MLB 2K13 News Post

MLB 2K13 Initial Reviews Quite Negative

02:15 PM - March 14, 2013 by RaychelSnr

When Major League Baseball 2K13 was announced in January, the usual questions popped up about the game's ability to produce an experience that would be worth a $60 purchase to gamers.

Thus far, fan response has been rather chilly to the new game, as have gaming critics' reviews. In the build up leading to the release of the game, we were not given many details about what was coming, just a vague fact sheet leading up to release which contained features that were already in the franchise. Worse yet, Online Leagues were removed from the game with no announcement from 2K Sports.

Currently, MLB 2K13 is scoring an average of 48 on Metacritic, with our review similarly harsh on the game.

My Press Row Podcast Co-Host Mike Suzek had this to say in his review on Joystiq in summation of the game: "It's as much a shame on 2K Sports for releasing this game as it is for the MLB to carelessly stamp its name on it. Whether it was sheer apathy or contractual licensing obligations that caused MLB 2K13 to exist in this state, it certainly wasn't a love for baseball, sports games, or its fans."

Our own Dustin Toms concluded, "MLB 2K13 is not a bad game by any means, but rather this is more about the principle of the matter. When a company charges $60 for a game with little improvements over a release a year earlier, something has gone terribly wrong. Attaching a $60 price tag to this game is nonsense."

This, of course, leaves important questions to be answered as we move through this year's sports gaming release season. Will 2K Sports be releasing a game next year or will we find out that another company such as EA Sports has plans to develop baseball games to take MLB 2K's place?

Game: Major League Baseball 2K13Reader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 14 - View All

Major League Baseball 2K13 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 mkharsh33 @ 03/14/13 02:37 PM

It's very understandable... I purchased it. I see some nice things, but also much of the old. I feel like I wasted $60 bucks, as it was nothing more than a patched version of 12. Simply not worth the money. It has some good to it, but in the end I'm liking what we've done with 2K12 (360) to edit the players for smoother gameplay. As someone who has invested a LOT of time into roster & slider creating for 2K games since 2K10, I can honestly say I enjoy 2K12 more than all of them. 13 had potential, but I don't really care about small tweaks and slightly better coloring. If you like 12, just stay with it (or any prior version). 2K should have just walked away after last year...

# 2 scottyo60 @ 03/14/13 02:57 PM

Random thought and I'd like honest opinions from higher ups on here. 2k12 got a 7... Shouldn't a game with the SAME features and better tweaked get a better review? Take the online leagues out and make it a 6.5. I'm not sure how a 4 came out of the same game.

If what the company does is apart of the review then EA should never have a game over 6... Coming from a guy who has put hundreds of hours into NCAA and Madden.

# 3 SteelersFan09 @ 03/14/13 03:04 PM

Be smart 360 baseball fans. No need to buy 2K13. Just go out and buy 2K12(which cost less than $20) and get the updated roster on 2K Share. The game is fun(not perfect) and it doesn't cost over $60.

# 4 malky @ 03/14/13 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerseySuave4


	these game companies wonder why people get so pissed year to year and why their products don't sell better... people don't like paying $60 for roster updates. Too many games these days don't play well out of the box and require patches, too many games remove features people love, fail to evolve features and give minimal updates and expect people to be excited about shelling out $60 for mediocre games. MLB 2k, NCAA Football, NBA Live. Make real improvements and put out a quality game like NBA 2k & MLB the Show do and people will be more than happy to shell out the $60 because the games will be worth it.

Awesome you nailed it dude!

# 5 Money99 @ 03/14/13 03:36 PM

I'm still holding out hope that 2K makes a baseball game next year.
I know it's highly unlikely, but I really like their brand of baseball over any other that I've played in the past decade.

If 2K makes a next-gen ball game, I'll more than likely buy a next-gen console.

