NLSC Your source for basketball video games.

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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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.

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!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:15:16 — 37.7MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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.

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.

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

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

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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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:

• NBA Live 08 Fix
• NBA Live 07 Fix
• NBA Live 06 Fix
• NBA Live 2005 Fix

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

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

New Fantasy and Community Challenges are now available in NBA Live 15’s Ultimate Team. The latest Fantasy Challenge features the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors.

BROOKLYN NETS
Beat the Raptors for a red CoinUP item. If the Nets beat the Raptors on Wednesday, the Item will turn green and be worth 5,000 Coins the next day.

Rewards:
Nets CoinUP Pack: A five-item Pack guaranteeing a featured CoinUP Item worth up to 5,000 Coins, and one Silver or better player.

TORONTO RAPTORS
Beat the Nets for a red CoinUP item. If the Raptors beat the Nets on Wednesday, the Item will turn green and be worth 5,000 Coins the next day.

Rewards:
Raptors CoinUP Pack: A five-item Pack guaranteeing a featured CoinUP Item worth up to 5,000 Coins, and one Silver or better player.

This week’s Community Challenge features a couple of games against teams comprised completely of point guards:

Points of Authority
Beat these all Point Guard teams built by SwishGuard and PointsTaken for a chance at 15,000 Coins

Rewards:

Game One – 1,000 Coins
Game Two – Premium Coin Pack

Don’t forget that you can join in the Ultimate Team discussion here in the NBA Live 15 section of the Forum.

We’re wrapping up the weekend with some new file additions for NBA 2K14 PC. Today’s new and updated files include current rosters, retro courts, and a fantasy face update for Kobe Bryant; check them all out at the links below!

KevinParker
Kevin’s Realistic Roster (Updated to v3.0)

retroman
1985 NBA All-Star Game at The Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis
1986 NBA All-Star Game at Reunion Arena in Dallas
1987 NBA All-Star Game at The Kingdome in Seattle
1988 NBA All-Star Game at Chicago Stadium in Chicago
1989 NBA All-Star Game at The Astrodome in Houston

martosonic
Kobe Bryant Disco Face

Murat has released a couple of new patches for NBA Live 2004 PC, including updates for the referee uniforms and team backboards, as well as a court and arena update for the Sacramento Kings. Check them both out at the links below!

Murat
2014/2015 NBA Referee and Backboard Update
2014/2015 Sleep Train Arena (Sacramento Kings)

More mods for NBA 2K15 PC are starting to be released by our talented community, including court updates, faces, jerseys, and even a custom net. Check out the latest additions at the link below!

Manni
Chain Net
Utah Jazz Updated Court Logo

TBM
Dwyane Wade Face

samardzicnba
KK Crvena Zvezda Jersey

The second title update is now available for the PlayStation 4 version of NBA Live 15, and will be available soon on Xbox One. It contains over 400 improvements including bug fixes, gameplay tweaks, newly scanned player faces, this year’s Christmas jerseys, and an enhanced Shot Meter.

The release notes over on the official website also provide further insight into the Synergy updates in NBA Live 15. A few new Synergy related features have been added in the second title update to provide better integration, including more accurate line-ups in Play Now mode.

All in all, it appears to be a comprehensive and most welcome update for the game. See below for a list of the key changes that have been made in the second title update, and stay tuned for some impressions. In the meantime, if you’d like to add your own thoughts on the latest update, feel free to do so in the comments section below, as well as in this thread in the NBA Live 15 section of the Forum.

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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.

BIG Moments have only been in two iterations of NBA Live to date, but I’m definitely hoping that the mode becomes a staple of the series, as it’s quickly become one of my favourite aspects of the game. I’m liking the improvements and additions that have been made in NBA Live 15, such as the hot spot challenges, scenarios where we’re invited to re-write history, and the wider variety of game situations. If there’s another element I’d like to see added to BIG Moments however, it would be historical challenges.

Now, this would be tricky to pull off, as it would require EA Sports to secure the likeness rights of various retired players. Additionally, the player that I’d most like to see represented in historical BIG Moments – Michael Jordan – is currently signed to an exclusive deal with Visual Concepts, which makes his inclusion in NBA Live impossible. However, let’s put all of that aside for a moment, and pretend that anything and everything is possible. With that in mind, here are the five historical BIG Moments that I’d like to see in NBA Live.

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