Forum Discussion
NBA Live is dead, 2K made a game and kept investing in new installments EA did not want to spend money to improve their game to compete with 2K. EA pulled the plug on the title as 2K just kept widening the gap.
Madden.. 2K started to make a MUCH better game in the ps2 Era. You could make your crib, face celebrities, mini games, franchise was pretty deep. First person camera mode.. game informer at the time had an article that asked whether or not 2K was gonna leave Madden in the dust.. EA bought the license as they had no interest in competition and it was easier to buy exclusive rights than make a better game. To this day I think 2K on ps2 is a better football Sim than madden on ps5.
Fifa.. PSE was their only competition, I don't really follow either game or play them. I've heard both were decent games but EA had the licenses bought and so PSE despite many saying it had somewhat better gameplay kinda fell out. I've heard EA actually invests in this game and makes most of their money on it. Maybe it's because they actually had competition too.
Their racing games are almost all outclassed by other titles.
NHL there is no competition, so no money is being put into developing the game. They put out a title people buy it (albeit I believe less people every year) but if they put almost nothing into the game and still get a return it must be good business. I'm sure there are people crunching numbers that beleive not investing in the game will yield more profit. Maybe they're right. Personally I would think if they invested in a few more programmers maybe more than 3 things can be added over the course of a year, I'm not sure how many programmers they currently have but it is shocking how few things can be added AND broken... maybe something as big as sticklifts wouldn't be broken for an entire year. I get not updating the game to focus on the next.. but sticklifts being broken for a year is pretty unacceptable. I think 1 patch could have been added. The only way this game improves is if the people crunching the numbers thinks that investing in the game will yield more profit. We all know the only way that happens. Unless 2K or someone comes along and makes a game then this series is just gonna float with little to no improvements, bugs that have plagued the game will stay because there is 0 reason to fix it if people are gonna buy anyway. I'd love to make the argument that maybe more people would buy if the game was improved but who knows, probably not worth it to them to spend a few hundred thousand to find out.
@rsandersr47FIFA/Soccer is the worlds most popular sport with it able to reach all areas. Especially in Europe and South America. So knowing they can reach a bigger audience is why they have invested so much and it pays off.
- rsandersr472 years agoSeasoned Ace@KlariskraysNHL right! However, it's also the fact that they invest in it, if they didnt PSE would have taken over the market. If they invested in NHL I think we would see the game being a lot more popular. I didn't suggest it would rival FIFA. It wouldn't be close.. but I personally think they would get the money back and more for investing. Even a lot of streamers who make their money making content are fed up at this point.
- KlariskraysNHL2 years agoHero+
@rsandersr47Well the NHL license can be had by anyone. I believe 2K when they changed their hockey game are the ones that put themselves out of the market losing too much of a share. Even if NHL was at its peak it would sell around 2mil copies.
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, with an estimated following of 3.5 to 5 billion fans.
They estimate ice hockey around 2 billion fans.
FIFA sells over 10mil copies a year and it's not all that great of a game from year to year improvements.
Even in the state that NHL is in it should be selling around 3mil if we going by numbers, but it is nowhere close.
So EA has to invest in FIFA to control that market from competition with exclusive deals like crazy.
NHL doesn't do that exclusive stuff so until competition arises there isn't a need from a business standpoint imo to splurge.
2K put the NBA Live series out to pasture. They tried to comeback with NBA Live again but it was a case of wasted money cause you aren't gonna topple a giant. Now 2K is back to coasting in the fans eyes. You can see all the lovely posts https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA2k/
All of this just my opinions on how I see things. - bruanor092 years agoSeasoned Veteran@KlariskraysNHL at the same time, it cannot be denied that hockey ratings are falling. fifa and the NBA capture most of the audience. hockey is a sport that is difficult to watch, in few countries it is popular for children and adults. Popularity forecasts are not encouraging.
The NHL remains a niche game for fans. - bruanor092 years agoSeasoned Veteran
let's add an entry threshold to this high one. It is difficult and incomprehensible for beginners. I started playing a few years ago, it's really a challenge.
to start playing in the NHL, you have to really want to
- rsandersr472 years agoSeasoned Ace
@KlariskraysNHLI agree with almost everything you wrote and that's what I'm saying.