# 6 Cardot @ 03/14/13 03:44 PM

While I would have liked the series to take a different path, I not am sure why anyone would be upset or even disappointed in this years version. It is exactly what most people said it would be the day it was announced, a roster update/patch of 2K13. I didn't even see 2K make an attempt to suggest anything to the contrary.

The $60 price tag is way too high for me, but I can't say I was offended. It made it an easy to call to stick with 2K12, and I wish them well with the Million Dollar challenge crew.

# 7 crumpled_heap @ 03/14/13 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteelersFan09


	Be smart 360 baseball fans. No need to buy 2K13. Just go out and buy 2K12(which cost less than $20) and get the updated roster on 2K Share. The game is fun(not perfect) and it doesn't cost over $60.

No, 2k12 is still $39.99. I was just at best buy yesterday so I know this for a fact.

# 8 Money99 @ 03/14/13 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by footballfan41


	NFL & MLB should open it up and let the Best COMPANY win...who ever makes the best game we buy and play....(SIMPLE) And all the Flaming we did/do to EA for being the only Football game, 2K13 is the only baseball game on the 360,. So why would they do much to improve it........Madden & 2K13 games should show everyone why it's good for gamersl to have more then ONE Sport game to pick from,.& to think i did not buy last years to get this years.. Let me ask if 2K was making the NFL games, what would it be LIKE?????????? JUNK also...

Seeing as how 2K lost a tonne of money during that agreement (blame is on both sides), I would hope that MLB learned it's lessen and will go with a non-inclusive license this time around.

I'm also betting on EA and the NFL to renew their deal too.
I think the NFL is still ticked at 2K for undervaluing their brand when they sold 2K4 for $19.99.
It worked though as 2K5 sold extremely well and is still considered one of the best football games ever produced.

# 9 ManiacMatt1782 @ 03/14/13 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gilgamesh348


	No, 2k12 is still $39.99. I was just at best buy yesterday so I know this for a fact.

Yup they jacked the price back up because 2k12 still has online leagues.

# 10 RaychelSnr @ 03/14/13 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottyo60


	Random thought and I'd like honest opinions from higher ups on here. 2k12 got a 7... Shouldn't a game with the SAME features and better tweaked get a better review? Take the online leagues out and make it a 6.5. I'm not sure how a 4 came out of the same game. If what the company does is apart of the review then EA should never have a game over 6... Coming from a guy who has put hundreds of hours into NCAA and Madden.

A review is based upon the value a game brings. If a game offers essentially the same experience as the year prior but at a significantly higher price, you can't give that game a solid recommendation. Games on here and elsewhere, are reviewed based upon what they do that's both new and good. Take into account MLB 2K13 doesn't offer online leagues, which is now a staple of our genre, is a 'patched' version of the last edition, and still has the same bugs as the series' prior games -- it's hard to find a reason to give a game a high score just on those factors alone. Just some thoughts, I didn't personally review the game but I do have final say in everything we put out -- but after playing 2K13 I had no problem with our score which indicates a below average experience on our scale (remember we don't grade games based on their letter grades, so a 4 is more akin to a D type of score in most outlets).

# 11 bigfnjoe96 @ 03/14/13 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMChrisS


	A review is based upon the value a game brings. If a game offers essentially the same experience as the year prior but at a significantly higher price, you can't give that game a solid recommendation. Games on here and elsewhere, are reviewed based upon what they do that's both new and good. Take into account MLB 2K13 doesn't offer online leagues, which is now a staple of our genre, is a 'patched' version of the last edition, and still has the same bugs as the series' prior games -- it's hard to find a reason to give a game a high score just on those factors alone. Just some thoughts, I didn't personally review the game but I do have final say in everything we put out -- but after playing 2K13 I had no problem with our score which indicates a below average experience on our scale (remember we don't grade games based on their letter grades, so a 4 is more akin to a D type of score in most outlets).

