The Rise and Fall of 2K Sports - wsu_gb23's Blog

wsu_gb23's Blog

The Rise and Fall of 2K Sports

Posted on March 2, 2009 at 04:10 PM.

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On 9-9-99 the Sega Dreamcast videogame system was released. With it came the new sports-brand, 2K Sports. Games such as NFL 2K and NBA 2K were instant hits. Even after the Dreamcast went extinct, the 2K Sports brand continued to grow and flourish on the XBOX and PS2. 2K Sports left the XBOX and PS2 era with their greatest hit, NFL 2K5. 2K Sports was thriving.

As the new-generation of gaming consoles hit the market, I and other gamers alike, could only imagine what 2K could do with the new technology found in the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3. Unforunately, NFL 2K6 never came to be after the NFL and EA Sports announced an exclusive deal for football videogames. But, getting beyond that, 2K Sports still had the ability to produce NBA and MLB games.

The NBA 2K series is still the number-one seller for basketball videogames and MLB 2K still sells games thanks to an exclusive third-party licensing. But, as of late, it seems as though 2K Sports is resting on their laurels and not producing top-notch games as they are capable of. If you look at the NBA 2K series, the gameplay is still superb, but I feel as though they have not added anything in terms of graphics and presentation in the last 4 years.

The same can be said with the MLB 2K franchise. They made a great effort in terms of stunning graphics with MLB 2K7, but could not improve upon that effort in the last two years. MLB 2K9 has improved presentation-wise, but after playing the PS3 demo, it still plays the same tired game of baseball I am used to from 2K.

2K Sports had so much potential, but seems as though they have cut back on their efforts and not pushed forward into becoming a serious competitor to EA Sports. I have been a 2K fan since their inception, but have lost all hope and faith in them as a sports-game developer. It is my hope that 2K Sports steps it up immensely with their next round of sports-games (2K10) or is bought out by a serious developer that is eager to capitilize on the 2K Sports name and bring it back to the glory days from the turn of the new-millenium.

Comments

# 1 Da_Czar @ Mar 2

In general I agree. i am definitely feel they are sitting on their laurels, However I thought nba 2k9 did a great job in the presentation department. Good read.

If they don't step up next year it might be a wrap for them. EA means business right now. Look at fifa and nhl

# 2 spaceg0st @ Mar 2

The MLB 2k team need to broaden their demographic. Obviously, they've tried to make baseball sim-like games but it just ISN'T WORKING. They should not concentrate so much towards competing with THE SHOW, and focus more on Casual Baseball FUN. MLB POWERPROS was a huge success for the ps2 and wii because it was a simplified version of baseball. If they would simply incorporate that into their current engine and games, it would be awesome. For example, something as simple enough as incorporating a hitting reticle similar to that in MLB POWERPROS. Or at least having an option of turning one on or off. ALL MLB THE SHOW would have to do is bring in some sort of option for a hitting reticle and they would be then appealing to the ENTIRE BASEBALL MARKET, the hardcore sim addicts and the arcade fans. BUT they haven't done anything like that yet. So MLB 2k games need to concentrate more on fun, and leave the hardcore sim stuff to THE SHOW, because they are way ahead of the game

# 3 DubTrey1 @ Mar 2

Great read man. I have to agree as well. At some level, 2K has missed more than they have hit overall. Don't get me wrong, I think for the most part the NBA franchise has been superb, but it seems other titles are the stepchildren and are behind the number one title in terms of developers in house. I also think they need to stop the "marketing" competition with EA for back of the box gimmick features like cards or whatever and stick to making the game itself tighter. I think that is what they did with the NBA series and it seemed to have been a good blueprint for them (although this years title seemed to be a bit off overall) - plus now, EA is throwing the "sim" word around in all of the blogs and are going for details, little things etc. Something that the folks developing MLB the Show have been doing for a while now. They (the MLB Show guys) have a great formula for success:
1. get the gameplay as tight as possible first
2. produce stat engine that is as sim as possible
3. produce graphics that are on par with majority of next gen titles
4. sweat the details

Rinse - repeat. I mean, all of the abover are there and they just keep tweaking them to produce the best results. Combine that with effort and feedback, they have produced a title that tons of fans of the sport can embrace. I hope 2K finds the way back and shines again.

# 4 Woodcutta @ Mar 2

Ok, before we go beating MLB 2k9 to death how about actually waiting for it to hit shelves and I don't know...wait for the patch(es) to be downloaded and tested by the gamers. There are a lot of features that the NEW developers have added that I already like after playing the demo but there are still issues. If these can be worked out with sliders or another patch then 2k9 will be on par with The Show. If they add Rule 5 Draft, Arbitration, expanded rosters in September, and the 40-man roster then it will have surpassed The Show. The Show "looks" nice and that is all I hear fans of that game spouting. I'd rather have a game that played well and 2k9 should do that again this year.

# 5 BlyGilmore @ Mar 3

sorry, but I reject the "wait for a patch to fix the game" theory. IMO patches are a crutch and they shouldn't be - folks pay good money for these games and should be able to expect a good, finished product when they buy it. Not spend the money and then wait for something to get fixed.