Wayback Wednesday: 10 Years of Embracing NBA 2K

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m reflecting on ten years of embracing NBA 2K, after growing up playing NBA Live.

Just in case there’s any confusion, no, this isn’t a tenth anniversary for NBA 2K. As the special edition of NBA 2K19 reminds us, the series is already twice as old as that! However, 2022 marks ten years that I’ve personally been embracing NBA 2K as a key part of my basketball gaming experience. If you’ve grown up with NBA 2K and never played NBA Live when it was the brand leader, this undoubtedly sounds strange. Why would I need to warm up to NBA 2K, and come around on embracing it? As a keen basketball gamer, shouldn’t I want to play the game that’s been on top for years?

Of course, but for an older gamer like me who grew up with NBA Live, embracing NBA 2K and its approach to sim basketball took some time. There was bias and a comfort zone to push past, not to mention availability and preferred platform. While I have my criticisms – and it’s important that we do constructively criticise any game we play, basketball or otherwise – I have grown to truly appreciate and enjoy the NBA 2K series. It’s been ten years since I’ve fully committed to embracing NBA 2K, so it feels as though some reflections are in order. Let’s take a look back…way back…

Indeed, we have to go back even further, before I even started playing NBA 2K let alone embracing it. As I mentioned, back in the 90s, NBA Live was the King of Sim on the virtual hardwood. It wasn’t the only game in town, and it wasn’t the only hoops title that was doing good things. It was the premiere brand though, the game that was the best overall product from gameplay and presentation to mode design and roster customisation. It was also the only annual release on PC, giving rise to a modding community: ours! As I recalled in my 25th Anniversary of NBA Live retrospectives, the quality and continued innovation made NBA Live a great series in its Golden Era.

These fond memories from childhood, young adulthood, and even into my early 20s, allowed me to develop an affinity for the brand. Battle lines have always been drawn over favourite brands, and video gaming is no exception. In the 90s, the Console War between Nintendo and Sega defined a generation of gamers (incidentally, I was Team Nintendo). I approached NBA Live with similar brand loyalty, to the point of being somewhat affronted that NBA 2K dared to try and take its place! Such is the mentality of fanboyism, and it’s why I push back on that way of thinking now. I have been a fanboy, and as such, I know how reductive and misplaced that blind loyalty can be.

It wasn’t just a matter of being a fanboy of course, but also being used to the way that NBA Live did things. During the series’ Golden Era, it wasn’t a bad approach, as many of its competitors bungled their Season mode, or some aspect of their gameplay mechanics. I do believe that some of the NBA 2K games did that – and certain NBA Live titles erred as well – but even the stronger points were difficult to appreciate once I was able to check out NBA 2K for myself. By that point, NBA Live had adopted right-stick dribbling, which made Isomotion in NBA 2K feel clunky in comparison. The atmosphere, presentation, and visual style, were different to what I was used to.

Even the different names for modes and ordering the teams by name rather than their location changed the vibe for me. It may sound ridiculous, but it all contributed to a sense of unfamiliarity that didn’t feel welcoming. As a staunch NBA Live gamer, the constant praise of NBA 2K baffled me, especially as it had its own issues with some sloppy animations on the sixth generation, and a control scheme that simply felt too contrived. Also, bashing NBA Live and propping up NBA 2K as being superior in every way was becoming the trendy thing to do, which felt snobby. The idea of ever embracing NBA 2K as my game of choice was simply unfathomable back then.

Another issue that stood in the way of me embracing NBA 2K was its availability in Australia. The first game in the series to be readily and widely available here was NBA 2K3, but even then it was released in March 2003, long after NBA Live 2003 came out in the region. It continued to be a later release in PAL regions, sometimes coming out as late as April! In fact, it wasn’t until NBA 2K7 that the series released around the same time worldwide, allowing international gamers to play along with the current season. As such, to me NBA 2K was the game that came out halfway through the NBA season, by which point I was already hooked on the latest NBA Live release.

My involvement in NBA Live’s modding community also kept me focused on the PC version, though I did own consoles on which I could play NBA 2K. Whenever I did pick up NBA 2K for PlayStation 2 or Xbox 360, I ended up trading it in shortly after. I was open to trying it, but I could never quite get into it. However, the end of NBA Live on PC, and the arrival of NBA 2K9 on the platform, was undeniably a turning point. The NBA 2K9 demo indicated how my PC was getting old, and though I still struggled to warm up to the controls, I could see the game’s strong points. I bought NBA 2K10 on PC, but mostly stuck with NBA Live 06 PC and NBA Live 10 on 360.

And then, NBA 2K11 was released, and brought us The Jordan Challenge. As you may know, Michael Jordan is my all-time favourite player, so a mode celebrating the career of the GOAT held tremendous appeal. Meanwhile, NBA Live imploded with the attempted re-brand and revamp with NBA Elite 11. Still, I couldn’t get used to the Isomotion controls. Since fully embracing NBA 2K in the years that followed, I’ve been able to go back to both NBA 2K11 and NBA 2K12, and enjoy them a lot more. I always appreciated that they’d done some fantastic things, but those mechanics kept getting in the way. Instead, I’d return to my old favourites in the NBA Live series.