Chris I said this in the actual OS Review thread & I'll say again, with everything we knew about 2k13 & I mean everything we knew about it, 2k13 should have gotten an incomplete grade with an explanation why.

We all know this game was never slated to see the light of day, yet we are killing the game because 2k was basically forced to put this game out by the MLB because MLB didn't want the XBOX to be without an updated game.

Yes it's inexcusable to remove Online Leagues & 2k should be banged for it, but is it fair to kill this game for being what it is knowing the circumstances of how this game was made

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

# 12 scottyo60 @ 03/14/13 05:46 PM

Thanks for the reply Chris. I feel like this may be the one year a number can't justify via review of a game. Why I say that is this...

You have the same game with updated rosters, colors, and fixes. So the game, despite the legacy issues is actually better? Yes a mode was removed that shouldn't have been. Never played 12 to give this more thought. Yet I agree fully on the practice of it and understand the review. I also understand the articles against it, but it would almost seem justifiable to make the review incomplete/do not buy, and then do articles like this justifying how no score can be provided? Simply I'm not sure a situation has been like this in gaming. I'm guessing this is why IGN didn't review it.

# 13 RaychelSnr @ 03/14/13 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottyo60


	Thanks for the reply Chris. I feel like this may be the one year a number can't justify via review of a game. Why I say that is this... You have the same game with updated rosters, colors, and fixes. So the game, despite the legacy issues is actually better? Yes a mode was removed that shouldn't have been. Never played 12 to give this more thought. Yet I agree fully on the practice of it and understand the review. I also understand the articles against it, but it would almost seem justifiable to make the review incomplete/do not buy, and then do articles like this justifying how no score can be provided? Simply I'm not sure a situation has been like this in gaming. I'm guessing this is why IGN didn't review it.

By not reviewing the game or by making an exception, you give a company which chose the easy way out a pass. As a sports gaming site, we're here to hold companies' feet to the fire on issues such as this as much as possible, be it EA, Take Two, Activision, etc. When a company releases nothing more than a patched version of the previous years game and charges full price -- there's no reason you can give that game a good score. We don't make special exceptions because sooner or later, there will be more and more because that's just how things work. Instead we prefer to keep things on an even playing field and give each game the same chance to prove it's worth the price tag it's shipping at. Nothing more and nothing less.

# 14 SteelersFan09 @ 03/14/13 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gilgamesh348


	No, 2k12 is still $39.99. I was just at best buy yesterday so I know this for a fact.

Yes it is $40 dollars at Best Buy but who would buy it there? Go to Gamestop and buy it used for $17.99. Or go on Ebay or Amazon and also buy it for under $20. Actually Amazon has it right no for about $15 dollars.

# 15 jhendricks316 @ 03/14/13 07:22 PM

I am still enjoying 2K12.

# 16 inkcil @ 03/14/13 07:32 PM

No analogy will please everyone but here goes anyway...if a student turns a paper in to me in September and gets a C+, then turns around in May and gives me the same paper with nothing changed but the date and the title, they will receive an F. You CAN'T seriously want better games AND be willing to give 2K a review that scores the game at or near the previous year's effort. it just "ridiculousness." 2k knew the situation from the jump, their lawyers can read just like the MLB's lawyers can read. They knew all along what they had contractually agreed to produce in terms of no games...it was no surprise to them that they had to put out a 2K13, so any talk about their "short development cycle" is just babble-blah. It's like the kid who says "I only had a week to do this paper!" Then the parent asks, "When did you first find out about the assignment?" Then the kid says, "A month ago." Yeah...

