Tag Archives: Green Releases

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some reflections on how there are times that I miss dice roll shooting mechanics in basketball video games.

At this point, it’s a safe bet to say that Green Releases will remain a fixture of NBA 2K’s shooting mechanics moving forward. It’s just a matter of how they’re handled, and whether there are any additional controls and mechanics such as shot aiming or rhythm shooting with the right stick. In recent years, the “Green or Miss” approach to shooting has been particularly contentious. On one hand, it rewards skilful input with a guaranteed result (blocked attempts notwithstanding). On the other hand, it’s not necessarily accessible, or preferable for offline play.

It’s funny to revisit the discourse around Green Releases back in 2017, when Mike Wang spoke of a desire to wean gamers off of the idea that they should be guaranteed baskets. “Green or Miss” certainly goes against that aim, demonstrating how attitudes have changed as NBA 2K has increasingly catered to the online scene. Personally, I’m in favour of Green Releases being guaranteed, very good or near-perfect releases still being reliable, and then progressively lower odds of success as the timing gets worse. To that point, while I wouldn’t change the approach of Green Releases always being successful, I must admit that I sometimes miss the old dice roll shooting mechanics.

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We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on the dichotomy of shooting mechanics in modern basketball video games.

Over the decades, developers of basketball video games have strived to make their controls and gameplay mechanics deeper and more skill-based. This has of course resulted in hits and misses throughout the years, as some ideas have proven to be better – and more fun – than others. The successful ideas have become staples of the genre, persisting even as other elements of the games are revamped. To that end, just as modern basketball games aren’t about to eschew right stick dribbling controls, it’s difficult to see them shying away from shooting mechanics based on Green Releases.

Once again, there’s a reason that both of those concepts have prevailed as staples of NBA 2K, as well as the last two NBA Live games. Modern dribbling controls offer precision that wasn’t possible by simply tapping a crossover or spin move button, while today’s shooting mechanics avoid the somewhat contrived ambiguity of RNG; well, for the most part, anyway. At the same time, this skill-based approach definitely isn’t perfect either. There’s undoubtedly merit in rewarding gamers for precise timing with a 100% chance of success, but it can be punishingly challenging, not to mention unbalanced and unrealistic. And so, there’s a dichotomy to these shooting mechanics.

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As promised, this week has delivered our first look at gameplay in NBA 2K26. An in-depth developer blog spotlights the biggest improvements this year, while the first official trailer has given us a glimpse of the game in action.

NBA 2K26 will feature a new motion engine that’s powered by ProPLAY. Interestingly, the blog boasts that skating has basically been removed thanks to the new tech in this year’s game. Controls have been expanded to include some new elusive moves on offense, and defensive AI has been shored up. Notably, shooting is now Green-or-Miss across all game modes, except on lower difficulty levels offline. The windows for Green Releases will also scale according to difficulty, and will be more forgiving in team-control modes (and conversely, less forgiving in competitive play).

As you’d expect, the NBA 2K26 gameplay trailer showcases the game from cinematic angles. This does make it difficult to gauge the level of improvement as obviously the chosen clips show the game in the best possible light, but as usual, it’s a well-produced trailer. Some of the jerseys that are set to debut this year are on display, along with some familiar faces in new places. The choice of “Song 2” by Blur is certainly an interesting choice of music as well.

I’ve summarised the key points of the gameplay blog below, though as always I’d recommend giving it a read for the full scoop. Dee and I will naturally have plenty to say on the NLSC Podcast, so stay tuned. In the meantime, check out that summary below, along with the gameplay trailer. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, as well as join in the discussion in our NBA 2K26 Forum!

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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 list of five things that I miss when I go back and play older basketball video games.

