NHL 2K11 News Post

NHL 2K11, Wii Exclusive

06:51 PM - March 3, 2010 by wildthing2022000

NHL 2K11 will be a Wii exclusive, according to Kotaku.

Quote:


	"Take-Two Interactive CEO Ben Feder sheds some light on NHL 2K's absence from the company's PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 line-up, explaining that the series is on hiatus this year in order to come back stronger with NHL 2K12. An ad for bands to perform on the NHL 2K11 soundtrack gave fans of the franchise some hope that this year's installment was still in the works, and in a way it is, but only for the Nintendo Wii."

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Member Comments

# 1 Gosens6 @ 03/03/10 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CarryTheWeight


	I'm hoping for the best but not expecting much. I was largely disappointed with 2K10 to be honest...apart from Franchise and the new graphical improvements, it was the very definition of a mixed bag. So at this point I'll be going in with very low expectations. I can't see them jumping to improve much, but after playing MLB 2K10 recently, major things may come in a small time. But who knows. It seems as if 2K is not pressured to succeed in the hockey market as they are with baseball and basketball. I've said this in another thread, but what would happen if NHL 2K kept its current engine for Wii only and used its licenses and financial backing to turn Natural Motion's "IceBreaker" into NHL 2K11 or 2K12 on next gen consoles? It would take the pressure off Visual Concepts and give the series a fresh and potentially groundbreaking approach. Make it happen! Agreed, he is now a major name after his amazing Olympic performance. The NHL should promote him as much as possible. Also, if Miller on NHL 2K11 ever happened, you wouldn't find a copy in Buffalo for months. You would literally see people buy the game just for the cover, regardless of if they enjoy 2K hockey or not...that's how highly we think of athletes in this silly little town of ours...

Ha I couldn't agree more man. I think i'm the only Senators fan in Buffalo and I might be the most hated person at every Senators Vs. Sabres game..

# 2 Money99 @ 03/03/10 10:14 PM

If they're telling the truth I'm actually looking at the silver lining of this news.
Like RealmK said, if 2K can start from scratch or really come out guns blazing it'll be worth it.

But it BETTER be good. My Player better be deep and awesome. Controls, franchise, online, 2KSHL, etc. all better be in there.
And the controls have to be intuitive, smooth and fun.

But like I mentioned earlier, I'm not holding my breath that Take-Two will release another 'next gen' hockey game again.

# 3 Flyermania @ 03/03/10 11:31 PM

I think the chances are very slim that this series will see the light of day on next-gen...just look at the sales results since 2k7. Financially it is their best move to concentrate on the Wii since they have 100% market share on that system.

As far as the 360 & PS3 goes, they already have been lapped many times over by EA so taking a year off will only solidify EA's stranglehold on that market.

Too bad they chose not to market the game more...it definitely would have helped their sales.

# 4 CarryTheWeight @ 03/03/10 11:57 PM

I know, I've said this before...but I wonder if 2K taking a year off on next-gen means that Natural Motion's "IceBreaker Hockey" will essentially turn into NHL 2K12 on next-gen consoles? That's providing, of course, that 2K signs on as publisher of IceBreaker and lets Natural Motion handle the game itself.

Probably wishful thinking (again) on my part in this thread, but IceBreaker IS scheduled for a 2011 release, so anything could happen. If Backbreaker proves revolutionary for football gaming despite its inherent arcade slant, IceBreaker could do the exact same thing by providing a different approach to hockey gaming. We shall see.

# 5 savoie2006 @ 03/04/10 03:45 AM

All the gloom and doom around here. So far both EA and 2K have chosen to take a year off before this and both times it paid off. I think VC will come through personally. It's what people have wanted, so lets be optimistic and hope this pays off. I honestly don't think it will be that hard to catch up to EA if they build off 2K10 and improve it all around.

# 6 FORMULA316 @ 03/04/10 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by savoie2006


	All the gloom and doom around here. So far both EA and 2K have chosen to take a year off before this and both times it paid off. I think VC will come through personally. It's what people have wanted, so lets be optimistic and hope this pays off. I honestly don't think it will be that hard to catch up to EA if they build off 2K10 and improve it all around.

EA took a year off when the 360 initially launched. 2K kept things going
with 2K6 on both the Xbox and 360, I actually had both games that year.