# 17 bigfnjoe96 @ 03/14/13 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by inkcil


	No analogy will please everyone but here goes anyway...if a student turns a paper in to me in September and gets a C+, then turns around in May and gives me the same paper with nothing changed but the date and the title, they will receive an F. You CAN'T seriously want better games AND be willing to give 2K a review that scores the game at or near the previous year's effort. it just "ridiculousness." 2k knew the situation from the jump, their lawyers can read just like the MLB's lawyers can read. They knew all along what they had contractually agreed to produce in terms of no games...it was no surprise to them that they had to put out a 2K13, so any talk about their "short development cycle" is just babble-blah. It's like the kid who says "I only had a week to do this paper!" Then the parent asks, "When did you first find out about the assignment?" Then the kid says, "A month ago." Yeah...

Your wrong... They had no obligation to put out a game as their license agreement with MLB ended after they produced 2K12 and were not gonna release MLB 2K13.

Buy yeah let's just keep pilling on 2K because you know "It's the thing to do"

# 18 bigfnjoe96 @ 03/14/13 08:11 PM

Straight from the review by Owen Good from Kotaku...

Quote:


	Major League Baseball itself also deserves blame for MLB 2K13, and not just for buck-stops-here reasons because its name is on the box. Take-Two Interactive may have signed an outrageously priced contract back in 2005, but baseball had absolutely no long-term vision for the license either, despite clear signals sent years ago that it would have no dancing partner on the Xbox 360 under any normal deal in 2013. This game was announced, by surprise, in January, and is plainly the product of Major League Baseball reckoning with the embarrassment of missing a year on the Xbox 360 and the fact it had zero leverage in avoiding it. The structure of Take-Two's semi-exclusive license to make MLB video games on consoles left the big leagues with no way to engage a new developer in enough time to put a simulation product on shelves this year. I suppose MLB and the MLB Players' Association could have renegotiated their arrangements with Take-Two to let in another publisher to build something�which would require modeling hundreds of players' liknesses and at least six new stadiums�for release after the pact expired in 2012. That, presumably, would have required a large cash giveback to 2K Sports. Otherwise, what meaning does an exclusive license have, and why would anyone have paid so much for one, incurring losses estimated at $30 million a year.

# 19 inkcil @ 03/14/13 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigfnjoe96


	Your wrong... They had no obligation to put out a game as their license agreement with MLB ended after they produced 2K12 and were not gonna release MLB 2K13. Buy yeah let's just keep pilling on 2K because you know "It's the thing to do"

Big...,Kotaku's story furthers my point. They had plenty of time and opportunity to put out a game. I love 2k, but I'm still gonna call it like it is. How is how 2k handled the whole situation good for games or gamers? Nah, when you pull stunts like this, you're gonna get it...period.

# 20 DaveDQ @ 03/14/13 11:29 PM

I have to scratch my head and ask why this thread was even created. Is this some sort of news piece? Is it, in light of some reacting to the initial review, an attempt to justify that review by saying, "Look, it's averaging bad scores so...?"

I would like to suggest that we refer back to the Madden 06 review given by Shawn Drotar, here on OS. It was given a 5. I use that review as an example for two reasons. One, I'm pretty sure the majority would agree that the game deserved a 5, so there really wasn't much controversy. Two, the review itself thoroughly breaks down why it was given a 5.

Reviews aren't given specific numerical points "because of principle" or because "very little was changed." They are given a numerical value based on the performance of the game. Heck, since we can't help but parallel MLB 2K with The Show, the OS MLB The Show 13 review writes, "There are no sweeping changes to either the core gameplay or the individual modes. And for some, that may be a valid reason to not buy the game. Call it the 'MLB 12.5 defense'." The Show was given a 9.

But I know why The Show was given a 9. It's an excellent representation of baseball in a sports video game. In some areas, so is MLB 2K 13.

When you look at the review that was given for MLB 2K13, that review isn't for this year's version. That review shouts "4" to 2K Sports for this entire generation. It says, "You are the guys that gave us NFL 2K5..."4!"....You are the ones that made the NBA 2K series what it is today..."FOUR!" 4! 4! 4! It's the frustration of feeling like baseball was put in the hands of the sacred 2K Sports and they blew it.

That's what that and many other reviews are all about.

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