The dumb idea behind Dumb Fact Monday is that I would have enough mildly interesting facts to release articles week after week. Unfortunately the well is almost dry, so I have decided to change the format up going forward. This is Dumb Mondays, starting the workweek off with facts, opinions, predictions, or any other topic that you may or may not find interesting.

Every year I make a fool of myself trying to predict what the upcoming basketball video games will feature. Now that we have preorders available for NBA 2K15, I realized I needed to get my predictions out there before any information is revealed. As I said, historically this has been a complete blunder in itself. I expected anything good from Live 08 PC, a TNT license in NBA 2K12, The Crib in NBA 2K13, and that we would have “Jaw-Dropping” graphics in NBA Live 14. So, let’s see how embarrassing this year will be for me as we near the reveals for NBA 2K15 and NBA Live 15.

Cover Athletes

NBA 2K15

Kevin Durant – I know he was just on the cover of NBA 2K13, and the doomed NBA Elite 11, but an MVP year makes him more than worthy of another cover.

NBA Live 15

John Wall – He has been affiliated with EA Sports this past year and his impressive performance thus far in the playoffs ties in with EA’s want to compare the game to the cover athlete.

Gameplay

NBA 2K15

Refined 2K14 – A bit general, but I don’t think we will see any major changes. They already said NBA 2K14’s control scheme was their ultimate goal with all the changes we saw in the years previous, so maybe just some balancing updates to prevent exploits and maybe a minor/visual only feature.

NBA Live 15

Complete Revamp – There are some great underlying gameplay mechanics in NBA Live 14, but if Live 15 becomes the game I hope and expect it to be, it cannot play anything like NBA Live 14. I’m expecting something almost completely new.

Technology

NBA 2K15

Eco-Motion meh – Looking back at the pre-release hype for next-gen NBA 2K14, Eco-Motion sounds like my real-time-physics dream come true. It wasn’t. I think it will continue to have a subtle, almost unnoticeable effect on the game, while still getting hyped.

NBA Live 15

Real-Time-Physics – Yay! Maybe? At the very least I think we will get the collision technology seen in NBA Elite 11, but I would much rather have true Euphoria-esk technology than the animation chooser of a different name.

Online

NBA 2K15

Nothing New – I hate this prediction, but I don’t see NBA 2K15 improving on this year’s PS4/Xbox One online experience. No crew, no new modes, nothing special, just hopefully some stability improvements.

NBA Live 15

EASBA – Maybe this will be the year we get it. Full blown league online-only mode. Maybe I’ll just go back to sleep and at least dream about what Elite 11 could have given us.

Career Modes

NBA 2K15

Linear – Nothing, changes, again. I just don’t see 2K Sports moving away from what they spent so much effort on this year with voice actors and facial animation like that. Much to the dismay of Andrew, myself, and hopefully some other people, I think the linear, scripted, nature of MyCAREER remains for future.

NBA Live 15

Become Legendary – Rising Star was a bust, in my opinion. So to add some presentation or some kind of personality to the mode, I am expecting something similar to NBA Elite 11’s career mode, with challenges and goals with NBA players speaking to the player.

Franchise Modes

NBA 2K15

MyGM Limited by VC – One of the biggest follies of NBA 2K14 was its VC system and how it neutered MyGM. I think they will balance it better, maybe not requiring upwards of 120,000 VC to own your chosen team, or maybe introduce an alternate currency like MyTEAM coins. Either way, I don’t see VC going anywhere, and I don’t see it leaving MyGM alone.

NBA Live 15

Dynasty of Old – I’m starting to see a trend, I just want old EA features to come back. Still, I think EA will go with what used to work for them, with multi-court practice facilities and a bit more cluttered menus, especially in comparison to Live 14’s metro/minimalist style.

Fantasy Modes

NBA 2K15

MyTEAM Mobile – I know the mobile app exists, but I think this year they combine the console and mobile versions together. Being able to get new players and actually develop them like the mobile version currently does would be huge for the console version, especially if they add a proper market for selling.

