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NBA Live 2000

The Friday Five: 5 Problems Basketball Gamers No Longer Deal With

The Friday Five

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown.

I’ve been playing basketball games for a long time – over twenty years, at least – and as I’ve said quite a few times before, I’m impressed when I reflect upon how far they’ve come. While it’s easy to get frustrated when we don’t see some of the most desired improvements year-to-year, when you start going back a generation or two, you can really see the leaps that basketball games have made. I’ve actually been spending a decent amount of time with older basketball titles as of late, as I continue to produce content for our ongoing 20th Anniversary of NBA Live celebrations.

Playing those older basketball games has been a fun trip down memory lane, but it’s also reminded me of some of the problems that were often present, even in the best titles from yesteryear. Needless to say, with basketball games progressing as much as they have, a few of those issues are even more glaring now. While today’s hoops games are still facing some of the same challenges, such as implementing a maximum difficulty setting that plays smarter instead of cheaper, there are some noteworthy problems that we no longer have to deal with. Let’s consider ourselves lucky that we’re not still battling the following five issues.

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20th Anniversary of NBA Live: NBA Live 2000 Retrospective

NBA Live 2000 Retrospective

To mark the 20th Anniversary of NBA Live, we’re posting content for every game in the series, including retrospectives, patches, countdowns, and more. Whether you’re a long-time basketball gamer who grew up with the NBA Live series and would like to take a drip down memory lane, or you’ve only recently started playing basketball games and would like to learn a little about what they used to be like, we hope that you enjoy the 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content here on the NLSC!

NBA Live 2000 has long been considered one of the best games in the NBA Live series. It’s the crowning achievement of the original development team, a great all-around release that long-time basketball gamers are rightfully nostalgic for. Of course, looking back on it today, some of its flaws are more apparent, and certain aspects naturally don’t hold up as well, given how far basketball games have come since the late 90s. Nevertheless, I would say that it’s still worthy of the acclaim it receives. Let’s take a look at why many basketball gamers consider NBA Live 2000 to be a classic.

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Wayback Wednesday: NBA Live’s Face in the Game

Created Player in NBA Live 2000 using Face in the Game

Welcome to Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! This is a feature where we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content.

While there’s still a long road ahead of the NBA Live series following its reboot with NBA Live 14, it has made some promising steps, and demonstrated some really good concepts. Something that I believe NBA Live 16 actually did a lot better than NBA 2K16 was the manner in which it allowed players to scan their faces into the game. I still haven’t been able to get NBA 2K’s face scan to work properly; conversely, I’ve found the NBA Live companion app much easier to use, and the results were very impressive.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that the NBA Live series has allowed players to put their faces into the game. The PC versions of NBA Live have obviously allowed for the creation of custom face textures through patching, but two games in the series – NBA Live 2000 and NBA Live 2001 – have actually facilitated the creation of custom faces in-game. The feature was called Face in the Game, and it actually worked quite well.

It’s an often overlooked feature from a time when EA Sports were being extremely innovative with the NBA Live series, so let’s take a look back…way back…

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The Friday Five: 5 Codes & Rumours That Fooled Basketball Gamers

The Friday Five

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown.

With this being April 1st, I originally considered posting some kind of April Fool’s Day gag. However, since we have visitors from all around the world, chances are that not everyone would see the column before 12 PM, which would actually make me the April fool. I’ve decided to stick with the theme of getting fooled though, because when it comes to basketball gaming, and indeed video games in general, some people are sadly out to trick their fellow gamers, and waste their time.

Although it’s often fairly easy to debunk what TV Tropes refers to as an “Urban Legend of Zelda“, sometimes it’s harder to get gamers to actually believe the truth rather than the rumour. After all, you heard it from your best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend that it was true, and why would they lie? Other genres of video games lend themselves to more outlandish and infamous fake secrets, but since basketball games have featured hidden and unlockable content, they’re not immune to their own hoaxes and rumours. Without any further ado, here are five codes and rumours that fooled basketball gamers.

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Fix for SECDRV.SYS Issues with NBA Live 2000-2004

While DOSBox is a handy tool for retro PC gamers, resolving compatibility issues with Windows-based releases can be a little tougher. Back in September, Microsoft pushed through an update (KB3086255) which for security reasons, disables the secdrv.sys driver. Unfortunately, the secdrv.sys driver is required for disc-based games that utilise certain types of anti-piracy copy protection, such as SecuRom and SafeDisc. When the driver is disabled, games that utilise those methods of copy protection will fail to start.

This means if you’re running Windows 7 or 8.1, and are in the mood to play NBA Live 2000, NBA Live 2001, NBA Live 2003, or NBA Live 2004, you’ll be greeted by a “Please login with administrator privileges and try again” error message. If you do feel like dusting off those games, there are a couple of workarounds: use VMWare to create a virtual machine, which requires an installation disc for an older version of Windows, or (at your own risk) re-enable the secdrv.sys driver. More details can be found here in our Wiki.

If that all sounds a bit complicated, I’ve whipped up a couple of batch files that re-enable and disable the secdrv.sys driver automatically; download them here. You’ll find that it’s the quickest method of getting those games back up and running. Once again however, please be advised that Microsoft disabled the secdrv.sys driver due to potential security issues, so use this solution at your own risk. It’s a method that I’m confident in using myself, but having said that, I take no responsibility for any issues that may arise.

This fix is also a viable workaround for any other games from that era (late 90s, early 2000s), which fail to start due to the secdrv.sys driver being disabled. So, if you’re looking to play another game on this list, or you’ve stumbled across this post on a basketball video gaming website while Googling the issue, this fix is also for you!

