NBA 2K11 News Post

NBA 2K11 Lead Gameplay Designer, Mike Wang Interview

06:53 AM - February 2, 2010 by Steve_OS

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."

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Member Comments

# 41 B-Wills @ 02/03/10 01:59 AM

calling it now, 2k11 will be a classic.

# 42 23 @ 02/03/10 02:29 AM

Boy you went out on a limb there didn't ya?

# 43 joel0078 @ 02/03/10 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dantecamp21


	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.

Not for nothing, but you need to take everything pastapadre reports on regarding any non EA product, with a grain of salt. The guys got great information on his site, and frankly its my go to site when I'm looking for new info on a new sports game, but pastas always shown a strong favoritism to ea games (especially live), over any other competitor. It's his choice and I'm not knocking it.

In any event, people have been saying for the last 2-3 years that the next live will be a "make or break" for the franchise. Let's get over this already. Live is a good game, depending on what you style you like. But the sales number don't lie, 2K dominates in sales and this move will only ensure that for years to come. 2K is the industry leader in this genre and probably will be for some time.

Who cares why Wang is back, or what happened behind closed doors. He's back with 2k and that's what matters. For me, I'm about done with Live. The fact Mike came back to 2K speaks volumes about the game designers of Live, as well as EA in general. This is a perfect example of typical EA attitude. They hyped their game up pre release (as usual), then fell off the face of the planet 3 weeks after release, when problems arose. They let go of the best NBA gameplay designer on the market, because they felt they wanted to go in a direction that was different from his ideas? Good decision fellas. You will most certainly continue to fall behind in sales now.

I'm glad Mike's back and can't wait for 2k11. Welcome back Mike!

# 44 mrclutch @ 02/03/10 03:26 AM

I just hope Mike can improve the control scheme for 2k like he has Live over the last couple years. If he can do that we may have a winner.

# 45 Dantecamp21 @ 02/03/10 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joel0078


	Not for nothing, but you need to take everything pastapadre reports on regarding any non EA product, with a grain of salt. The guys got great information on his site, and frankly its my go to site when I'm looking for new info on a new sports game, but pastas always shown a strong favoritism to ea games (especially live), over any other competitor. It's his choice and I'm not knocking it. In any event, people have been saying for the last 2-3 years that the next live will be a "make or break" for the franchise. Let's get over this already. Live is a good game, depending on what you style you like. But the sales number don't lie, 2K dominates in sales and this move will only ensure that for years to come. 2K is the industry leader in this genre and probably will be for some time. Who cares why Wang is back, or what happened behind closed doors. He's back with 2k and that's what matters. For me, I'm about done with Live. The fact Mike came back to 2K speaks volumes about the game designers of Live, as well as EA in general. This is a perfect example of typical EA attitude. They hyped their game up pre release (as usual), then fell off the face of the planet 3 weeks after release, when problems arose. They let go of the best NBA gameplay designer on the market, because they felt they wanted to go in a direction that was different from his ideas? Good decision fellas. You will most certainly continue to fall behind in sales now. I'm glad Mike's back and can't wait for 2k11. Welcome back Mike!

I think your arguments are valid and I respect them. I also know that Brian has been regarded as an EA homer, although I don't necessarily agree with that assumption.

The "make or break" thing surrounding Live this year is different from year's past due to the state of the economy. We used to have 5 "sim" basketball games on the market (2K, Live, the Sony series and both college games) and now it might have come down to just 2, assuming NCAA Basketball 10 was the last dance for the series.

It's undeniable that 2K Sports reigns supreme on the basketball department. The whole point of my post was: why EA Canada can't reproduce the success of FIFA and NHL with NBA Live? It's head-scratching to imagine that those games are able to succeed with the supposed poor management provided from the guys upstairs.

I've been very careful when approaching this matter because Mike is a great guy, but I believe he could've handled this in a different manner. His comments were devastating to the Live franchise, a series that has already lost the benefit of the doubt for many around here.

I'm sure that with Mike back on board, NBA 2K11 will be an outstanding game. My concern is that at this point, even if NBA Live 11 turns out be a great game, it'll probably perform poorly sales-wise.

EA has dug this hole for themselves in the first place, but this final blow only speaks volume about what Mike represents for the genre. I bet everyone around here would at least give the Sony series a shot if SCE San Diego announced that he would be the leading man behind NBA 11 The Inside. Wasn't exactly that what happened with Live 10?

Well, the main point is: everyone of us will loose when it comes to 2011 and we only have NBA 2K12 on store shelves. Just look at Madden.

# 46 edubbs @ 02/03/10 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrclutch


	I just hope Mike can improve the control scheme for 2k like he has Live over the last couple years. If he can do that we may have a winner.

I agree.

This is one of the major keys for 2k11.

Live's controls are soo good that I doubt the 2k series will ever be as good on these consoles. However, if they could just close the gap in control quality it would be a HUGE plus.

