and 2K5 are 2 of my favorite hockey sims around!
The magic just seemed to disappear when the new console generation kicked-off, and the games really haven't been as captivating as before.
Hopefully EA keeps pumping-out decent hockey sims, cuz you never know what a lack of competition can do (ie. Madden).

# 44 kerosene31 @ 12/20/09 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by videobastard


	Its a combination of both. EA has definately helped make 2K games dissapear sooner then later. In regards to hockey EA put in analog controls, secured gary thorne for presentation, had better graphics, had better features and online stability. Some people even calling it the MLB the show of hockey. It was a no win situation for 2k regardless.

I don't agree. While it would (will) take 2k a long time to take over the top hockey game, there's a niche market there who wants something different.

While I am a fan of NHL10 overall, the way EA sports makes games can sometimes be too "sterile". It is hard to describe exactly. Alternate sports games like 2k hockey are a refreshing break from EA, especially offline.

While NHL 10 gets all the critical acclaim (some deserved), just look at the NHL 10 forum here and people totally frustrated by the game.

I literally smashed a controller in anger (not kidding) at NHL 10 when your CPU teammates do something horrible.

I don't want to turn this into a 1 vs other thread (seems kind of pointless), but my point is there are some of us who have room for a 2nd hockey game that offers something different and refreshing. Hockey season is very long, and there is more than enough room for 2 games.

2k killed themselves with their lack or interaction with the community. We got an update anytime one of the NHL dev team members had to use the bathroom, while nobody had any clue what kind of game 2k was making.

# 45 spit_bubble @ 12/20/09 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koshi


	Bring back College Hoops!

Or better yet, bring back All Pro Football. If Backbreaker can do full customization, so can APF.

# 46 videobastard @ 12/20/09 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerosene31


	I don't agree. While it would (will) take 2k a long time to take over the top hockey game, there's a niche market there who wants something different.

Thats not the point i was making. Im stating that EA helped put the nail in the coffin. Regardless of what 2K did or did not do EA did with their product. If your competitor continues to improve and take away sales while you decline it just makes it a quicker death.

# 47 psymin1 @ 12/20/09 09:01 PM

Whatever the turnout, if NHL 2K11 is dead, that is terrible news for every hockey sports game fan. Take a look at Madden 06 as an example of that. Without competition, EA can drop the ball but we will all still buy the product because there is no alternative. Competition breeds better video games, and that's a fact that will hurt all of us.

# 48 psymin1 @ 12/20/09 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cusefan


	I dont buy all of this Competition breeds quality as far as NHL is concerned. Unlike Football, people will not go out and buy a NHL game because of the updated rosters, there has to be real improvment to get customers to keep on buying.

Where the heck are you getting that information? What makes hockey gamers different than football gamers (who can be the same person such as myself)? I buy the games each year, regardless of which sport it is. I don't make EA/2K prove to me that they've done more/less to their hockey games to update them then to their football games. That statement just seems ridiculous and based on absolutely nothing.

# 49 psymin1 @ 12/20/09 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metallicatz


	The "competition" argument is a double-edged sword. Having competition in "The Show" certainly hasn't pushed its MLB2K series in the right direction. Their NHL2K product has also been in decline even with competition. Madden had no competition this year, and yet they turned out a game that many fans and critics have called the best pro football game ever made. Look at the Tony Hawk franchise, competition hasn't helped them. Having competition has not been proven to push quality with the involved parties. People using this argument are still stuck in the last gen football wars.......ancient history at this point.

You're implying that Major League Baseball 2K7, 2K8, and 2K9 have not gotten progressively better? They are nowhere near as good as MLB: The Show, but to say they haven't improved is crazy.

NHL 2K10 has improved TEN FOLD over 2K9, so that argument is blown. In some opinions, 2K10 is even better than 2K8, which I would agree with. So this is another product that is on the rise with competition.

And it only took Madden 5 years to get good again once they lost their competition! If that's the mindset you want to use, let me know when NHL 15 comes out, and I am all in.

I am just surprised that people are trying to argue against the fact that competition breeds better games in the sports genre. It is such an obvious fact if you look at what's out there.

