100°

NBA 2K11’s Cover: An Attempt to Win Back Fans?

Eric Galaviz of Spawnkill.com Writes:

"There’s no doubting the fact that NBA 2K10 was a financial success last year, and for the most part was also a critical success. But what a lot of gamers found out about 2K10 right when they started playing the game was that it was full of technical problems. Was this expected? To some, yes. 2K Sports hasn’t had the greatest track record when it comes to polish and online play, but even the NBA 2K vets were shocked at how buggy the game was. So when the new cover was announced it got me thinking, was this just a way to make the game stand-out on the store shelves, or was this 2K’s way of saying “Hey, we’re sorry for last year, we have Jordon now and he’s cool right? This year is going to be totally different I promise. Isn’t Jordon awesome?” and then still give us a buggy game?"

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K-Tuck5029d ago

If you follow a series long enough, it becomes easy to be burned by one of the games.

Actually, sometimes you don't even have to follow the series very long before that happens.

blitz06235029d ago

well it certainly has won me back.

Bubble Buddy5029d ago

The guy spelled "Jordan" wrong...

Blaze9295029d ago

ROFL "Jordon" - epic fail. Reminds me of power ranger's Zordon.

dwightmccarthy5029d ago

Very true, though you don't expect to be burned by a leading sports franchise since they can simply put out the same shit every year with a roster update if what they want to take a year off.

DaReapa5029d ago (Edited 5029d ago )

I agree with the author's point and was thinking the same thing once I first heard about the Jordan cover. I did feel that it was an attempt to maintain strong sales following what could arguably be their worst two outings of the series in 2K9 and 2K10. 2K has been touting alot about overhauls and refinements. But I must say that this will be the first year of which I won't purchase an NBA 2K game on day one - or any day for that matter, unless 2K presents something more than just a glorified Jordan cover.

Dellis5029d ago

Win back fans???, this has been THE BEST NBA gaming since DREAMCAST, it has been the #1 rate/selling for decades now.

The Jordan situation is more of a thank you to the fans, who have supported the series and have always asked for MJ to be in the game, now he is along side historic teams.

theherp805029d ago

I think people have been asking to see Jordon in a game ever since he left the players association even before there was an 2K game. I think I wouldnt be alone when i say the fans would love having working Online Play more than they would want Jordon in a game.

cb4g5029d ago

It was a stuttering mess every time I tried it to play online. However, I've always felt that multiplayer for sports games were best played in the lounge room with a couple of friends. It's always fun to trash talk your best mate while having a couple of beers together.

At the same time, if you browse through the user-created content, such as players and teams, an astounding amount contain Michael Jordan, the Bulls or players from that era. So, it makes sense for 2K to give players what they want.

drdre745029d ago

Well I saw a online video interview and 2K said they are out sourcing the online mode this year to someone else to try and get it right. Online is still broken to this day. Out of 10 tries I may get 2 games to play then you have the butt wholes that wait until 10 secs on the clock see they are about to loose and pull the plug on the game.

John_McGuirk5029d ago

I see Jordan Spelled Jordon twice so far...wtf?

Show all comments (26)
knight6265076d ago

Only game iam waiting for is for mafia 2 nothing else intrest me well only Metal gear solid peace walkers but ill get that soon

Conloles5076d ago

Mafia 2 lol all 2K get money from is GTA style games and Nba 2K.

MightyMark4275076d ago

The only game I'm waiting for is Mafia II

killyourfm5076d ago

O_O - Not interested in XCOM?

Syaz15076d ago

nice. waiting to see what mafia 2 and spec ops the line has too offer. not into rts games, so civ 5 not for me, and not too familiar with x-com series.

AliTheBrit195076d ago

I think 2K are probably the best Publisher.