With 2k9 and 2k10, I don't know if the controls actually got that much worse, or I've just become spoiled by the controls in the other game.

In any case, there is no excuse for NBA2K to be soo unpredictable control wise.

Even signature shots 'feel' weird and less responsive this year. Hopefully, ALOT more control is given back to the user this year.

# 47 BrianFifaFan @ 02/03/10 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edubbs


	I agree. This is one of the major keys for 2k11. Live's controls are soo good that I doubt the 2k series will ever be as good on these consoles. However, if they could just close the gap in control quality it would be a HUGE plus. With 2k9 and 2k10, I don't know if the controls actually got that much worse, or I've just become spoiled by the controls in the other game. In any case, there is no excuse for NBA2K to be soo unpredictable control wise. Even signature shots 'feel' weird and less responsive this year. Hopefully, ALOT more control is given back to the user this year.

If we could get back 2k7's framerate and have at least of variation of NBA Live's controls for 2k11, I would be totally sold. It would be nice for Mike to have a hand in refining 2k's gameplay a bit more. I'm sure he could help with the responsiveness of the players.

# 48 youvalss @ 02/03/10 05:04 PM

With all this fuss, I think 2K should add a HUGE text on the front side of the box, saying "MIKE WANG IS BACK!!!" (just like NBA Live 2000's cover, saying Jordan is back!...or something like that).

# 49 CX1329 @ 02/03/10 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by youvalss


	With all this fuss, I think 2K should add a HUGE text on the front side of the box, saying "MIKE WANG IS BACK!!!" (just like NBA Live 2000's cover, saying Jordan is back!...or something like that).

Nobody even knows who Mike Wang is, apart from us hardcore sim gamers. The general public would be left scratching their heads and going "uhh, who's this Mike Wang dude and what is he doing in 2K11?".

# 50 youvalss @ 02/03/10 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CX1329


	Nobody even knows who Mike Wang is, apart from us hardcore sim gamers. The general public would be left scratching their heads and going "uhh, who's this Mike Wang dude and what is he doing in 2K11?".

Yeah, but that's good marketing:

- "Hey, look, Mike Wang is back!"
- "WHO????"
- "I don't know but he's back!!! I'm buying this game!"

# 51 CaptainZombie @ 02/03/10 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianFifaFan


	If we could get back 2k7's framerate and have at least of variation of NBA Live's controls for 2k11, I would be totally sold. It would be nice for Mike to have a hand in refining 2k's gameplay a bit more. I'm sure he could help with the responsiveness of the players.

If we had Live's controls and graphical crispness with the best of NBA2K has to offer, it would be heaven. As old as the 2K engine is, I think they might have a hard time getting smooth controls until they build a new engine. Who knows if VC wants to even do that now and just play it safe till next gen hardware comes along.

# 52 BrianFifaFan @ 02/03/10 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biohazard


	If we had Live's controls and graphical crispness with the best of NBA2K has to offer, it would be heaven. As old as the 2K engine is, I think they might have a hard time getting smooth controls until they build a new engine. Who knows if VC wants to even do that now and just play it safe till next gen hardware comes along.

I think VC is gonna have a hard time with stable games till they ditch the VIP. It's a good idea, but it's another process running in the background, and it seems to be more trouble than it's worth. My two gripes that lead me to Live are the framerate and controls. What's funny is, 2k7 had both in spades. Figure out how to recapture that magic of 2k7, while not getting rid of the signature stuff that sets the game apart, and it's not anywhere near a contest. Hopefully that's what they don't want to talk about yet. And, in the meantime, get the darn PC patch out for 2k10! I'll buy it!

# 53 elprez98 @ 02/07/10 10:48 PM

This seems to me like corporate espionage. But I'm a conspiracy nut.

# 54 23 @ 02/08/10 12:30 AM

lol its videogames man

# 55 elprez98 @ 02/08/10 12:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 23


	lol its videogames man

So he "leaves" 2k for a year and is back after he found out everything he could about Live. I'm not mad at 2k. I thought I'd be good with 2k10 for about 2 years but probably not.

# 56 23 @ 02/08/10 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elprez98


	So he "leaves" 2k for a year and is back after he found out everything he could about Live. I'm not mad at 2k. I thought I'd be good with 2k10 for about 2 years but probably not.

So he's playing games now taking his family to canada just to see what EA is doing, in the meantime 2k is outselling them for another year??

That makes no sense at all man.

# 57 elprez98 @ 02/08/10 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 23


	So he's playing games now taking his family to canada just to see what EA is doing, in the meantime 2k is outselling them for another year?? That makes no sense at all man.

Sheesh, I kid dude.

# 58 23 @ 02/08/10 01:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elprez98


	Sheesh, I kid dude.

# 59 PEDROtheQUICK30 @ 06/06/10 05:43 AM

I can't wait to see how 2k11 is gonna be this coming year!

# 60 eDotd @ 06/06/10 09:03 AM

Man you bumped this thread at 4 in the morning to say that, I thought this was new..lol.

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