Tag Archives: Live Events

Patch 1.25 is now available for NBA Live 19! As with all previous official patches, it will come through automatically as long as your PlayStation 4 or Xbox One is online. If you encounter any issues, try checking for the update manually or restarting your console.

As previously promised, the patch includes various tuning tweaks for gameplay, and a deterrent for gamers who hog the ball in LIVE Run. Shot contests have also been adjusted, and higher-rated ballhandlers won’t be forced into picking up their dribble as often. A technical fix for users with five players is also included.

The patch also includes new likenesses for over 60 NBA and WNBA players, venue and uniform updates for Quai 54, WNBA roster and uniform updates, and some NBA rating adjustments. Data for future LIVE Events has also been pushed through in the patch.

Check out the full patch notes below, as well as in the NBA Live 19 update history over in our Wiki. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section, as well as here in the Forum!

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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 few thoughts on what the next big innovation in basketball games might be.

June is upon us, which means we’re drawing closer and closer to the beginning of a new preview season for NBA Live and NBA 2K. A few rumours are already starting to swirl, and it hopefully won’t be too long before we get a few teasers and tidbits to sink our teeth into. In the meantime, we’re left to speculate, and talk about what we want to see in this year’s games. I’m hoping that NBA Live 20 will prove to be a big step forward for EA Sports’ series; conversely, I expect NBA 2K20 to be another fine release, though I am hoping it won’t mark a return to NBA 2K18’s greedy approach.

A new console generation also looms, so beyond this year’s releases, I’ve begun to wonder about what the future holds for basketball games. Apart from concerns about the direction (and whether I’ve started to slip out of the core audience), I’ve also been wondering about the next step in terms of innovation. After all, we’ve already seen the games become more and more realistic, incorporate a variety of deep modes, and provide new experiences through online play. New hardware will naturally facilitate a jump in graphics and animations, but as far as features are concerned, what else can be done to innovate on the virtual hardwood?

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Episode #286 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! This week, Arcane and I are discussing the focus of online play in NBA Live and NBA 2K, and what that means for different types of basketball gamers.

We tip things off with a quick look ahead to the 2019 NBA Finals, as well as a few thoughts on the forthcoming gameplay patch for NBA Live 19. After catching up on the news, we dive into this week’s discussion topic: online, casuals, and simulation. We reflect on some recent Jordan Rec Center games in NBA 2K19, and how they’ve been indicative of changing attitudes towards the importance of sim-style virtual basketball. This leads us to question whether the core demographic is as sim as it used to be, or whether we’re now on the outer fringe. We also attempt to categorise the different types of hoops gamers, and throw out a few suggestions for improving the online experience by addressing various issues including matchmaking and gatekeeping.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:51:41 — 76.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

What are your thoughts on the current direction of online play, and gameplay in general? 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.

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 discusses five toxic behaviours that are all too frequently encountered in online basketball gaming.

If I’m being completely honest, I haven’t had a whole lot of fun playing NBA Live or NBA 2K online this year. I have taken part in some very enjoyable games, and that’s kept me from giving up on the online modes altogether, but it’s felt like the experience has taken another step backwards. The lack of deep matchmaking and proper balance, gatekeeping measures such as requiring five users per side in Pro-Am, and increased focus on meta-gaming, have made online play a lot less fun in NBA 2K. Meanwhile, input lag and other gameplay issues have afflicted NBA Live’s online experience.

It’s not just issues with modes and mechanics, however. We gamers also bear much of the responsibility here, as there is a lot of toxicity among those who like to play NBA 2K and NBA Live online. I’ve discussed toxic behaviour in the community before, and since writing that Monday Tip-Off article, the situation hasn’t improved. Various aspects of the games do cultivate a toxic atmosphere and attitudes, as evident by other online gaming communities that are friendlier or more sporting, but ultimately we’re responsible for our own actions. To that end, curbing these five toxic behaviours will require a combination of changes to the games, and improvements in our attitudes.

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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 improvements that I’d like to see made to LIVE Run and LIVE Events in NBA Live 20 and beyond.

As EA Play 2019 and another preview season loom, we await detailed information on NBA Live 20. We know that the game is coming out and that unfortunately for PC users it will be console-only, but at this early stage, there are still many other things that we are waiting and hoping to hear. While we’ve already submitted our Wishlist and development is well underway, it’s definitely still worth discussing the features and changes that we’d like to see. Not only does it reiterate what we’ve outlined in our Wishlists, you never know what can be pencilled in for post-release updates.

When I discussed ways to improve the online experience in NBA 2K20, I noted that I have become more interested in online modes in recent games, after years of being an offline gamer. I still believe in the importance of robust offline modes, which is why I compiled a list of ways to improve NBA Live’s Franchise mode back in March. The One and its connected experiences have received the most focus in recent years, and I have had some fun with them, jumping on for a game of LIVE Run or taking part in some of the LIVE Events. However, they haven’t felt quite as enjoyable or rewarding as the online modes in NBA 2K. Here are five improvements that could change that.

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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 gimmicky features that turned out to be great additions to basketball video games.

If you’ve been playing basketball video games for some time and experienced more than a couple of preview seasons, it’s tough not to get cynical. Chances are you’ve bought into the hype and been disappointed at least once over the years, and have likely learned to take previews with a grain of salt. Many of us have a knee-jerk reaction to features that sound gimmicky, particularly if they’re given a name that makes for a good blurb on the back of the box, but doesn’t sound like it will address our concerns regarding the experience on the virtual hardwood.

