Monday Tip-Off: Last Gen NBA 2K Gamers Deserve Better

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 some thoughts on how NBA 2K gamers that are still playing on Last Gen consoles deserve better.

I’ll admit that I’m surprised we’re still seeing NBA 2K come out for the Last Gen consoles. Back in 2023, I speculated that we might be reaching the end of the road for NBA 2K on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, based on the minimal previews and lack of substantial post-release support. Obviously that didn’t turn out to be the case, with NBA 2K25 and NBA 2K26 both receiving Last Gen releases. While I wouldn’t be shocked if the series leaves PS4 and X1 behind in 2026, there’s actually a decent chance that NBA 2K27 will still be released on those consoles.

And you know what? I have absolutely no problem with that! Although I can play the New Gen version on my PlayStation 5 or PC, plenty of people don’t have that option, either by choice or circumstance. To that end, I truly loathe the elitist attitude that a contingent of Next Gen/New Gen gamers display, from mocking people for financial hardship to believing that Last Gen gamers don’t deserve a good product. The fact of the matter is that everyone who is still playing NBA 2K on a Last Gen console for whatever reason has deserved better than what they’ve received and how they’ve been treated the last few years. Only a shameless corporate shill would argue otherwise.

Before I go any further, let’s acknowledge a few realities when it comes to NBA 2K on Last Gen. No, it’s not going to see much innovation, and I expect that a majority of PS4 and X1 gamers understand that. Naturally, Last Gen is not going to be a priority. A couple of New Gen features may be implemented, and others might be technically feasible to include in the PS4/X1 version, but Visual Concepts aren’t going to invest the necessary time and money into overhauling the code of a Last Gen release. Again, people do understand that, even if they wish a few things could be ported over. Still, I’d suggest that very few gamers actually expect Last Gen to be on par with New Gen.

What they are expecting is to receive value for money and adequate post-release support, and rightfully so! After all, Take-Two and Visual Concepts have elected to continue releasing NBA 2K for Last Gen consoles, indicating that it’s a market they want to keep. To that point, the price hasn’t dropped, and the PS4/X1 version of NBA 2K retains the same pushy recurrent revenue mechanics that ramped up during the eighth generation, and have continued into the ninth. Yes, the superior experience is on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and now PC, but 2K is still treating the PS4/X1 version as a premium Triple-A release. At least, they’re certainly pricing it like one!

Beyond the price tag, Last Gen NBA 2K gamers have plenty of reason to expect a quality product and sufficient post-release support. While the PS5 and XSX|S do provide technical advantages over their predecessors – we don’t need to go over the specs in detail here – the gap isn’t as big as previous generations; for NBA 2K, at any rate. The leap in graphics isn’t as big was it going from seventh to eighth gen. The complement of features, modes, and mechanics is quite similar. To that point, there’s cross-generation progression in MyTEAM, and a shared VC wallet. There was no such integration between eighth gen NBA 2K titles and their seventh gen brethren.

Sure, it’s still fair to call the Last Gen version of NBA 2K inferior to what is now the flagship release. It’s basically a legacy version that’s still released because millions of gamers have stuck with a PS4 or X1 for going on six years beyond the launch of their successors. Once again though, the gap between eighth and ninth gen isn’t as big as previous console generations. The difference between NBA 2K26 Last Gen and New Gen isn’t as stark as the Super Nintendo and PC/PS1 versions of NBA Live 97, or the PS1 and PC/PS2 versions of NBA Live 2003. It’s fair to hold eighth gen releases to a high standard despite being surpassed, particularly as their price hasn’t dropped at all.

As such, while it isn’t reasonable to demand that NBA 2K on Last Gen be identical to New Gen in quality or scope – and no one who understands the situation is demanding that – it’s more than fair to expect quality that’s consistent with the previous releases for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Moreover, since there’s been no drop in price and it includes the same recurrent revenue mechanics as the version for New Gen consoles and PC, it’s also fair to expect a certain standard of customer service. I don’t believe that those expectations have been met with the past three NBA 2K releases on PS4 and X1, and as long as those platforms are supported, Last Gen gamers deserve better.

What does that better treatment look like? Let’s begin with the preview season. The Last Gen version is understandably going to take a back seat nowadays, since it boasts fewer new features and the goal is to sell the flagship release. The problem is that for the last few years, the PS4/X1 versions (and until NBA 2K25, the PC port) haven’t really been talked about at all during the preview seasons, except to say that they will be available. There were a handful of screenshots of The Neighborhood during the NBA 2K24 preview season, but the developer blogs were devoid of any “by the way, here’s what we’re doing for Last Gen” insights that we’d received in previous years.

Granted, it’s reached a point where there’s less to say about the eighth gen version, but there could (and should) still be some details about what gamers on those platforms can expect. We should at least get a few screenshots that show off The Neighborhood, new faces, and other details, and info on any New Gen features that they’ve managed to squeeze into Last Gen. I understand that confirming the game is basically just an updated version of last year’s release isn’t exactly the strongest selling point, but the honesty would inspire much-needed goodwill. If nothing else, it’d be acknowledging a game that they’re going to be selling, and demonstrating a commitment to quality.