Retro basketball gaming is awesome, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! That isn’t to say that newer games aren’t great too, and I certainly sink hours into them as well. However, don’t let the naysayers tell you that all previous releases were inferior to their modern counterparts, and it’s only myopic nostalgia that allows you to enjoy them. Whether it’s the pervasive presence of recurrent revenue mechanics, a grind that feels more like tedious work than a fun and challenging journey, or a questionable design choice in the gameplay, newer is not always better.

By the same token however, it’s true that not everything was better in the “good old days”. Some ideas, or entire games, have aged poorly. We can also forget that even the classics have problems of their own. If nothing else, there are enhancements and additions in more recent basketball games that I miss when I go back and play old titles. Their absence doesn’t render those old games unplayable or unenjoyable, but you definitely do miss the fun and/or convenience that they added. Even if there’s an old approach that still has merit and would work fine, we’ve grown accustomed to a new way of doing things. Whatever the case, I miss these five things in old games.

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at the PlayStation 3 version of NBA 07, the 2007 season entry in Sony’s first party NBA series.

With the lack of options in the basketball gaming space nowadays, I’m often wistful for a time when several NBA titles were on the market year after year. Of course, not every game was available to me. Some were North American exclusives, unavailable to those of us in PAL regions unless we had the hardware to play imported games. This included a majority of Sony’s NBA series, making it both a region and console exclusive. In hindsight, that was never going to realistically allow it to challenge the dominance of NBA Live and NBA 2K!

Developed by San Diego Studio – probably best known for MLB: The Show – the NBA series only saw one official worldwide release, namely NBA 08. Mind you, given that the PlayStation 3 was region-free, that didn’t have to be a barrier for anyone who was willing and able to import games! Since adding a PS3 to my collection, I’ve been able to pick up some games that I never had an opportunity to play when they were new, such as college basketball titles. This also includes a few games from the NBA series, and today, I’m profiling NBA 07 with an in-depth retrospective. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #492 of the NLSC Podcast!

The NBA 2K24 preview season is certainly ramping up! This week, we’re reacting to the ProPLAY trailer and the insights of the gameplay blog, discussing the featured games in Mamba Moments and noting some missed opportunities, debating the merits of the “Green or Miss” approach to shooting mechanics, and mulling the pros and cons of the new MyPLAYER Builder and the Badge progression/regression system. There are some intriguing ideas, but also a few that could prove to be costly missteps for NBA 2K24. We also recap fun sessions with NBA Live 10 and NBA 2K14, celebrate a big milestone, and join the community in sharing some of our favourite memories of Kobe Bryant.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:09:46 — 48.3MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on the pros and cons of NBA 2K24 running with a “Green or Miss” approach to shooting.

As revealed in last week’s developer blog on gameplay, shooting in NBA 2K24 will come down to “Green or Miss”. In other words, precise timing will be required, as any shot that isn’t a Green Release will be unsuccessful. However, this won’t be the case across the board. In modes such as MyNBA, MyTEAM, and Play Now, the timing will be more forgiving on lower difficulty levels, meaning that you’ll be able to make some shots without getting a Green Release. However, if you’re playing on Hall of Fame difficulty, or one of the online competitive modes, it’ll be “Green or Miss”!

It’s a strict approach to the shooting mechanics, though obviously not as strict as it could’ve been. It could prove to be a controversial decision, and will certainly fuel further arguments between NBA 2K gamers. Personally, I have mixed feelings about the “Green or Miss” approach, and the way it will be implemented in NBA 2K24. The idea has merit from the standpoint of establishing a skill-based competitive scene, but the concept still has its flaws. It needn’t impact the gameplay experience on offer in the traditional modes, but it’s still there in the background. I’m sure there will be many elitist takes on this, so let’s take a more nuanced look at the “Green or Miss” concept.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #444 of the NLSC Podcast!

