Is there room to do more with the sport of basketball in video games? - poloelite's Blog

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poloelite's Blog

Is there room to do more with the sport of basketball in video games?

Posted on November 5, 2013 at 01:20 PM.

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I have fond memories of waiting for a new simulation basketball title to come out every year since I was gifted Bull vs. Lakers by my mother. Nothing satisfied this young basketball fan more than being able to recreate the actual NBA in my living room with real teams and logos.

But at some point in 1993, I was introduced to NBA Jam. The only way I can describe the conundrum that went on in my mind is to compare it to another childhood passion of mine, wrestling. I attended many of the wrestling events in the 80�s and early 90�s at the classic Richfield Coliseum and met wrestlers up close. But it didn�t stop me from having the over the top, cartoon super hero images of these guys and their athletic feats. So, when I saw Dominique Wilkins take off in the air 20 feet high while doing a 1080 plus, it was real and unreal at the same time.

I went home from the arcade that day and played Bulls vs. Blazers, still in love with my current simulation experience of the game. But I knew that I had to get back to the arcade ASAP to play the over the top version of my beloved sport, because now I loved both replications of basketball.

Which brings me to my point, is there room to do more with the sport of basketball in video games? We�ve seen a recent version of NBA Jam and even games like NBA Street and NBA Ballers take their turn at expanding beyond the simulation titles of 2K and Live and have success. But as we continue to evolve as a sports gaming community, I think there is a new frontier to explore.

2K11 reintroduced NBA legends to the simulation landscape and 2K12 proceeded to build a stellar mode around them and doubled down with an even better DLC package (cel-shading excluded). NBA Live (and now 2K14) took a chance and brought Olympic and European basketball to the current generation as well. I think there could be a huge opportunity in the DLC market and maybe even an arcade game in the PS Store and Xbox Live, for NBA Legends, the WNBA, Euro basketball and Olympic basketball.

While I think these offerings deserve a simulation experience of their own, I�m not sure the market today would support it. But if you take these entities and add a new flair and flavor to them, a WNBA game could be enjoyable.

Imagine a NBA Jam style game that features the top 20-30 female players of today, mixed with some of the female legends of the past. I know that won�t excite everyone, but if you add a new presentation style and modes like HORSE, Around The World, Skills Challenges and a well thought out story mode, you may have something. You could even possibly combine two of the aforementioned leagues together in an offering to ensure a broader audience.

I for one would definitely pay for an authentic Olympic add on to the simulation game if it�s offered every 4 years. I would also have no issue supporting a game centered solely on NBA Legends, if it�s an authentic and different experience. Best of all, I hope to see �My Career� represented as its own game one day in the future when the mode expands and can offer an even more detailed NBA career simulation (see my next blog post soon, lol).

In conclusion, I think there is a lot more that can be done to either expand what�s offered in our current basketball titles on the market, or even introduce new games that deliver a brand new experience. Instead of the old way of thinking that suggests a league must become extremely popular to deserve a game, I think leagues like the WNBA could benefit greatly by having a genre pushing title on shelves that brings new fans to the game. I think it could be a chance worth taking.