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Dumb Mondays: Should Bad Calls Be In Basketball Video Games?

This is Dumb Mondays, tipping off the workweek with silly facts, opinions, or predictions that you may or may not find interesting. This was originally JaoSming’s feature, but since he’s now at Visual Concepts and hard at work on 2KTV, I’ll be writing a few articles in his place. A new Monday feature may also be coming soon, so stay tuned!

If there’s one thing that sports fans can agree on, it’s that the referees are dumb. It’s not exactly a fair statement of course, as referees often have to make difficult calls and split-second decisions, with limited use of instant replay. Since no one is perfect, “dumb” is a harsh assessment of human error that unfortunately can occur at the worst possible time. Still, when a bad call goes against our favourite team, we’ll curse out the refs, calling them blind, stupid, and biased.

Bottom line, bad calls are like injuries; they’re an unfortunate part of the game that we hope not to see, but are bound to happen at some point. Therefore, I ask the question: since we want to see basketball video games continually become more and more realistic, would it be a dumb idea for them to include bad calls?

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NBA Live 15 Title Update #2 Out Now for Xbox One

We jumped the gun with our initial bulletin, but we can confirm that the second title update for NBA Live 15 is now available on Xbox One. The update will come through automatically, provided your console is connected to the Internet of course. For the full list of patch notes, please see our previous bulletin.

A couple of people have asked about the whereabouts of Rajon Rondo, following his trade to the Dallas Mavericks. I would assume that the deal will be reflected in the next roster update which should hopefully be coming this week, though the holiday season may cause a delay. For those who are unaware, while Synergy data is updated daily and within an hour of a game finishing, additional player ratings, accessories, and transactions are not automated, and are thus adjusted through manual updates. We’ll be sure to post any further information as soon as it’s made available.

You can discuss the second title update in the comments below, as well as in this thread in the NBA Live 15 section of the NLSC Forum.

File Additions for NBA 2K14

NBA 2K14 Cover Art

retroman has released some more NBL courts and arenas for NBA 2K14 PC. You can download them at the links below!

retroman
2013-2014 Hisense Arena in Melbourne Victoria
2014-2015 Hisense Arena in Melbourne Victoria
2014-2015 Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney New South Wales
2014-2015 Townsville RSL Stadium in Townsville Queensland
2014-2015 Vector Arena in Auckland New Zealand
2014-2015 WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong New South Wales

File Additions for NBA 2K11

A couple of new updates for NBA 2K11 PC have been uploaded to our database: a pack of ESPN Team Logos, and a work-in-progress roster update for the 2014/2015 season. You can download them both at the links below.

Narcis Gabriel Barbu
NBA ESPN Team Logos
2014-2015 Roster Update (Incomplete)

File Additions for NBA 2K15

The range of mods for NBA 2K15 PC continues to expand with the latest additions, which include a court update for the Golden State Warriors, and three jersey updates for the Los Angeles Lakers. Pick them all up at the links below!

TBM
Golden State Warriors Court

KevinParker
Los Angeles Lakers Home Jersey
Los Angeles Lakers Away Jersey
Los Angeles Lakers White Alternate Jersey

File Additions for NBA 2K14

NBA 2K14 Cover Art

Here are the latest file additions for NBA 2K14 PC: updated NBA rosters, and a few NBL arenas. Check them out at the links below!

Medevenx
Med’s Ultimate Roster Appdata Files (Updated to v1.0 Beta)

retroman
2014-2015 NBL Adelaide Arena in Findon SA
2014-2015 NBL Perth Arena in Perth, Western Australia
2014-2015 NBL Cairns Convention Centre in Cairns, Queensland

The Friday Five: 5 Buzzwords We Need To Retire (And Why)

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.

In this week’s Friday Five, I’m taking a look at some buzzwords that have entered common usage within the basketball gaming community. My feeling is that these words do nothing for our credibility as gamers and consumers, and only serve to stifle our ability to properly evaluate basketball games. These words are ill-defined and overused, to the point where they fail to be constructive, or in some cases, accurate.

I’d like to clarify that I’m not writing this article in an attempt to suck up to any video game developers, or indiscriminately dismiss criticism of the games themselves. That doesn’t do us any favours as consumers. However, I also believe that as a community, we should pride ourselves on having expert knowledge of basketball games, as well as the ability to properly critique and provide constructive feedback on them. To that end, here are five buzzwords that I think we need to retire, or at the very least, restrict our usage of.

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Clarification: Title Update #2 for NBA Live 15 NOT Out Yet on Xbox One

Contrary to an earlier report which I’ve now removed, the second title update for NBA Live 15 is not yet available for Xbox One users. A Tweet by the official NBA Live Twitter seemingly implied that it was, however it appears that the Tweet was simply reminding Xbox One users about the patch, and what it entails. Unfortunately, we mistook the Tweet to mean that the patch was out, and ran the previous bulletin.

My apologies for the mix-up, we certainly aren’t in the habit of spreading misinformation, as that’s not the site we want to be. Unfortunately I jumped the gun on the previous bulletin, owing to my misinterpretation of the Tweet, and the fact that I couldn’t check for the update personally as I only have a PlayStation 4. Again, my apologies, and thank you to the Xbox One users who provided clarification about the situation.

As soon as there is proper confirmation that the Xbox One patch is available, we’ll be sure to post an update.

