Monday Tip-Off: Why Are You Playing That?
We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with a response to a question that’s often lobbed at retro basketball gamers: why are you playing that?
I’m sure that at this point, it’s hardly a secret that I’m an enthusiastic advocate for retro basketball gaming. I’ve written a number of articles detailing the fun that I’m having revisiting old favourites and discovering new retro kicks, and explaining why I think it’s worth considering if you’re not enjoying newer titles. To that point, I don’t want to keep harping on points or treading familiar ground in my articles, but the fact of the matter is that there’s still pushback and scorn when it comes to playing older games. Again, “why are you playing that?” is the common refrain here.
Obviously, this is the internet where everyone has an opinion, and believes that their preferences are correct. However, I will entertain the question of why I and others still play older basketball video games, because I’m sure that some people are asking that in good faith. Considering all of the technological advances that have been made over generations of basketball games, not to mention the fact there’s a new NBA season every year, I’m sure it is quite puzzling that some of us do choose to play games with outdated graphics, simpler mechanics, and old rosters. Nostalgia is a major factor, but there’s more to it than that, and the stigma against retro basketball gaming is insulting.
To that point, while retro gaming in general is a niche interest that does draw some ridicule from people who don’t see the appeal, they still get it. They understand the desire to indulge curiosity and nostalgia, and that some of the best games of all-time are still fun, even if they’re no longer aesthetically pleasing. Speedrunning and other self-imposed challenges also provide new ways of playing and mastering our old favourites, putting our stick skills to the test. However, while people can usually get their heads around retro gaming in other genres, revisiting old basketball games and other sports titles is seen as weird. In all fairness, there are some differences here.
With annual sports games, we’re not waiting years for the next release, or a reboot of the series. If I want to play a basketball video game, I’m not limited to titles that were released many years ago, as I conversely would be with the Fallout and Grand Theft Auto series for example. While there have been many improvements to basketball games over the years – though also more than a couple of missteps – there’s plenty of familiarity. The only guaranteed difference between any two basketball games is the season they’re set in, and naturally many gamers want to play with the latest rosters. Other genres boast more individuality, and being set in the past is part of their charm.
However, that’s also why retro basketball gaming is so appealing. There have been many standout releases that hold up extremely well despite their age, just like games of other genres. If the gameplay experience is sufficiently pleasing, then it doesn’t matter if the graphics show their age. Well, it probably matters a little more than other genres when the goal is to depict the players as realistically as possible, but even so, graphics aren’t everything. There’s nostalgia for the season a game is set in, and the teams and players that make up those rosters. We play old basketball games because we still enjoy them, but also to scratch some other nostalgic itches that we may have.
Also, for all of the benefits of recent NBA 2K games, there are definitely drawbacks. The lack of competition in the space means that NBA 2K’s style and design choices have become the be-all, end-all of sim basketball gaming. It could be much worse, but there’s undoubtedly fatigue with the series following so many years without another NBA game to play. Throwing it back to a time when we had more choices is a way of keeping things fresh. Furthermore, it’s not as though every NBA 2K release in recent years has been better than everything that came before it. If nothing else, there’s far more grinding and greed in NBA 2K these days, and it does get in the way of fun.
If you don’t need live service content or online competitive play to enjoy your time on the virtual hardwood, then that removes a couple of incentives to play the latest game. If you’d prefer to play a game that’s intact – or at least, mostly intact – and won’t soon be gutted by an impending server shutdown, then an older release that you still enjoy is a much safer choice. If you don’t care for the direction that the NBA 2K series has taken, or you’re after a different style of virtual basketball, then the only way to find that these days is through retro gaming. Why are we playing these older games? Quite simply, it’s because they provide a basketball gaming experience that we’re craving!
Of course, “why are you playing that?” is often a query about a specific game, rather than retro basketball gaming in general. Even people who can’t bring themselves to play an older hoops title can still understand that other gamers can and do find joy in revisiting the classics, but are bewildered that someone has chosen a particular game that isn’t widely considered to be a strong release. That’s understandable! Obviously, because I’m producing a weekly feature about the history of basketball games and that includes retrospectives, I will revisit titles that aren’t all-time classics. With that in mind, I understand it must seem weird when I keep playing some of them afterwards.
My retro kick with NBA Live 06 for Xbox 360 is a prime example here. Judging by some replies on Twitter/X and comments on YouTube, there were people who found it rather strange to see that I was playing the game, or indeed frustrated when it was the subject of a handful of my video uploads. The fact of the matter is that while the Xbox 360 version of NBA Live 06 does have many shortcomings, I also found it to be intriguing, and honestly a bit better than I’d long thought. I wanted to explore that, to really dissect the game and see if I could have some fun with a much-derided title. Sometimes, the answer to “why are you playing that?” is basically just “I’m curious”!