# 50 MizzouRah @ 12/20/09 09:36 PM

I hope it's not true. I agree with most, no competition is not a good thing.

I'm going to pick NHL 2k10 back up again because if it is the last installment, I want to have it for a change of pace.

# 51 robcoop @ 12/20/09 10:59 PM

Wow. NHL 2K10 is NOT a bad game. I get plenty out of fun and drama out of playing it: http://tinyurl.com/ygadk4s

I've played a season with the NHL 09 installment. It has it's own good and bad list, but I don't get all the criticism of the NHL 2K series and can't see the validity of dumping it.

# 52 plaidchuck @ 12/20/09 11:09 PM

Honestly I enjoyed the game and felt it had a lot to offer in regards to offensive AI, strategies, and puck physics (not so much defensive AI tho), but I just can't forgive em for no PS3 patch.

# 53 PVarck31 @ 12/21/09 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcxiv


	I wouldnt mind if they dropped hockey and focused on a football game. Football is where you can make some money if you do it right. VC is the best football guys in the game if they made a complete package of the game.

I seriously doubt that's going to happen.

I would like to see another company jump in the sports arena. I know Ubisoft has been rumored to be interested in making sports games.

# 54 RavenWire @ 12/21/09 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metallicatz


	The "competition" argument is a double-edged sword. Having competition in "The Show" certainly hasn't pushed its MLB2K series in the right direction. Their NHL2K product has also been in decline even with competition. Madden had no competition this year, and yet they turned out a game that many fans and critics have called the best pro football game ever made. Look at the Tony Hawk franchise, competition hasn't helped them. Having competition has not been proven to push quality with the involved parties. People using this argument are still stuck in the last gen football wars.......ancient history at this point.

Many fans have called Madden 10 the best football game ever made? Its a glitch fest. You can't have a competitive game score wise without the computer cheating to compensate. You finally think you have a good balance in gameplay after playing around with the sliders, but the you get a final score in the 50's or 60's. Its just not fun at all. Madden is getting worse year on year, the sales are apparently showing that. Do you know any other football game that you can block the kick off? Or control the opposition defense online? Suction blocking is rife, superman 70-rated linebackers are everywhere and they can't even implement sideline catch animations properly. There are plenty more issues in that game but I'm not going to spend all day typing

As has been said on here, competition breeds excellence. NBA games - better every year, NHL games better every year, NFL games - getting worse year on year. Its evident that NHL 2K is important to the progress of NHL games as a whole. I hope NHL 2K continues, was very disappointed with no demo (had to compare 2K9 to NHL 10)

# 55 RavenWire @ 12/22/09 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metallicatz


	Or maybe you just flat out suck at Madden? The Steelers came back against the Packers yesterday and the Saints almost came back against Dallas....I guess the "comeback logic" was running rampant huh? Hate to break it to you, but teams come back late in games all the time in real life. Ratchet up the difficulty and you won't have scores in the "50's and 60's". I've played something like 10 franchise seasons on All-Madden......never seen a "blocked kickoff". But hey, keep over-stating the glitches and ruining the games for yourself with your bias. You're only cheating yourself. The sales argument is weak in a down economy.....especially regarding a yearly sports game. You see any sports games putting up COD-like sales numbers? Nope. You see any sports games breaking sales records of any kind? Nope. I believe quality games are a result of a sound company philosophy and a talented development team. Competition didn't save the Tony Hawk series. Competition didn't save the Medal of Honor series. Competition couldn't even generate a half decent product in Prizefighter. Competition didn't stop the NHL2K series from moving backward this year. Competition won't save MLB2K.....which is getting its clock cleaned by The Show in a huge way on every level. If you have companies that want to make great games, then you will get great games. It's not an accident that the quality of EA Sports games started doing a 180 once Peter Moore took over. And let's not try an act like the concept of competition is exclusive to sports games. All games in all genres are competing for a shrinking pool of disposable income dollars. It's EA's job to get you to buy NHL10 instead of Assassin's Creed II. It's Take Two's job to get you to buy DLC for GTAIV instead of Braid or Shadow Complex on XBLA. The industry is shrinking, not booming. That's where the real incentive is coming from.