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30°

Fury vs Stress Relief: How Video Games Rile Me Up But Keep Me Sane

“Violent video games cause children to be violent.” It’s a headline every gamer rolls their eyes at, and one we’re very sick of hearing. It seems every time a game with a mature rating comes out, there’s someone leading the charge against it because of it’s supposed to have an effect on developing minds. First and foremost, if a game has a mature rating, than anyone playing the game who is not 17 most likely got it through their parents. So blame them, not the game. Pictures from the recent Halo 4 release show a great deal of middle school students showing off their battle pose with an assault rifle. Take a guess who drove them there. But the point of this article isn’t to bash parents who buy games for their kids, nor is this about the rating system. It’s about an interesting anomaly regarding how people react to the games they play. I don’t know how many others see it this way, but games involving no violence end up being the most aggravating, while games that are all about mindless violence are an excellent medium for stress relief. From HalfBeard's HUD.

Rob Hornecker4182d ago (Edited 4182d ago )

Interesting story,But if the author gets worked up over a
NBA or driving game I could only wonder what he would be like if he was playing a CoD or a battlefield game!?!

If there is one thing that I have learned in my 30 plus years of gaming is :" Video games don't kill people,People play video games to keep from killing people"!!!

I have not found a better,Leagle form of stress relief than video games! As far as what games kids play,that should be up to the parents and the parents shouldn't use video games as a baby sitter.

90°

An S&S Perspective: Is Buying a Sports Game Annually Smart?

Sports games have gotten pretty good lately, but there was a time when every year you had games that only made minor improvements, but we still went out and dropped the 65$ on it. Am I at fault for dropping the cash and letting the developers get away with a glorified roster update, or is it OK because I'm a hardcore NBA and NFL fan?

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shortandsweetreviews.co
ninjabake4240d ago

Short answer:no

Long answer: If they add enough to the game where its not identical to last years iteration and adds must have features to the games that make it more in depth (I.e. NBA 2K13, MLB 12 The Show, NHL 13) then absolutely. If its almost rinse and repeat and has a barrage of new features that almost get overshadowed by what was taken out from previous iterations then no.

spektical4240d ago

in most cases no.

However there are games that provide tons of new content yearly (besides team updates , obviously). Mlb the show, nhl and to a lesser extent nba2k13 are prime examples

TheShow174240d ago

I agree with you guys. NHL and The Show switch it up every year, which is solid. Madden goes back and forth between offense and defense orientation.

The problem is that it's difficult to change the video game when the actual game remains stagnant. Football is football, what can EA change in the gameplay? The thing that really annoys me, is the same bad commentary year after year. COD gets a lot of crap for being the same game YoY, but at least it's an upgrade and different levels. I buy Madden every year, and literally the commentary hasn't changed in three years!

ninjabake4240d ago (Edited 4240d ago )

Madden is a whole nother beast. They simply don't capture the essence of the NFL the way their very own studio captures college ball in NCAA Football. Madden added some nice things this year but to me its overshadowed by what they took out of franchise mode, still no halftime show and still no post game show. Overall Madden just doesn't create that illusion or immersion the way NHL, The Show or NBA 2K does.

When you play those other games sometimes you can mistake it for a real life broadcast and others unfamiliar with gaming watching you play could easily make that mistake of thinking its real at first glance as well.

With Madden they just refuse to fully commit to replicating a broadcast and that'd be OK if we had an alternate NFL, or heck any football, game. But we don't and Madden 13 still is not up to par with NFL 2K5, an 8 year old LAST gen game smh.

Edit: when it comes to the commentary they have improved it this year but as always the play-by-play Guy (Jim nantz) gets repetitive and dull especially after a few years into connected career mode and he's still rambling on about the 2012 season storylines. I think the issue with the commentary is it isn't dynamic and is shortsighted and the script is a little stale as you'll still here Nantz spout similar lines as past commentators.

Finding a way to add dynamic commentary in sports games could be huge next gen.

donscrillinger4239d ago

i didnt read the Article but Hell NO!! its not SMART ,its lazy and Stops Innovations