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NBA 2K11 News Post

Operation Sports got a chance to talk with Mike Wang and NBA 2K producer Erick Boenisch about why Mike is returning to the NBA 2K franchise, why he left EA and what this all means for NBA 2K11.

Quote:
OS: "Did you return to 2K early enough to get involved in the grand scheme of things for NBA 2K11? In other words, are you fully involved with this development process and the "big ideas" that are going into the game this year, or is next year going to be your first "full" year working on the series again?"

Mike: "One of the wonderful things about this company, its tools, workflows and processes is that everything is very efficient, and it is just easy to get things done. So yes, everything that I wanted to work on this year has been incorporated into the plan. The interesting thing is, when I first spoke with Rob Jones [gameplay director for NBA 2K] about coming back, many of the things that I wanted to do were already in the works. Rob and I have always seen eye to eye on what makes a great basketball game, so we were able to get back into the groove of things very quickly. It was very refreshing to talk about the state of the current basketball games and start bouncing ideas off of each other again -- just like old times. And with the addition of Zach and Jerson, the College Hoops 2K gameplay producers, I could not have hoped for a stronger gameplay design/production team to work with. Personally, it did take me a couple weeks to get up to speed on all the new tools and features that the guys have been working on the last couple years, but now we are firing on all cylinders, and we are creating a title in NBA 2K11 that I know hoops fans are going to love."

Read More: Mike Wang Leaves EA, Heads Back To 2K Sports for NBA 2K11

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Member Comments
# 21 robinsnestkc @ 02/02/10 01:44 PM
I have been a LIVE fan since 95. Though they have had some horrible titles. I got into 2K on the Dream Cast also. I didn't by a Basket ball game between 2003-2007. In '07 and '08 I was with 2k. '09 Live. I think I too am a Mike groupie. 2k11 for me. LIVE you are the biggest idiots God ever created you let go someone who is a leader in the industry.
 
# 22 2kjunkie @ 02/02/10 01:54 PM
I am happy that Mike is back with 2K but I still can't get over the fact that he is a flip flopper but ohh well I guess that's life.

Bring on 2K11
 
# 23 HiTEqMETHOD @ 02/02/10 02:20 PM
mike returning to 2k was something I pretty much expected ever since I heard he was joining EA. EA just has too much of a corporate attitude toward how they make their games.
 
# 24 BroMontana82 @ 02/02/10 04:03 PM
this is good for 2k but it was also good for 2k fans for him to go to live for a year. live's competitive offering this year made 2k raise its game too. if the series becomes complacent again because live starts to go downhill, i will not be happy.
 
# 25 youvalss @ 02/02/10 04:56 PM
I don't care much about what he has to say about 2K just like I don't care about what he said about EA. It all depends what company he works for. 2 years from now he may go to who knows where and say 2K was this and that and so on... I don't know why the media keeps asking him about this or that company, it's really pointless.
 
# 26 thmst30 @ 02/02/10 05:03 PM
NBA Live series is in SERIOUS SERIOUS trouble. Outsold this year by their largest margin ever, and now the most sim NBA developer around has left saying he doesn't agree with NBA Live's direction. I really wish I could have been a fly on the wall in those meetings to hear what was so bad that it dove Mike Wang away after just ~1 year. Hopefully he can fix 2K's problems now.
 
# 27 Joka2122 @ 02/02/10 05:17 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by thmst30
NBA Live series is in SERIOUS SERIOUS trouble. Outsold this year by their largest margin ever, and now the most sim NBA developer around has left saying he doesn't agree with NBA Live's direction. I really wish I could have been a fly on the wall in those meetings to hear what was so bad that it dove Mike Wang away after just ~1 year. Hopefully he can fix 2K's problems now.
He's good but not that great. All in all, it is good news Wang is part of the 2k team now. I guess he can officially be called a man W***E.
 
# 28 youvalss @ 02/02/10 05:17 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by thmst30
NBA Live series is in SERIOUS SERIOUS trouble. Outsold this year by their largest margin ever, and now the most sim NBA developer around has left saying he doesn't agree with NBA Live's direction. I really wish I could have been a fly on the wall in those meetings to hear what was so bad that it dove Mike Wang away after just ~1 year. Hopefully he can fix 2K's problems now.
There you go...

 
# 29 thmst30 @ 02/02/10 05:28 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joka2122
He's good but not that great. All in all, it is good news Wang is part of the 2k team now. I guess he can officially be called a man W***E.
I'm not saying they're in trouble because Wang is gone. I'm saying that because sales were terrible this year, and the guy who is known as being the biggest sim developer completely disagrees with how Live is being produced. That doesn't exactly spell success.
 