After a full week with NBA 2K23, what are our thoughts on both versions of the game? We’ve got further impressions to share – both positive and negative – about gameplay, MyNBA Eras, and MyTEAM. One of us headed to The Rec to check out the state of the online scene, and in what may come as a surprising development, we could be seeing the return of NLSC THRILLHO! The addition of Semi-Pro difficulty leads to a discussion of preferred settings, and their impact on first impressions. We also reflect on the interesting use of Legends in NBA ShootOut 2004, and respond to a particularly nasty and condescending Tweet about playing video games as an adult. In this week’s mailbag, our listeners share their thoughts on NBA 2K23 so far.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:48:33 — 74.9MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on shot aiming mechanics, and how they are a hit and miss idea; pun fully intended.

There’s been a lot of talk about the skill gap in NBA 2K in recent years, as you would expect with a greater emphasis on the online competitive scene. Much has been said about the need to separate the good from the great, the scrubs from the elite, and truly celebrate and reward stick skills on the virtual hardwood. Mind you, several gamers push back on the idea of proper matchmaking, so I do question how “competitive” the scene really is. Many of the mechanics that those gamers champion are likewise of questionable value when it comes to the skill gap, and overall quality of gameplay.

Shot aiming is a prominent and somewhat controversial example. On paper, it’s a good idea. It’s more skilful then simply pressing and holding a button, and one could argue that it’s trying to emulate actual basketball skills and technique. In practice, it’s seldom worked out as well as intended, and developers have ended up shelving the concept quite quickly each time it’s been attempted. I have some mixed feelings about shot aiming. I can see the logic behind the idea, but its repeated shortcomings leave me sceptical that it can truly work. Furthermore, I’m bothered by the elitism that it fosters, and the notion that any objections or criticism of it indicates a lack of skill.

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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 list of five concepts that ended up changing NBA 2K forever.

I’m no psychologist, but I’d hazard a guess and say that most of us have experienced an aversion to change at some point in our lives. Whether it’s apprehension of new surroundings, nostalgia goggles, or just plain comfort with the current arrangements, we’d prefer things not to change. Not to get too deep here – again, I’m no psychologist – but it’s important to accept change as part of life, and be able to adjust and grow. Of course, not all change is desirable, and change for change’s sake can prove to be a bad idea. Given the choice, it would’ve been preferable to leave things as they were.

We’ve seen a lot of these changes in basketball video games over the years. Many have been for the best, representing revolution and evolution within the genre. Others haven’t panned out so well. In the case of the latter, some of those concepts have only lasted a game or two before the developers scrapped them in favour of a new and better solution; or perhaps, returned to an old approach that still works best. Other concepts unfortunately stick around despite their negative impact, or at the very least, mixed results. For better or worse, these concepts have forever changed the NBA 2K series as we know it, either from a mechanical or philosophical standpoint.

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Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown. This week’s Five is a list of five moments in basketball games that are very predictable.

In real basketball, there’s a phenomenon of knowing a shot is going in as soon as it leaves your hands. It just feels right, the arc looks perfect, and it’s almost like there’s a sixth sense about it. Of course, that confidence isn’t always well-founded, in which case you may end up looking like Nick Young! We can get a similar feeling when we see someone else shoot the basketball, either on TV or when we’re on the court. It’s why we’re so surprised to see the great shooters and clutch performers miss attempts that we were absolutely sure would splash through the net.

As an artificial representation of the sport, basketball video games naturally contain some telltale signs that make them far more predictable than real life. Predictability isn’t always a bad thing of course, particularly when it’s a favourable outcome. Even when it isn’t, you’re at least able to brace yourself for the outcome, perhaps avoiding getting your hopes up. However, like a spoiler for a film, TV show, or indeed a video game with an in-depth narrative, it can detract from the experience by removing a sense of anticipation, with certain actions feeling inconsequential. For better or worse, here are five of the most predictable moments found in basketball video games.

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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 a discussion of canned moments, and how they play into the myth of the skill gap in NBA 2K.