That brings us to NBA 2K13, where my ten year journey as an NBA 2K gamer truly begins. NBA 2K13 implemented a change that made its gameplay markedly more accessible to long-time NBA Live gamers like me: right-stick dribbling. It had been the one aspect of NBA Live that remained superior to NBA 2K and its contrived dribbling controls. The right analog controls still needed to be refined, and the Pro Stick we’ve had since NBA 2K14 is a pleasingly evolved version of the concept. It was nevertheless a huge step forward for NBA 2K13 to make. For the first time, I felt at home playing NBA 2K, and favoured spending time with it over an old NBA Live.

Oddly, though I’d long envied the depth that Association gamers enjoyed in NBA 2K while NBA Live’s Dynasty stagnated, it was MyCAREER that captured my attention in NBA 2K13. It was a new and exciting experience; one that as a franchise gamer I’d always supported for other people’s benefit, but never saw myself getting into. Mind you, my interest had been piqued when I explored its forerunner in NBA 2K12, so the groundwork had been laid for a change in modes. I played through my entire rookie season, helping to turn the Denver Nuggets into a powerhouse that won their first NBA championship. It remains one of my favourite basketball gaming experiences.

Despite my newfound appreciation and enjoyment, I wasn’t fully embracing NBA 2K just yet. I was eager to see NBA Live return, and prove the naysayers wrong. In fact, that played a role in my attitude towards NBA 2K souring almost immediately after finally warming up to the brand. I mentioned it when I revisited NBA 2K14 for a second look last year, as well as in my retrospectives of MyCAREER and MyGM. A few NBA 2K devs took some accurate but nevertheless unprofessional shots at NBA Live 14. As someone who grew up with NBA Live and wanted to see it return, and also loathes pettiness, I’ll admit that it got my back up before either game came out.

I also experienced some issues pre-ordering the PC version of NBA 2K14, which was admittedly the fault of that particular online store rather than 2K. Still, it started things out on the wrong foot with NBA 2K14. Furthermore, I wasn’t ready to move on from NBA 2K13 and a MyCAREER game that I was enjoying. While I tried to recapture that excitement in NBA 2K14 PC, my new game felt hollow. It was my first time experiencing the New Game Blues that come with MyCAREER, and it further tainted my impressions of NBA 2K14. When the 2K devs made those snide remarks about NBA Live 14, I went into NBA 2K14 Next Gen feeling negative towards the brand.

Now, I’ve since amended my stance on the PlayStation 4/Xbox One version of NBA 2K14, but at the time, it failed to impress me. The same issues that were annoying me on PC were still present despite the different engine. I found the concept of the story-driven MyCAREER off-putting, which is ironic considering how much time I’ve spent with the mode and discussing MyCAREER stories since then! Adding VC to the new MyGM mode made it difficult to appreciate its depth at first. My affinity for NBA Live won out, and I made the best of playing NBA Live 14, almost out of spite. I didn’t believe it was a better game, but the brand had nostalgia, and my allegiance.

Over the next couple of years, I went back and forth between trying to give NBA Live a fair chance as it was rebuilding, and embracing NBA 2K, now far and away the brand leader in the sim basketball gaming space. I’ve come to appreciate NBA 2K15 much more in hindsight, but NBA 2K16 marked another turning point in my NBA 2K fandom. That was the year that I was introduced to 2K Pro-Am, at Kenny’s invitation. Although I’d never been much of an online gamer, I’d had some fun sessions in NBA Live 10, as well as the original Online Team Play in NBA Live 08. 2K Pro-Am gave me a reason to finish “Livin’ Da Dream“, and to give MyCAREER another chance.

This set the table for NBA 2K17, a game that I’ve spent over 2,800 hours playing on PlayStation 4 alone. To my mind, it’s one of the best games in the NBA 2K series, and a frontrunner for my personal favourite. I loved the story, which was far more “one sizes fits all” than Spike Lee’s tale had been. The Orange Juice mechanics may have had somewhat of a corny name, but it was a fun new way of playing MyCAREER. I played through my rookie season, which felt like a throwback to NBA 2K13 as I was once again a Nugget. I ended up taking my talents to Chicago along with Justice Young, and although I didn’t play much of my second season, I felt quite fulfilled.

Playing 500 games of 2K Pro-Am also helped here. Those weekly sessions with the NLSC THRILLHO crew were fantastic, and something I needed as I was dealing with some personal issues at the time. It was the best version of 2K Pro-Am, allowing for a minimum of three users per side, which was common for teams on the Australasian servers. Arcane, Kenny, and I ended up playing multiple sessions some weeks, and we even managed to unlock the use of custom logos. The game wasn’t perfect, but it was a blast more often than not. My only regret is that I didn’t spend much time with MyTEAM or MyLEAGUE, but MyCAREER and Pro-Am were just too engaging.

