Tag Archives: Endorsements

Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five controversial concepts in basketball video games that were ultimately abandoned.

Basketball video games have come a long way, thanks to evolving technology and innovative ideas. Of course, not all ideas pan out, and some definitely aren’t in the best interests of consumers. It’s one thing when a change to a gameplay mechanic or mode doesn’t resonate with gamers, or result in the improvements that were intended. However, when the overall experience is harmed by a controversial approach that’s sorely lacking in goodwill – such as pushy recurrent revenue mechanics – it can easily overshadow a game’s better qualities.

In the best case scenario, such concepts will prove to be so controversial that they’ll be abandoned or at least heavily revamped in the following game, if not sooner via a patch. The annual basketball titles obviously have a built-in audience, and with NBA 2K essentially having a monopoly on the sim genre right now, there’s a lot of freedom to push their luck. Nevertheless, controversial concepts do invite significant backlash, so they will be abandoned if they threaten to damage a company’s reputation; or more accurately, their profits. That said, while they may not be motivated by altruism, it’s always welcome when companies walk back on controversial concepts like these five.

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Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a look at five ways that VC earnings have been reduced in recent NBA 2K games.

When I discussed the rising cost of MyCAREER a couple of years ago, I mentioned that I believe 2K is counting on us forgetting about the VC prices and earnings in previous releases. Once the servers have been shut down, there’s no way to go back and check those figures, unless we have some screenshots and/or videos on hand. Those resources do exist, of course. In the wake of my article, Agent 00 did even further research, and put together an excellent video that expanded upon my findings in great detail. VC earnings have indeed fluctuated, and seldom to our benefit.

Of course, it’s not just a matter of awarding us less VC, though that certainly is part of it. There’s a reason that MyCAREER didn’t feel anywhere near as much of a grind in NBA 2K17 as it does in NBA 2K23, and the inflated prices of upgrades are only half the story. Various methods that were useful in earning extra VC have been removed, in an effort to push gamers towards spending money to upgrade their MyPLAYERs. It’s easy to overlook the removal of these bonuses and the trimming of VC earnings across the board, and it doesn’t help that too many influencers (and gamers) justify it. Nevertheless, we can identify some clear ways that VC earnings have been reduced.

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We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Start your week here at the NLSC with a feature that’s dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on how MyCAREER is essentially an NBA speedrun.

When I recall my virtual achievements in MyCAREER, it’s not to brag. First of all, it’s a basketball video game. While we do take basketball gaming fairly seriously around these parts, in the grand scheme of things, I wouldn’t count what I’ve done on the virtual hardwood as achieving important life goals. Furthermore, while I’ll never invalidate the single player experience, it’s easier to master a predictable AI than it is to be successful in competitive multiplayer. I’m also far from the only person to put up ridiculous numbers in MyCAREER, and win several virtual NBA championships.

On top of that, a new game comes out every year. Some of my best performances in the NBA side of MyCAREER aren’t unique to a single game in the series, let alone compared to gamers everywhere. If there is anything that I can take pride in when it comes to the MyCAREER experience – and I’m sure many others can say the same – it’s efficiency in milestones and levelling up. The tasks required to qualify for the Hall of Fame in MyCAREER are not difficult to perform on the sticks, but doing so within the span of a year does require successful employment of specific strategies. To that point, MyCAREER is essentially a speedrun of an NBA career by design.

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The latest file additions for NBA 2K14 include faces for Nick Van Exel and R.J. Barrett, and updated Draft presentation and endorsement graphics for MyCAREER. Download them all at the links below!

IceCr
Nick Van Exel Face

Taco2K
R.J. Barrett Face
Stephen Curry Face

Mackubex
NBA Draft Presentation Update
MyCAREER Endorsement Graphics Update

Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and File Additions bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

NBA 2K19 will be in our hands very soon, but there are still some things to learn before this year’s game drops. After what was seemingly an unintentional post yesterday, a gameplay blog by the one and only Da_Czar is now officially live.

The blog goes into great detail about enhancements to playcalling and AI in NBA 2K19. Key points on the user side of things include the new playcalling visuals, the revamped On The Fly Coaching menu, and dynamic plays for specific players. You may have already noticed some of these elements if you played through a 2KU game in The Prelude.

On the AI side of things, Da_Czar talks about improvements to play distribution/variation, recognition of mismatches, pick and roll switching, transition offense, double team logic, and freelance offense. He also includes several videos demonstrating the improvements to playcalling and AI on both sides of the ball. Be sure to give it a read for the full scoop!

Meanwhile, Chris Smoove has posted a video providing a comprehensive breakdown of MyCAREER in NBA 2K19. It offers up a wealth of information on MyPOINTS, player progression, contract negotiations, endorsements and VC earnings, career objectives, and more. Watch it below, or catch it here on YouTube.

As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below, as well as join in the discussion here in the NBA 2K19 section of the NLSC Forum!