I own a Wii and have rented both 2K9 and 2K10. While I can see some
improvement I find it hard to play, as the graphics literally
hurt my eyes, it's just such a blurry mess. I hope they clean this
up for 2K11, maybe even simply the player models altogether and
focus more on the controls. I'm not so sure 2K will come back to
the 360 or PS3. If next year's Wii game does really well, maybe 2K
will just stick with Nintendo's console. If it does poor, maybe 2K will
scrap hockey altogether?

# 7 Flyermania @ 03/04/10 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goh


	OR It'll make people miss having another option because as much as 2K was still running off Xbox tech NHL 11 is probably still going to be much the same as NHL 07. So when 2K comes back with something new made for this gen people might jump ship to that.

Except for the fact that the trend of sales for each game speaks otherwise. 2k's game has taken a complete nosedive since it went to next-gen. Any "fanbase" that would anticipate their return has whittled away to almost nothing, and 2k has no one to blame but themselves.

# 8 Flyermania @ 03/04/10 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by savoie2006


	All the gloom and doom around here. So far both EA and 2K have chosen to take a year off before this and both times it paid off.

When did 2k take a year off? They've had a release every year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by savoie2006


	I think VC will come through personally. It's what people have wanted, so lets be optimistic and hope this pays off. I honestly don't think it will be that hard to catch up to EA if they build off 2K10 and improve it all around.

Not hard to catch EA? I totally disagree...2k's fanbase has been deteriorating for years. Inferior releases, reoccurring bugs, and non-existent marketing has dug the grave -- and 2k themselves had the shovel.

# 9 Money99 @ 03/04/10 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flyermania


	Not hard to catch EA? I totally disagree...2k's fanbase has been deteriorating for years. Inferior releases, reoccurring bugs, and non-existent marketing has dug the grave -- and 2k themselves had the shovel.

So hard to disagree with this point.
EA's fanbase is very strong. Go into the EA forum here and you'll see lots of people who've never watched a hockey game claim NHL10 to be game of the year in their household.

EA's been able to capture the fun that NHL94 generated.

2K has a very steep uphill battle if they return to next-gen with 2K12.
But like Flyermania, I have severe doubts we'll ever see another hockey game from Take-Two on either the PS3 or 360.

It's really a shame. 2K10 was a good game. It needed some polish but much like MLB2K9, it was a strong base to build off of. Just look at MLB2K10. That could have been NHL2K11.

It seems almost impossible to believe that at one time 2K was the King of the rink. Sales, reviews, fanbase, it had EA in a corner and was pummeling it.
Then next-gen came and 2K did nothing to capitalize on it. EA comes out with Skill Stick and it's all over.
How many different control schemes did 2K have between 2K7 and 2K10? I think it was different every year. That destroys a fan base. Especially when the competition has something so intuitive and fun.

Oh well. It is what it is. I'll rent 2K11 for my kids Wii but chances are, I'll probably never own another 2K hockey game on my PS3 or 360.

# 10 TDKing @ 03/04/10 11:39 AM

RIP 2k hockey, thanks for everything EXCEPT 2k9!

# 11 savoie2006 @ 03/04/10 11:43 AM

Flyers, 2K skipped a year right before 2K3, remember. Also the reason I say it wouldn't be hard for them to catch EA is because who in their right mind after NHL2K5 thought EA would EVER be King of the Rink? Nobody and well a short three years later EA pulled a rabbit from their hat and had taken hockey gamers by suprise. Look at where 2KHockey is now and it looks very similar to the gloom that surrounded EA Hockey. Who's to say they can't pull the same rabbit out?

ALSO:If the CEO isn't writing off the series off for next gen, why is everyone else?

# 12 Money99 @ 03/04/10 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by savoie2006


	Flyers, 2K skipped a year right before 2K3, remember. Also the reason I say it wouldn't be hard for them to catch EA is because who in their right mind after NHL2K5 thought EA would EVER be King of the Rink? Nobody and well a short three years later EA pulled a rabbit from their hat and had taken hockey gamers by suprise. Look at where 2KHockey is now and it looks very similar to the gloom that surrounded EA Hockey. Who's to say they can't pull the same rabbit out? ALSO:If the CEO isn't writing off the series off for next gen, why is everyone else?

Good points savoie.
But the one Ace that EA has is money and resources. They have spades in both that allowed EA to employ two completely different teams so one could focus on last-gen while the other could use a full 24 months for a next-gen version.
I doubt Take-Two gives Shadow and the boys that kind of help.

Another thing to consider is that a lot more people were upset with EA's offerings prior to 2K taking a lead.
Right now, I would say that majority of hockey gamers really enjoy NHL10.
When 2K3 dropped, NHL2003 was a disaster. It was a sitting duck. NHL11 won't be so easy to dethrone.