Always the excuse - because people are happy with mediocrity they have to bash anyone who slates their fave game. And as far as overstating? Well, seeing a D-Lineman suction blocked from 4-5 yards away is definetely not an exaggeration. I've had a pass picked off when the CPU CB put his hands THROUGH my WR. Blocked kickoffs do happen online, Its not happened to me but I have heard about it and seen videos. The best one has to be a vid I saw, where someone subbed an entire O-Line for Kickers, punters and QB's to test something (he also changed the rosters slightly, hence why players may seem out of place) - I saw Haynesworth PANCAKED by one of these guys, and they held off Peppers with ease. And you are telling me this game is good? Seriously, take off the rose tinted glasses.

And as far as my playing standard goes, I have gone all the way up to the max skills allowed, the hardest possible gameplay, and I still walked most of the games. There is a difference between having a tough game, and having BS like the above affecting the outcome

It wouldn't be so big a deal if this was the first attempt, but they've been making this game for 20 years - it just isn't good enough. Whatever the reason, EA have beeen shortchanging the fans with a sub-standard product. Like you said, its EA's job to get you to buy games - so why buy a game that isn't what its supposed to be? Your arguement with regards to the poor economy is weak - FPS games will appeal to a wider audience all over the world. NFL, NHL are only big in certain areas, so they will never put up sales like COD. Games like FIFA, Pro Evolution Soccer will sell more because soccer is a world renouned game.

It still baffles me how people can be happy with products like Madden - if we presented something like that in our workplace, we would get an earful from our bosses

# 56 RavenWire @ 12/22/09 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metallicatz


	Or maybe you just flat out suck at Madden? The Steelers came back against the Packers yesterday and the Saints almost came back against Dallas....I guess the "comeback logic" was running rampant huh? Hate to break it to you, but teams come back late in games all the time in real life. Ratchet up the difficulty and you won't have scores in the "50's and 60's". I've played something like 10 franchise seasons on All-Madden......never seen a "blocked kickoff". But hey, keep over-stating the glitches and ruining the games for yourself with your bias. You're only cheating yourself. The sales argument is weak in a down economy.....especially regarding a yearly sports game. You see any sports games putting up COD-like sales numbers? Nope. You see any sports games breaking sales records of any kind? Nope. I believe quality games are a result of a sound company philosophy and a talented development team. Competition didn't save the Tony Hawk series. Competition didn't save the Medal of Honor series. Competition couldn't even generate a half decent product in Prizefighter. Competition didn't stop the NHL2K series from moving backward this year. Competition won't save MLB2K.....which is getting its clock cleaned by The Show in a huge way on every level. If you have companies that want to make great games, then you will get great games. It's not an accident that the quality of EA Sports games started doing a 180 once Peter Moore took over. And let's not try an act like the concept of competition is exclusive to sports games. All games in all genres are competing for a shrinking pool of disposable income dollars. It's EA's job to get you to buy NHL10 instead of Assassin's Creed II. It's Take Two's job to get you to buy DLC for GTAIV instead of Braid or Shadow Complex on XBLA. The industry is shrinking, not booming. That's where the real incentive is coming from.

# 57 kerosene31 @ 12/22/09 10:18 AM

I think it is pretty clear that EA spends a lot more time and effort on Fifa and NHL (not sure about NBA but it seems competition has helped there too).

Fifa was a pretty poor game overall last gen, and NHL was pretty much a joke. Now, they are some of the most highly regarded games in the industry. I'm an admitted "EA *****", but what they've done with these games is nothing short of amazing.

For me, games like Madden and 2k baseball have not made nearly the strides forward. Those games are in the "buy every other year" category (if that).

# 58 Basebrooklyn @ 12/22/09 03:24 PM

I hope mlb 2k is next.

# 59 Jamin23 @ 12/22/09 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Basebrooklyn


	I hope mlb 2k is next.

I hope not. It would leave no baseball game for 360 owners, plus there are only two years left on the license.

# 60 Jamin23 @ 12/22/09 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcxiv


	Gotta love when people dont think about what they are really saying. lol

Haha yeah. It just wouldn't make sense. It may not be the best, but at least it's a baseball game and the only one on 360.

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