There’s been a lot of talk in recent years about NBA 2K implementing a “skill gap”. It seems that every year, we get a gameplay blog in which a new or tweaked mechanic is touted as bringing a proper skill gap to the forthcoming game. By and large, this is a promise that games have failed to deliver upon. That’s not to say that the changes aren’t improvements in their own right, or that there isn’t any skill involved in playing NBA 2K. Furthermore, gamers definitely do demonstrate different levels of skill – such as it is – especially in the online arena.

However, it isn’t a true skill gap as such, because the way one wins and loses in NBA 2K doesn’t necessarily come down to skill; or at least, not pure stick skills. There are factors such as meta-gaming in MyCAREER and its connected modes, and pay-for-advantage mechanics in terms of quick MyPLAYER upgrades and pack openings in MyTEAM. I’ve discussed those issues at length before, so I won’t be going into them today. Instead, I want to talk about core mechanics that stand in the way of NBA 2K truly having a skill gap. One of the most pressing issues in that regard, as I’m sure many NBA 2K gamers are all too aware, is the prominence of canned moments.

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Episode #331 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Derek (aka Dee4Three) and I are your hosts for this week’s show.

In a shocking development, one of us has a new perspective on a game we’ve openly criticised in the past. Find out what led to the change in heart, and stay tuned to hear if the new opinion sticks! We also tackle the issue of shot meters, Green Releases, and shooting mechanics in general. What do we think is the best approach, and could we ever go back to the old ways? Meanwhile, talking about the mods we’re working on leads us to workshop some ideas for other projects we’d love to create. With only one basketball game announced for Next Gen, we also discuss some other titles that we’d like to see return. Since the NBA’s resumption is also looming, we finish up with a discussion of asterisks, and how this year’s championship will likely be viewed.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 2:27:03 — 101.1MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

What’s your take on this week’s conversation? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

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 Green Releases, specifically the arguments for and against the mechanic.

Back in May 2017, I discussed the future of Green Releases in NBA 2K. Three years on, the mechanic still remains an issue. It’s funny to look back and see that Mike Wang was talking about weaning gamers off the concept of Green Releases, only for them to still be in the game, relatively unchanged. I say relatively because NBA 2K18 attempted to artificially nerf them with a “Good” release actually only having a 5% chance of going in – less than a Slightly Early or Slightly Late release – and other games have also seen Beluba and co tinker with the perfect release windows.

Apart from that, the basic idea remains the same. Green Releases result in a made shot every time, unless it’s blocked or you’re too far behind the backboard. If you can learn the precise timing of a jumpshot animation and pay attention to the rumble feedback cues, you’ll be greening attempts with ease and regularity. We’re still as reliant on the approach as ever, and it doesn’t look like it’s something that NBA 2K – or NBA Live, now that it’s adopted the same style of shot mechanics and feedback – will be able to move away from. The question is: should it? It feels like we’re at a stalemate on the issue, so let’s go over the pros and cons of Green Releases once again.

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This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at the history of jumpshots in basketball video games.

Jumpshots are a basic staple of basketball, and one of the most common ways of scoring; especially in the modern era. With that in mind, it’s strange that they used to be one of the weaker aspects of the mechanics in basketball video games. In the early days of basketball gaming, jumpshots were nowhere near as reliable as they should have been. I even remember a strategy guide for NBA Live 96 basically advising against taking jumpshots and in particular long two-pointers, citing that they had all of the difficulty and risk of three-pointers, without the added reward of an extra point.

Thinking back on it now, that advice actually predicted the rise of analytics, as well as disdain for shooting from midrange. Of course, while opting for shots right at the rim or from beyond the arc and eschewing the midrange is all about efficiency in the modern NBA, in old school basketball video games, it was about effectiveness. Until the mechanics were properly developed, taking a jumpshot – even a wide open ten footer along the baseline – was unrealistically risky on the virtual hardwood. You can call this piece The History of Jumpshots in Video Games (Or, Why Shot Meters Are Important). Let’s take a look back…way back…

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