NLSC Podcast – Episode #105

NLSC Podcast Logo

Episode #105 of the NLSC Podcast is out now, hosted by Arcane and myself. This week, we talk about the patches for NBA Live 15 and NBA 2K15, once again reflect on realism in basketball video games, and give our thoughts on the latest NBA news and results. This will likely be our final episode for 2014, so a huge thank you to everyone has tuned in this year. Please join us again in 2015!

  • The second title update for NBA Live 15 is out now, and it’s quite a substantial patch. What are our impressions?
  • Unfortunately, the third patch for NBA 2K15 hasn’t yet arrived on Xbox One. PlayStation 4 users in PAL regions are also still waiting for it.
  • We tip our hats to 2K Sports for their very classy gesture of adding Isaiah Austin to NBA 2K15.
  • NBA 2K15 modding continues to pick up steam.
  • Following on from this week’s Tuesday Triple, we once again discuss realism in basketball video games. What are our expectations, and are we altering our approach as the games change?
  • Moving on to the real NBA, we chat about the latest results. Is there a true top championship contender right now?
  • Jabari Parker is the latest rising star to go down with a serious knee injury.
  • Kobe Bryant has passed Michael Jordan for third on the all-time scoring charts. We reflect on the milestone.
  • Is Rajon Rondo heading to the Dallas Mavericks?
  • The Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs offered up an early candidate for Game of the Year.
  • We’re looking to bring back the Question of the Week, starting…now. Post your answers in the comments!
  • We close Episode #105 with a great suggestion for a last minute gift idea, and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Click Play to listen to the show!

As always, we welcome your thoughts on this week’s show, as well as any of the topics that we discussed. Have your say in the comments below, or here in the Forum! Mailbag submissions and topic suggestions are also welcome, so feel free to hit us up in this thread.

Christmas Jerseys in NBA 2K15, Isaiah Austin Added

This year’s Christmas jerseys have now been added to NBA 2K15, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ new alternate jersey. The jerseys can be used in all modes and at any time, and are available in the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions of the game.

Several new Emerald player cards have also been added to MyTEAM, including Isaiah Austin. As many of you are probably aware, Austin was a top prospect in last year’s Draft, but his basketball career was ended prematurely when he was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome. However, 2K Sports has added him to the game as a free agent and a collectible player in MyTEAM, complete with a face scan. Austin also appeared on the latest episode of 2KTV.

As always, the new content should be pushed through automatically when you fire up NBA 2K15, as long as your PC or console is connected to the Internet.

File Additions for NBA Live 08

NBA Live 08 Cover Art

We have a pretty cool new file addition for NBA Live 08 PC today, as mervie16 has created a pack of superhero updates, complete with a Stan Lee coach face by Dc311. Pick it up at the link below!

mervie16
Superhero Add-on

File Additions for NBA 2K15

Several new mods for NBA 2K15 PC have been added to our Downloads section, all of them player face updates. Check out all of the latest additions at the links below!

KevinParker
Kobe Bryant Face (Bearded Version With No Hair)

Krhymes
Larry Bird Face
Michael Jordan Face
Wilt Chamberlain Face
Kyrie Irving Face
Julius Erving Face
Dennis Rodman Face
John Stockton Face

The Tuesday Triple: How We Handle Realism in Basketball Video Games

This is The Tuesday Triple! Originally, it was JaoSming’s answer to The Friday Five, but now that he’s at Visual Concepts working on 2KTV, it’s up for grabs whenever I have a topic that I’d like to cover in three points instead of five, or I can’t think of five items for a list or countdown. On this occasion, I’m using it to talk about how we handle realism in basketball video games.

Da_Czar’s creed sums it up in six words: Don’t play video games, play basketball. It’s a catchy slogan, the perfect mantra for anyone who wants to see basketball video games become as realistic as possible. For anyone who considers themselves a “sim gamer”, they’re words for us – and the developers, for that matter – to live by. Six words to eloquently and succinctly sum up what we want: realism in basketball video games, from top to bottom.

Do we really, though? Do we appreciate the realism that’s already present in basketball video games? Do we truly realise what realism means for the basketball gaming experience? Do we really know what we want?

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Task Killers for NBA Live 2005-08 (Windows 7 Fixes)

While NBA Live 2005, NBA Live 06, NBA Live 07, and NBA Live 08 are compatible with Windows 7 and above, they are prone to a troublesome issue where the game’s executable process isn’t automatically terminated upon exit. Until the process is manually ended through the Task Manager, it is usually impossible to relaunch the game, or another version of NBA Live. Having picked up my old NBA Live 06 Dynasty recently, as well as firing up all four of those games while preparing our upcoming 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content, it’s an issue that I’m all too familiar with.

For those who are still playing those games on PC, or would like to dust them off every once in a while, I’ve whipped up some quick fixes/workarounds that will manually kill the game’s process from the command line. It’s slightly quicker than going through the Task Manager, and may be preferable for users who aren’t very confident in troubleshooting Windows issues. Download them here:

Make sure that you download the correct fix for the game you’re playing. Hope at least some of you find these fixes useful!

File Additions for NBA 2K15

We have a few new face updates for NBA 2K15 PC in today’s additions: a couple of different looks for Kobe Bryant, who has just passed Michael Jordan for third on the all-time regular season scoring leaders, and a new face for fellow Class of 1996 alum Allen Iverson. You can pick them all up at the links below.

KevinParker
Kobe Bryant Face (Goatee Version)
Kobe Bryant Face (Bearded Version)

Krhymes
Allen Iverson Face