However, it’s primarily post-release support where Last Gen NBA 2K gamers have really deserved better. The PS4/X1 version has continued to receive roster and tuning updates, though it’s been light on new likenesses. More importantly though, while it does receive patches to fix bugs and address other issues, the developers haven’t been providing any release notes for those updates. Of course, they’ve sometimes neglected to post patch notes for New Gen as well, or been vague on the details, placing a bunch of unspecified changes under the umbrella of “various stability fixes”. An occasional lack of detail is still way better than having no idea of what’s in the patches, though.

Look, it’s great that the Last Gen version of NBA 2K is receiving some updates and post-release support. Mind you, considering it’s a full-priced Triple-A release, that’s really an obligation rather than a kindness that gamers should be grateful for! More to the point, PS4 and X1 gamers deserve to be told what’s been changed, from the roster, likeness, and branding updates, to any major and minor technical fixes and gameplay tweaks. As is the case with the preview season, if you’re still going to sell the game on those platforms and provide updates and support for it, users should be appropriately informed; especially post-release, when they’ve actually paid money for the product!

You might think that this goes without saying – and it definitely should – but clearly, the developers working on the Last Gen version of NBA 2K and 2K’s social media team are falling short of reasonable expectations here. What’s really disheartening is when gamers fail to support or sympathise with their peers still on PS4 and X1. It goes back to the elitist attitude that anyone who isn’t playing on the newest console is somehow lesser, and deserves poorer treatment. It’s fair to say “Well, you can’t expect Last Gen to be the best version of NBA 2K”, but not “You lot don’t deserve quality, support, or value for money”. The mockery over being “broke” is just disgusting, too.

Besides, as recently as 2024, 50% of PlayStation gamers were still on PS4. The PS5 finally pulled ahead last year, but for the first four years of its life cycle, millions of gamers were still playing its predecessor. It wasn’t just NBA 2K gamers who were sticking with the Last Gen consoles and their ports of multi-generation releases. As successful as the PS5 has been, a combination of economic factors, fewer console exclusives, a smaller jump compared to previous generations, and quality games still coming out on PS4, has meant that gamers have upgraded at their own pace, if at all. It’s been perfectly viable to stick with Last Gen NBA 2K, and fair to expect quality.

Of course, now that the balance has shifted towards the ninth generation, Sony has started to sunset some backend PS4 features. The monthly games for PlayStation Plus subscribers will also no longer include PS4 titles. This suggests that the end of the road may finally be in sight, and not just for Last Gen NBA 2K. On the other hand, new releases including native PS4 games have been confirmed for 2026 and 2027, so it’s possible that we’ll see eighth gen versions of NBA 2K27 and even NBA 2K28. If so, the eighth generation NBA 2K games might continue right through until the end of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S’s time as the current generation of consoles.

That would be unprecedented, but again, it speaks to the smaller gap between the eighth and ninth generations, and the viability of sticking with Last Gen compared to older consoles. Needless to say, it doesn’t make it any more likely that the PS4/X1 version of NBA 2K will become a higher priority, or see any significant innovation. However, if two more NBA 2K games are coming on Last Gen, they must be handled better. That begins with the preview season. The ninth gen version will obviously take precedence, but the eighth gen version should receive far more than a fleeting mention that it’s now available to pre-order. Basic info, screenshots, and a few clips are a must.

It’s the post-release support that really must be handled better, though. We can assume that the Last Gen version of NBA 2K will look very much like the previous game and have most of the same features, with few new wrinkles. However, gamers still on PS4 and X1 shouldn’t have to guess what’s in every official patch. Generic patch notes will also be insufficient. Even if there are only a couple of changes and fixes, they should still be transparently listed. Indeed, even if those notes are only shared in social media posts or in the official Discord rather than alongside the New Gen patch notes as they once were, that’d still be preferable to leaving Last Gen NBA 2K gamers in the dark.

In deciding to continue releasing NBA 2K for Last Gen consoles – and at full price – 2K is presenting the PS4/X1 version as still being worth buying. In turn, gamers on those platforms deserve an appropriate level of coverage and support. If the Last Gen consoles were receiving a digital-only release at a reduced price that was marketed as a legacy version with minimal updates, a lack of attention and communication may be slightly more tolerable. It still wouldn’t be ideal of course, but it wouldn’t be quite as much of a slap in the face to consumers who are being charged a premium price, and thus deserve value for money, a quality product, and satisfactory post-release support.

Anyone who disagrees is – to be blunt – a bootlicking shill, not to mention a privileged elitist. No, the Last Gen version of NBA 2K isn’t and shouldn’t be the top priority, and it’s certainly not going to be the premiere release. No one with reasonable and realistic expectations is actually demanding that! As long as the PS4/X1 version is still being developed though, it should receive the bare minimum of basic coverage during the preview season, followed by sufficient post-release support in the form of transparent patch notes and adequate content updates. That hasn’t been the case in recent years, so yes, for the price that they’re paying, Last Gen NBA 2K gamers deserve a lot better.

The post Monday Tip-Off: Last Gen NBA 2K Gamers Deserve Better appeared first on NLSC.