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NLSC Podcast – Episode #249

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Episode #249 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Join Arcane and I for a discussion of the past week in basketball and basketball gaming, including a new executive producer for NBA Live, the delay of NBA Playgrounds 2, the 2018 Conference Finals, and what we’ve been playing.

On this week’s show…

  • Seann Graddy is the new executive producer of the NBA Live series, with Sean O’Brien moving on to a new role at EA Sports. What does this mean for the series moving forward?
  • Viewership numbers for the NBA 2K League continue to dwindle. Is the League a flop – or on the way to being one – and what is it doing wrong?
  • NBA Playgrounds 2 has been abruptly delayed, less than a week ahead of its release. Saber Interactive are promising great things, but gamers are sceptical.
  • Our Week in Basketball Gaming included more Ultimate Team challenges, LIVE Run, and some bargain retro game pick-ups. There’s also been a noteworthy development in the modding community.
  • We wrap up Episode #249 of the NLSC Podcast with a discussion of the 2018 Conference Finals.

Click Play to listen to the show!

Have some thoughts on the latest episode? Got a mailbag question or topic suggestion for the next show? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

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beegees
beegees
May 21, 2018 7:02 am

2K may look towards what Konami does. They promote their tournament events via in-game pop-outs, encouraging watching Twitch streams, rewarding MyClub (its fantasy team building mode) coins (Konami and Twitch accounts must be tied). I don’t watch PES tournaments much, but they gather ~5k viewers anytime.

Dee4three
Dee4three
May 22, 2018 1:48 am

If a popup occurred in game with a link to the official stream, I think that would absolutley garner more viewership. There will be people who scoff at this approach, as they did when 2K threw some advertisements in the game via pregame…. but that would absolutley work. We are living in an impulse generation, people act on impulse and in the moment. If someone is in the middle of the menus, or just has the game on messing around, and a popup were to appear with a link, I think a lot of people would click on it.

In regards to gameplay, 2K18 wasn’t the right game to start with. I think we can all agree on that. I like Arcanes point about sim basketball online,one of the reasons I don’t play online is because of the nature of the way the games play out. It’s basically a one on one, showboating cheese-fest. No fun at all for me. Glad he was able to get enjoyment out of Live.

Playgrounds is missing depth, Andrew alluded to that. I remember playing one of the revamped NBA Jams (PS2 or Xbox 360. Can’t remember), I believe it was the on fire edition. But it had black and white games when playing against certain classic teams, it gave classic presentation. The modes were deeper, I played that game a lot. Playgrounds 2 needs more depth. I’m also not sure what or if any options exist for camera views, but I find the default camera quite close, to the point where it’s a little unappealing to me. For me, it seems closer than past games like it. Maybe it’s the sheer size of the heads, I cant put my finger on it. I think it would be cool to give the game atleast 3 camera options. Or atleast allow us to zoom out. However, that’s extra programming all together, and that company may not have the resources.

Great podcast again.