The only thing I don't completely agree with is that 2K is coasting. In some ways they are, sure. However, the game adds SO much every year. I won't say it's always what people want. Every year they do TRY to listen to fans and make changes. This year a lot of people complained about the pointless side quests, 2K24 is making those optional. In NHL we still have to open up hockey bags despite asking EVERY year for them to be removed. Now we can open up multiple.. of course they have to be the same type of bag. NBA every year they make a WHOLE city. They make a whole new story, how you get drafted, a rival, voice acting for all of this, They make a WHOLE NEW my player builder. For years we just picked an archetype.. now we can sorta edit the archetypes and we get X Factors.. judging by most people I run into the Xfactors need adjusted. In NBA you can make your player however you want, you make him better through playing.
Now I'm not asking for a whole city.. In fact I sorta hate traversing the thing. However, there are ways to make the game feel deeper and grow the community. NBA may be more popular that the NHL but the growth of video game sales vs NHL has been much more steep than the sport's rise in popularity.I'm also not asking for a full story every year.. but BAP story is boring. And talking to your teamate and him challenging you to do better despite being the best player in the league is silly. They dont even make a new story or.. really even a story at all and they dont have voice actors. I wouldnt even mind the story being the same if it was semi intriguing. Having a rival in 2K actually makes the game pretty fun.
If I was running this franchise I wouldn't even really hide the fact that I'm taking ideas from 2k.. I would have a BAP mode built into WoC. I would allow players to build their skater, I would have stores in the game (not that you need to walk to) instead of hockey bags. I would have a spectator mode.. this would allow players to see drop in games or club games to invite people to join your club or ask to join there's.
The truth is in 2K there's an atmosphere and you feel you're part of a community without even trying. In NHL you have to go out of your way to get that. I HATE the NBA, basketball is boring to me. The game is so good that I've played it FAR more than NHL this year. I don't plan to buy NHL this year unless a lot is added.. or maybe when it goes on sale. I mean if they took a full year off of updating this last title they better have added a lot. Adding 3 things per year just isn't enough, especially when they're broken/ half added/ just a small rather insignificant animation/ or a roster update (world juniors/ female players) I just think if 2K players complain about coasting and they get a new city. My player builder, full cross play, new ways to play ever year they had slamball one year! several new animations (they're actually going to use AI to create player movements in game) then what do we call this? I mean when we add a few things while breaking others.. I just can't honestly beleive they care at all. If this game doesn't come with a lot, I think we should all get the message. There's no excuse this year, they didnt have time to make any corrections this year. If they start promoting this game and say "we have full cross play, updated presentation, and a new deke, plus one update to just 1 of the big modes" it will be clear to me they just want a couple bucks. - 2 years ago
Stick lifts aren't in a good spot...have to turn slashing off during offline play ebcause its so nonsensical that its comedic. sitck lifts...plays that happen 1000+ times a game irl are needing to be used only whe the absolute PERFECT time exists...meanwhile the players are playing a mach 4 with 200+ mph shots and passes but sticklifts need to opnly be used when the exact .1 second window calls for it haha.....
why cant they just miss when the positioning is close? i get penalites from behind but penalities when theres a clear lane to the stick is experience killing...we all know the limitations of the stick play in this game...and the body play...so defenders can just never lose their gaps and over collapse/be over passive...or need to spritn around like an overcaffinated scott stevens to play "intended" defense in this game?
i mean...why? surely we can do better right? how is this the accepted solution? its spiritually/practically broken even if its "technically" "working"
- rsandersr472 years agoSeasoned Ace@Limp_KidzKit This is what I'm saying! We give players better puck control for a better experience, fine. We give players much better shooting accuracy for a better experience, fine. However we force people to use a PERFECT stick lift.. and worse, that's intended.. yikes.
- bruanor092 years agoSeasoned Veteran@rsandersr47 and PERFECT position for interception... and any RS up for CLOSE QUARTERS