With our 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content set to continue, I’ll be posting more guides and tutorials on how to get older games running, so stay tuned.

Monday Tip-Off: How Much Does It Cost To Get Michael Jordan In A Video Game?

We’re at midcourt, the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Get your week started here at the NLSC with a feature that’s dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to basketball video games.

If you’re a basketball fan, you know who Michael Jordan is, even if you weren’t around in the 80s and 90s. Likewise, even if you were around in the 80s and 90s but weren’t a fan of basketball, you still knew of him, and at least a couple of noteworthy facts about His Airness. Such was his impact upon popular culture.

I was around during that era, and a basketball fan to boot. As many of you may already be aware, I was also a big fan of Michael Jordan, and he remains my all-time favourite player. I was therefore very excited when it was announced that MJ would grace the cover of NBA 2K11, a game which also included a celebration of his career in the form of the Jordan Challenge. Visual Concepts and 2K Sports were probably pretty happy about the arrangement too, as NBA 2K11 sold over five million copies, and was very well received by critics and the basketball gaming community alike.

Michael Jordan is still featured in NBA 2K, and indeed graces the cover of the Special Edition of NBA 2K16. 2K’s partnership with MJ has obviously been very beneficial to the visibility, sales, and reception of their game, but how much does that partnership cost them? While we don’t have any specific figures, some recent reports have given us fodder to speculate.

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File Additions for NBA Live 2000

We’re ending the week with another batch of retro file additions, as we have a new upload for NBA Live 2000. CarolusXCI has compiled a pack of face updates by several patchers, and added it to our Downloads database for safekeeping. If you feel like dusting off NBA Live 2000 – definitely a classic – be sure to check it out at the link below!

Various Patchers
Miscellaneous Cyberfaces Pack

As previously mentioned on the NLSC Podcast, we’ll also be looking to tip off our 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content this month, so stay tuned for more cool stuff for the entire NBA Live series, in between our coverage of the NBA Live 16 preview season!

The Friday Five: Michael Jordan In Basketball Video Games

The Friday Five

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! This is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to basketball video games, the real NBA or another area of interest to our community, either as a list of five items or in the form of a Top 5 countdown.

This week marked the 20th Anniversary of Michael Jordan’s first comeback, one of the most significant events for basketball fans like myself who grew up watching the NBA in the 90s. There was no hour long special, no social media and thus no hashtags, and no lengthy speeches. No, His Airness’ return to the hardwood was simply announced in two words: “I’m Back”.

Michael Jordan’s history with basketball video games is kind of interesting to look back upon, as it’s a situation that must seem very foreign to younger gamers. The idea that the league’s best player and one of its marquee attractions would not be featured in an NBA licensed game is quite unusual, and thankfully no longer an issue we have to deal with. So, in honour of a milestone that makes me feel old, and in the interest of indulging my nostalgia for both Michael Jordan and basketball video games, this week’s Friday Five is taking a look back at MJ’s presence on the virtual hardwood.

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File Additions for NBA Live 2000

A couple of dedicated and talented folks are still creating great updates for NBA Live 2000 PC, and two new files have been added today: faces for Nick Young and Robert Sacre. If you’d like to fire up NBA Live 2000 and check them out, you can download them at the links below.

xpoing
Nick Young Face Patch
Robert Sacre Face Patch

File Additions for NBA Live 2000

We’re wrapping up the weekend with a new addition for an old classic, as hentzman has updated a custom soundtrack for NBA Live 2000 PC. Download it at the link below!

hentzman
Song Patch

File Additions for NBA Live 2000

xpoing has released another new face update for NBA Live 2000, this time for Ryan Kelly of the Los Angeles Lakers. You can pick it up at the link below!

xpoing
Ryan Kelly Face Patch

File Additions for NBA Live 2000

We’re tipping off a new week (and month) here at the NLSC with a new file addition for NBA Live 2000, as xpoing has released a face patch for Ed Davis. Check it out at the link below, and be sure to pick up Hentzman’s current season roster update over in the NBA Live 2000 Rosters section of our Downloads database.

xpoing
Ed Davis Face Patch

File Additions for NBA Live 2000

Hentzman is back with some new 2014/2015 season updates for NBA Live 2000 PC. If you’d like to dust off a classic and play it with current season rosters, check them all out at the links below!

Hentzman
NBA Live 2000 2014/2015 Roster Update
Charlotte Hornets/New Orleans Pelicans Switch
Charlotte Hornets 2014/2015 Court Patch

File Additions for NBA Live 2000

As I mentioned in this week’s Podcast, we recently came across some long lost updates for NBA Live 2000, as well as an old cyberface tutorial. In the interest of preserving them, I’ve packaged up the individual patches, and uploaded them to our Downloads section along with the tutorial. You can find both uploads at the links below.

Patman
Patman’s NBA Live 2000 Cyberface Tutorial

Various
NBA Live 2000 Old Patches Pack

The Friday Five: 5 Random Basketball Video Game Facts

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! This is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to basketball video games, the real NBA or another area of interest to our community, either as a list of five items or in the form of a Top 5 countdown.

Now that JaoSming has changed the focus of Dumb Mondays from random trivia to a random assortment of facts, opinions and discussion topics, I don’t feel quite as guilty about borrowing the original concept for a Friday Five topic. This week, I’m trying my hand at serving up some trivia about a few of my all-time favourite basketball video games.

Basically, this is a collection of facts and trivia that I’ve wanted to talk about, but haven’t been able to work into any of my Friday Fives so far. Chances are I’ll revisit them if the right topics present themselves, but just in case I don’t find a way to bring them up again, here are 5 Random Basketball Video Game Facts that I hope you’ll enjoy reading about.

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