# 13 Flyermania @ 03/04/10 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by savoie2006


	Flyers, 2K skipped a year right before 2K3, remember. Also the reason I say it wouldn't be hard for them to catch EA is because who in their right mind after NHL2K5 thought EA would EVER be King of the Rink? Nobody and well a short three years later EA pulled a rabbit from their hat and had taken hockey gamers by suprise. Look at where 2KHockey is now and it looks very similar to the gloom that surrounded EA Hockey. Who's to say they can't pull the same rabbit out?

It's already been said, but their overall budget and marketing tools are vastly inferior to their competition. I don't think they have the resources to pull it off.

Quote:

Originally Posted by savoie2006


	ALSO:If the CEO isn't writing off the series off for next gen, why is everyone else?

Do you really believe what he is saying? What is a year off really going to do for this series? It's still the same budget and development team that has run this series into the ground.

Of course he will say that they will be back in a year...it's not politically correct for him to say "Well, we sure sure blew it. Sorry about that --- see ya on the Wii!"

# 14 buzzguy @ 03/04/10 01:23 PM

Being a Wii and 360 owner, I have no problems with this. I'm finally going to try 2K10 on Wii next week, even after playing NHL 10 since Sept.. It looks like fun to me, and I love playing games on Wii.
BTW, there WAS an NHL 2k2, but it was only on Dreamcast. NHL 2K came out first, Sega/VC took a year off, and came back with NHL 2K2 for the Dreamcast; the very last NA Dreamcast game, actually. I miss the Dreamcast days :-(

# 15 jyoung @ 03/04/10 04:32 PM

This is a real shame for those who still love 2K hockey, but if it results in an awesome NHL 2K12, maybe the payoff will be worth the wait.

In the meantime, I'm anxious to hear whether or not Icebreaker will be coming out this year to challenge NHL 11.

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzguy


	BTW, there WAS an NHL 2k2, but it was only on Dreamcast. NHL 2K came out first, Sega/VC took a year off, and came back with NHL 2K2 for the Dreamcast; the very last NA Dreamcast game, actually. I miss the Dreamcast days :-(

Yeah those Dreamcast hockey games were very underrated.

I believe Black Box was the developer on both 2K and 2K2, and they've gone on to do great things after the NHL series.

# 16 slickdtc @ 03/04/10 05:40 PM

This is great news, in my opinion. I don't need or even want a "new" game every year. If they really are taking 2K11 off with full intentions to come back with 2K12, hats off to them. Two years to work on a game are much better than one. The problem is, can we trust their word? Will they really use the extra year to revamp (I'm assuming they're going to completely overhaul the series) the game? Is it even possible to forfeit 2011 to EA NHL and still come back ?

We'll see.

# 17 Money99 @ 03/04/10 05:47 PM

Quote:


	"We have decided to reevaluate our NHL strategy and will only be releasing NHL 2K11 for the Wii in fiscal year 2010. We want to become a stronger competitor in this category and taking a year off on PS3 and Xbox 360, while focusing on making the best possible game for Wii, should allow us to accomplish that goal."

This quote is very ambiguous.
I hate saying it, but the more I read it, the more I think it's all done.

Do we really think 2K is going to pour more money into it's next-gen development?

# 18 savoie2006 @ 03/04/10 08:30 PM

Yeah, there's no doubt that should VC come back with an NHL 2K12 for the 360/PS3, it's gonna have to be very good for the series to remain alive afterwards. A flop and they will never regain the fans.

# 19 Money99 @ 03/04/10 10:14 PM

Some good news about 2K12 on next-gen consoles:

http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/17928/39/

http://www.destructoid.com/nhl-2k11-...1-165777.phtml

Quote:


	The last two hockey games from EA Sports -- NHL 09 and NHL 10 -- well outpaced NHL 2K9 and NHL 2K10, respectively, in sales. Apparently, 2K simply doesn't feel that it can compete with EA Canada's stellar games on a one-year development cycle. Take-Two CEO Ben Feder emphasized the competitive passion of NHL 2K developer Visual Concepts, asserting that the publisher isn't conceding victory to EA forever -- in fact, they believe that with two years of development time behind NHL 2K12 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, they can best EA. "The following year [2011], we will come back a lot stronger. We have an intention to win and we're going to maximize the opportunity," Feder affirmed.

# 20 slickdtc @ 03/04/10 10:21 PM

Ah, it's good to know they fully intend to come back strong with 2K12. The initial quotes were iffy.

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