NBA Live 15

Market – Plain and simple, Ultimate Team in NBA Live 14 is the best part of the entire game. Add in a market to sell players, like I’ve heard you can do in FIFA, and it becomes a even bigger time, and money, sink.

Graphics

NBA 2K15

Better Arena Lighting – I mean really NBA 2K14 looks damn good and I don’t see much to drastically improve upon. The major complaint I have is that arenas were a bit dark, so some new arena lighting and details should be what 2K focuses on this year to complete the package set with the great faces and other details seen this year.

NBA Live 15

Over-hyped – “No way”. That was my reaction to the face scans we were all shown from the NBA Live 15 early-early previews. I think those scans are nothing more than references, so I am not expecting NBA Live 15’s faces to look that good. Improved, but not like that.

Presentation

NBA 2K15

More NBA Voices – No TNT license, I really think it would have happened already if it was going to happen at all. NBA 2K14’s interviews were a huge surprise for me, and it really adds a new layer of realism and presentation to the game. I expect more of that, maybe with the 1st and 3rd quarter interviews we see in real life broadcasts.

NBA Live 15

NBA Countdown –  EA did a great job with Jalen Rose updating throughout the season and really all of their ESPN presentation, so I think they will capitalize on that momentum by bringing over the NBA Countdown crew and show. Bringing in Bill Simmons would be big enough, but if they get all four to record some new lines each time the show airs, that would be very impressive.

Customization

NBA 2K15

Local Roster Saves – It is pathetic that this has to be on wishlists or even be a focus on this article. Still, I think 2K got the memo and we will get local saves for rosters this year. I’m not trying to add more predictions to keep track of, but I think we will not see the return of create a team or player, unfortunately.

NBA Live 15

Basic Stuff – Gameplay sliders and custom rosters. Customizable and saveable. Shareable would be nice too, but unfortunately that I think is wishlist territory.

Extra Teams

NBA 2K15

Euros & Retros – So again, same as this year. Maybe a new EuroLeague team or two, but it would be pointless for 2K to abandon those teams after being featured in 2K14. The same goes with retro teams, even if we are losing more and more players each year.

NBA Live 15

Decade Teams – I mean, it’s a callback to the glory days of Live. NBA Live 14 featured a very impressive list of legends for Ultimate Team, something I was not expecting. EA needs to not limit them to that one mode though, and decade teams would fix that.

Updates

NBA 2K15

Good Roster Updates – NBA 2K’s Living Rosters, I feel, are still underwhelming. Duplicate player faces and questionable rating changes, and non-changes, it just has not been up to what I feel is expected for a sports game today. This year I think that changes. Quality roster updates along with the the uniform and court updates we are used to.

NBA Live 15

Same Updates – EA’s updates this year have been decent, some players could have had their ratings boosted or lowered more, and inaccuracies were still abundant. It was still good though, so if they keep at least this quality up, along with some roster customization, it should be a good year update wise for NBA Live 15.

PC Version

NBA 2K15

Fully Featured PS360 Port – I don’t think that $60 price we see up for NBA 2K15 PC preorders is a mistake. I think this is the year we get the full port, features, modes, online….VC. I think VC makes 2K too much money, and if they figured out a way to secure that amount for PC, then they may as well sell it to us too.

NBA Live 15

lol – Just, just no. I wish, I dream, but no. Maybe after Madden and NHL.

Both Games

The Return of Competition – I think this will be the year where we can once again say NBA Live is a comparable alternative to NBA 2K. It can be argued that Live 14 fits that bill, but I think this year there will be a true competition between the two that will be at least as difficult as NBA 2K10 vs NBA Live 10 to choose a ‘better game’. Either by NBA 2K15 screwing up, or NBA Live 15 surprising people, I just have a feeling that we will have two great basketball games this year.

Well, just like the previous years, that was a lot of fun to write up. I will be sure to update my Forum Thread as the preview season progresses with my mostly wrong predictions. Once everything is known, I’ll do a reflection on how badly I failed you all. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this Dumb Monday.