OS Weekly Wrap Up, Getting You Caught Up on Sports Gaming News (Feb. 9 - Feb. 15, 2020)

Authenticity in sports games is something that’s loved here at Operation Sports. I imagine that love goes beyond Operation Sports because authentic touches are something universal. They are part of the experience of going to a stadium, playing a sport and having a favorite team. If you make a simulation sports video game, I imagine one of the pillars of that is focusing on authenticity. This is why something small like the MLB The Show 20 stadium advertisements being updated to be more authentic are a small but cool touch.

I will be the first to admit I don’t understand the obsession with NBA shoes. However, I will also be the first to admit that the Shoe Vault thread on our NBA 2K forums is always one of the most popular threads for every single NBA 2K game. This year has been no different as we recently surpassed 1,100 posts in the thread.

Since the MLB The Show livestream schedule was revealed, one of the most discussed points relates to the these vague words: “rebrand your team in Franchise Mode.” In the sub-header of this specific livestream, the explanation was that “franchise lets you change team name, location and logos.”

OS forum user Vanilla_Gorilla is generally helpful with his feedback and criticisms when it comes to Madden. He’s one of these people who gives a “how to fix” along with the criticism itself, which i think is the best general practice for how to make criticism useful and not toxic. Plus, it’s always a good way to make an effective Madden 21 wishlist of sorts.

We’re still waiting on news for EA Sports UFC 4. In fact, the most recent news we have is of a developer leaving the EA UFC team. So it’s fair to say we’re starved for some game details. With that in mind, there’s a fresh thread on OS where user foe87 is asking what people think is the best EA UFC game so far. He asks about 1, 2 and 3 since he hasn’t played a UFC game since UFC Undisputed.

It’s been years since franchise mode has received any major additions, and while the under-the-hood improvements may continue to be lacking, having full minor league rosters on day one is going to be huge, especially for those outside the Operation Sports ecosystem. In addition to a rebrand feature with some modicum of relocation to it, let’s get to all the highlights from the Road to the Show and franchise mode streams.

… So, we thought it would be fitting to celebrate the impact Kobe has also had on basketball video games. Kobe’s reach was so overwhelming that it almost feels silly to talk about Kobe Bryant the video game character, but I think Kobe would be proud to know that he was a legend even in video games. The Virtual Mamba was an assassin on the court, on the level of the greatest virtual athletes the fake world has ever seen. It goes without saying that his virtual self was a baller too.

From NBA Courtside to NBA 2K and everything in between, here is a brief history of Kobe Bryant in video games.