# 30 TreyIM2 @ 02/02/10 05:50 PM
I am truly upset at this news. I couldn't stomach another NBA2K and Live FINALLY came out decently enough to grab my money ONLY this year. I truly hope the Wang influence is enough to carry Live 11 through but based on what MW has said about the direction of Live 11, I have serious enough reason to doubt that EA is doing the right thing with Live 11.
 
# 31 jyoung @ 02/02/10 08:08 PM
Only a matter of time now before the Live series goes the way of MVP Baseball and NCAA Basketball.
 
# 32 carnalnirvana @ 02/02/10 08:27 PM
well like mike said he is an on the court guy hopefully it shows next season and we get spot on control
 
# 33 carnalnirvana @ 02/02/10 08:43 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Court_vision
If he can implement LIVE's control + play sets and play calling...it's game over anyway. There'd be no point buying anything other than 2K11.

Long term it seems there won't be any competition...hopefully the 2K guys are driven enough to put out a good game every season even though there's no competition.
like i said before after seeing what ea has done with madden and fifa i wont bet against them. they will regain the sales numbers in 2 yrs, sales does not mean good product for them

by that point i like you will be playing something else because for ea with high sales sim gameplay goes out the door a la fifa

however i think live 11 will be a good game
 
# 34 CX1329 @ 02/02/10 09:21 PM
I don't understand the FIFA bashing. It's the closest to a soccer/football sim we can get right now, given that the PES series has gone arcade. PES10 isn't as horrendously arcadish as the ping pong fest that was PES 2009, but it was still not up to the standards PES 5 and 6 had set. FIFA, on the other hand, plays a realistic game of soccer/football if you don't look for exploits.

But that's beside the point. Like CV, I might not be buying Live 11 this year, depending on the quality of the demos, especially if Mike Wang does something about the horrid controls found in 2K10. I hate the controls in 2K10, and by hate, I mean it. It doesn't completely ruin the experience for me, but I often find myself unable to have as much fun with the game as some people here because of the downright awful isomotion.

Another thing that NEEDS to be addressed is the speed at which the defense rotates and recovers. It continues to spoil the game just as much as it did in 2K9, and 2K tried to make up for it by giving us stupid jumpshots that are too quick, difficult to learn, and unrealistic. Trying to run a perimeter based offense is like a ballet of stupid in 2K10.

Live 10 got both of these things right, and if Wang could just take that experience and use it to fix the issues for 2K11, then that would make 2K11 the ultimate basketball simulation.
 
# 35 RayAllen20 @ 02/02/10 09:37 PM
Bring defense, ballhandling, and momentum Beluba!!! Great news though!
 
# 36 JkA3 @ 02/02/10 10:13 PM
If I were Mike Wang I'd make the same move. It's pretty clear which game holds supreme.
 
# 37 cinders @ 02/02/10 11:39 PM
hope to get some of live's playcalling. Only thing that needs updating imo.
 
# 38 Gotmadskillzson @ 02/02/10 11:46 PM
We all so pumped for a game that isn't coming out for another 8 months. 2K can only go up from here. EA however is at a cross road. Will they keep the current engine or just scrap it and start all over again.
 
# 39 Dantecamp21 @ 02/02/10 11:58 PM
I'm not taking sides on this one, although I can't see how 2K11 development won't benefit from adding what is perceived (and rightfully so) as the best b-ball gameplay designer around.

But Bryan Wiedey from Pastapadre.com gave us a interesting point of view about the situation on his site. Basically, he said that the EA Canada structure hasn't prevented the NHL and FIFA series from being both stellar games. Today, these 2 franchises (together with MLB The Show) are the standard by which excellence is measured in every sports game.

He also said that it would be unwise by EA Sports to went the arcade way with its supposed "serious" basketball product once you realize all the buzz that NBA Jam has been generating. We know it's only a Wii game, but many believe the game will eventually be available as a DLC on both Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network. Remember, the Madden Arcade downloadable game uses the Madden Wii engine.

At the same, he believes Live 11 will be a make or break year for the franchise, as everybody around here (including me).

I think there are some solid facts backing his points and it makes us wonder what truly happened on this whole Mike Wang fiasco.
 
# 40 Parasight @ 02/03/10 12:40 AM
If only the 2K team could steal the EA Sports Online Team, so we could finally have the game work online (especially Crews). But I guess that's a pipedream.

Really happy about Mike coming back though. It sounds like NBA Live is heading in a more casual-friendly direction as opposed to the sim experience, in attempts to get better sale figures.
 


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