It’s safe to say that NBA 2K17 is the game that finally, firmly established my affinity for NBA 2K, which led to me embracing the brand in a way that I’d been struggling to before. Of course, it didn’t hurt that NBA Live had taken another hiatus, with its status once again up in the air. The combination of no other game to split time with, and an extremely strong release in NBA 2K17, solidified my fandom. It’s why I’ve been able to weather some of the controversies and problematic releases in the years that have followed NBA 2K17. With that being said, I did ditch NBA 2K18 in favour of NBA Live 18, as playing with 90s Legends in Ultimate Team turned out to be more fun.

I consider NBA 2K19 to be a pleasing turnaround, and for me it ranks up there with NBA 2K17. NBA 2K20 was fun too, though I was experiencing serious burnout on MyCAREER. I’m not a big fan of either version of NBA 2K21 or NBA 2K22, but in NBA 2K14, I have a new favourite to fall back on. I do still want NBA Live to return, though I’m as pessimistic as I’ve ever been regarding its chances. If it doesn’t, there’s usually been enough consistency and variety to NBA 2K’s experiences that I can find something to enjoy, even if I do have my criticisms. Of course, even though I’m a fan of NBA 2K these days, experience has taught me not to be a fanboy of any brand.

One of the things I’ve really appreciated about NBA 2K, and it’s helped immensely in embracing the brand, is that it’s generally maintained a level of quality while making innovations. This is something that NBA Live did in its Golden Era, which is why I’ll still defend those games and my affinity for the series during that period. However, the NBA Live series had a tendency to introduce big new features, only for them to fall by the wayside and stagnate, drop in quality, or be removed altogether. NBA 2K’s track record isn’t perfect in that regard, but it’s done a far better job of adding new features, and getting modes to a point where they’re consistently deep and enjoyable.

Some ideas haven’t worked out too well, and mechanically speaking, NBA 2K14 through NBA 2K17, and NBA 2K19, feel the best on the sticks in my opinion. Once again though, there’s been a general consistency to the gameplay. That does have a notable drawback in that there are some long-standing legacy issues, but between the depth of the modes and accessibility of the gameplay, I’ve generally found a reason to spend time with NBA 2K. I’m not a fan of the recurrent revenue mechanics as I’ve made quite clear on several occasions, but I prefer the overall quality of NBA 2K to NBA Live becoming a directionless hybrid that doesn’t know what it wants to be.

I also appreciate that while the suits certainly don’t have our best interests in mind, the NBA 2K development team is still committed to creating the best virtual basketball experience possible. While some valid criticisms are unfortunately dismissed out of hand due to a cooler relationship between devs and gamers – and I do question the focus on the online scene and catering to the elitist crowd – it does at least feel like they’re listening; sometimes, anyway. Between a change in direction and a community manager that wanted to be EA Sports’ answer to Ronnie 2K, that hasn’t felt like the case with NBA Live. That’s hampered my affection towards the series in recent times.

Still, I believe it’s important to separate the executives and PR from the product to some extent, and I’m capable of doing that when it comes to NBA Live and NBA 2K alike. Although I’d love to see two viable options and a series I grew up with finally pull it together, I’m grateful that I’ve been able to grow accustomed to NBA 2K’s approach and style, and continue to make memories on the virtual hardwood. I’m also glad that NBA 2K has adopted some of NBA Live’s better ideas, and in some cases, taken them even further. It hasn’t just made the game more accessible for people who grew up with NBA Live, but successfully built upon NBA 2K’s solid foundation.

There have been some ups and downs on the road to me embracing NBA 2K, and I still don’t have quite the same nostalgia for it as I do for NBA Live or NBA Jam. I do find certain aspects of the brand and its promotion to be off-putting, but the games themselves contain tremendous work from passionate and dedicated individuals, and the results of their efforts have generally been positive. I’ve also revisited games that I struggled to warm up to originally, and liked them a lot better. Indeed, a couple of them have retroactively become some of my all-time favourites! In particular, NBA 2K14 is one I wish I’d spent more time with, and I’m sure making up for that now.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been satisfied with the last couple of NBA 2K releases. I can draw some parallels to years that I felt let down by NBA Live, though I’ll certainly concede that as much as I didn’t care for NBA 2K21 and NBA 2K22, they’re far, far ahead of NBA Live’s roughest releases in terms of overall quality (to say nothing of success). I am cautiously optimistic about NBA 2K23, and am hoping that it will turn out to be a landmark game that I’ll enjoy. There was a time that I wouldn’t be inclined to give it such a chance, or be as comfortable with its design choices. That’s changed now, with my all-time favourite games including both NBA Live and NBA 2K titles.

Embracing NBA 2K has changed my basketball gaming habits – I even expect teams to be listed alphabetically by their name, now – and for the most part, it’s allowed me to keep having fun with the genre these past ten years. I miss NBA Live and having competition in the basketball gaming space, but the disappointment has been eased and its absence filled by NBA 2K. I’ll always be a fan of NBA Live and my all-time favourites, and I’ll argue that at times, its Golden Era is underrated. I’ll also keep criticising the problematic parts of NBA 2K, but I now truly consider myself a fan of the series. It had its twists and turns, but it’s been a good decade embracing NBA 2K.

The post Wayback Wednesday: 10 Years of Embracing NBA 2K appeared first on NLSC.