Alternatively, if it’s a stronger release that is recognised as one of the best basketball games ever made, the reason I’m playing it is probably because I got hooked on it while producing a Wayback Wednesday retrospective, or revisiting it with Dee. It may be appealing to me because it represents an era I’m currently feeling nostalgic about, or I’m making up for some lost time by playing a great game that I overlooked for one reason or another when it was new. I also like to challenge my nostalgia, as well as see if a negative first impression does last. Retro basketball gaming has been illuminating both ways! Again, it comes down to curiosity as well as nostalgic whims.
Let’s face it, though: there’s an unspoken part to this question. What many people are really asking is “why are you playing that when you should be playing the new game, which is far superior?” Of course, superior is a relative term. NBA 2K25 is absolutely technologically superior and a bigger game than NBA Live 95, but I personally prefer the experience on offer in the latter. That’s just me, and it doesn’t invalidate the choice of anyone who prefers NBA 2K25, which is naturally going to appeal to more gamers today. To that point though, it’s the people who are advocating for the latest game that tend to present their choice as “correct”, not retro gamers. It’s all there in the question.
I’m reminded of a comment on an NBA Live 95 video that I shared to our Facebook page. Someone said that they’d take it over NBA 2K any day, a sentiment that a lot of people actually agreed with, but others found amusing and openly questioned. I feel the latter group were missing the point. It’s not about NBA Live 95 being superior to NBA 2K25, or any NBA 2K for that matter. To them, NBA Live 95 is just more fun, and gives them what they want out of a basketball game. They’re not saying that it’s objectively the better game, or that everyone should prefer it; just that when it comes down to it, they’re picking an old favourite they like more, for a number of reasons.
This doesn’t gel with the popular notion that new is always better. Indeed, as much as people talk about nostalgia goggles, recency bias is just as myopic, and arguably more common. Consider how so many people smirk at those who prefer physical media, or dislike everything having an app, suggesting they’re out of touch and can’t work new technology. Sometimes it is technological illiteracy, but quite often it’s disdain for the downsides of streaming services and unnecessary apps. It’s not that people can’t work them, but rather a dislike of the lack of ownership, removal of digital content, ongoing expense, or security concerns. For them, the negatives simply outweigh the positives.
The same goes for newer video games, basketball or otherwise. It isn’t that people aren’t aware of them, or don’t know how to get them, or can’t master the controls. They don’t like the design, the pushy microtransactions, the focus on live service content, and so on. They’re not saying those games or features shouldn’t exist – well, if they have any sense, they’re criticising the microtransactions and other problematic mechanics – but they ultimately prefer to spend their leisure time with a game they like better. It’s the same reason people will re-watch their favourite shows. It’s nice to find new ones, but if you don’t like what’s on, it’d be silly to force yourself to watch it!
When it’s asked in good faith, “why are you playing that?” is a fair question. All too often though, it’s intended to be a covert way of shaming retro gaming, and suggesting that the latest game is what you should be playing. It’s bizarre, because it shouldn’t matter what anyone else is enjoying. I guarantee NBA 2K isn’t going under anytime soon, just because some of us prefer old favourites! Furthermore, preferring to stick with the classics doesn’t mean you think they’re objectively better; they’re just what you want to play! To that end, a more snarky reply to the question of “why are you playing that?” is “because I feel like it and I’m enjoying it. Is that alright with you?”
We don’t need to be that combative about it, though! Of course, it’d help if people weren’t snarky about retro basketball gaming first. Once again, I get that if you feel those games have aged too much to be enjoyable years and indeed decades later, someone else choosing to play them may seem incredibly strange. It’s just that the unspoken part of “why are you playing that?” – i.e. “I don’t think you should be” – isn’t exactly an unbreakable code! The judgement is there, and unnecessarily so. It’d be one thing if someone was proclaiming an old game to be vastly and undeniably superior and insisting that everyone else should be playing it too, but that’s seldom the case.
And look, I do get it if a game was considered mediocre or bad in its day, and for good reason. I’ll readily admit that it was weird to be on an extended retro kick with NBA Live 06 for Xbox 360, but it was fascinating to discover that for all its faults, it was a little better than I always thought. As I said, it was fun to explore that, and at the end of the day, that’s why I play video games. Not to impress others, not to follow trends or ensure that I’m playing what everyone else is, and with all due respect to the competitive scene, not to be the best in the world at them. I play to have fun and to indulge my love of basketball. Sometimes, that takes me to some unexpected places!
I never expect to change the world or alter the wider discourse with my articles. It’s just food for thought for anyone who’s open to a different perspective, and hopefully validation for those who already feel the same way. As such, I’ll continue to advocate for retro basketball gaming, and do my part in combating the stigma that needlessly surrounds it. The key to online discourse is to disengage once it’s clear that a question such as “why are you playing that?” in regards to a classic video game is an insult, not true inquisitiveness. For anyone who does seek a genuine answer: nostalgia, curiosity, content creation, a change of pace, and of course, fun. Pretty normal reasons, really!
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