Of course, names can be deceiving. Some of the best features don’t have fancy names, while other times it’s the features with gimmicky labels that have a positive impact. A feature needs a marketable name if it’s going to be a selling point, and as long as it’s something that enhances the game, it’s all for the best. Thankfully, there have been several such features throughout the years, some being very pleasant surprises after a gimmicky name initially led us to be dismissive of them. Most of us will undoubtedly remain somewhat sceptical whenever we encounter fancy names during the preview season, but here are five features that turned out great despite sounding gimmicky.

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Episode #282 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! This week, Arcane and I are discussing the story-driven approach to MyCAREER that was introduced back in NBA 2K14.

After a quick round-up of the news, including an upcoming NBA Street event in NBA Live 19 and the latest patch for NBA 2K Playgrounds 2, we dive into this week’s main topic: MyCAREER stories. We begin with our overall impressions of the story-driven approach to MyCAREER over the past six games, and then move on to discuss each game’s story in detail. Along the way, we identify what we’ve liked and disliked the most about each tale and MyCAREER stories in general, and suggest ways that the approach could improve as a new generation looms.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:59:33 — 82.2MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

What are your thoughts on MyCAREER stories? 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.

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 ways to improve Ultimate Team in NBA Live 20.

Due to its extended hiatus, NBA Live was the last EA Sports title to implement an Ultimate Team mode. Along with Franchise and The One, its presence provides the game with the staple experiences of a franchise, career, and card collection/team building mode, and has proven to be a welcome addition. However, while Ultimate Team is a mode I’ve enjoyed since the reboot, it shares the same problem that other modes in NBA Live have suffered: it’s still too barebones. To that end, just as I have ideas on how to improve Franchise mode, I have suggestions for Ultimate Team.

After enjoying the mode so much in NBA Live 18, I felt disappointed by NBA Live 19’s Ultimate Team. Quite a few changes were made that I believe were done with the best of intentions, but the result was that an already thin mode became even thinner, despite making a couple of additions. It’s not too late to correct course however, as a lot of the building blocks are in place. LUT also made a great move in NBA Live 19 by removing contracts, something that NBA 2K’s MyTEAM should also implement. Generally speaking though, Ultimate Team should borrow ideas from MyTEAM, as well as bring back or expand upon concepts that it has featured in previous iterations.

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Episode #277 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Join Kenny and I for your weekly dose of basketball gaming discussion, including the latest content updates for NBA Live 19 and NBA 2K19, the second annual March Modness, and what we’ve been doing on the virtual hardwood.

On this week’s show…

• New rosters have come through for NBA Live 19, along with a new Creator Challenge LIVE Event featuring Cream E Biggums. His custom model leads to a discussion on expanding the variety of body types in NBA Live 20 and beyond.
• LeBron James 20th Anniversary packs are now available in NBA 2K19’s MyTEAM. Neither of us have scored a Pink Diamond LeBron, but fortunately Locker Codes have been helping to beef up our squads.
• The second annual March Modness has tipped off! In addition to celebrating modding and hopefully giving away a game to a talented modder, some NLSC releases are still in the pipeline. A brief status report is included, along with some reflections on the differences between modding rosters for NBA Live and NBA 2K.
• Our Week in Basketball Gaming included an impromptu session in the Jordan Rec Center, and more grinding in the second year of our respective MyCAREER games. Does the Hall of Fame await?

Click Play to listen to the show!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 51:23 — 35.4MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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.

Patch 1.21 has come through for NBA Live 19. As with all official patches/title updates, it will be downloaded automatically as long as your PlayStation 4 or Xbox One has an active Internet connection. If it doesn’t, try restarting your console, or checking for the update manually.

The developers have released notes for Patch 1.21 over on the official NBA Live Reddit. They are as follows:

• Ended the 2x XP bonus granted for All Star
• Updated All-Star warm-ups
• New gear for the store and live events:
  • Rokit Venue
  • Nike Kyrie 5 ROKIT
• New Jadakiss Track
• Updated commentary
• Animation fixes for reported bugs

For a detailed update history for NBA Live 19, check out this article over in our Wiki. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section below, as well as in this topic in the NLSC Forum!

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 features five tips for being a good online teammate in NBA Live 19’s LIVE Events and LIVE Run.

It’s a good time to play The One and its connected modes in NBA Live 19. The latest content update has doubled XP in celebration of the 2019 All-Star Weekend, offering an opportunity to make quicker progress on levelling up your One Player. Beyond that, the developers are keeping things fresh with new LIVE Events throughout All-Star Weekend, and the online team play experience of LIVE Run remains a fun way of hooping it up with your fellow virtual basketball enthusiasts. I’ve been taking part in a few LIVE Events myself this week, both solo and co-op.

I’ve generally had a good time playing the co-op LIVE Events in NBA Live 19, but the games have been frustrating at times. Some of my frustration can be attributed to inevitable lag or areas where NBA Live still has room for improvement, but on more than one occasion, I was left muttering and wondering what my online teammates were doing. That’s not to say that I never made a mistake, but I encountered quite a few of the common pitfalls of playing online with random teammates. Playing with randoms is never going to be quite the same as running with an organised squad, but here are five tips for functioning as a cohesive unit in NBA Live 19’s online modes.

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EA Sports have released an All-Star Edition of NBA Live 19. It features various bonuses including All-Star themed clothing for your One Player and new Court Battles players, as well as a new cover featuring Joel Embiid and James Harden. Harden was previously featured as the cover player for NBA Live 18.

However, this doesn’t mean that owners of The One Edition are left out in the cold. If you fire up the game before March 22nd, you’ll be able to pick up the All-Star content as well. Additionally, if you enter Ultimate Team, you’ll be gifted with five All-Star promo cards for James Harden, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, LeBron James, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

A new content update has also come through for NBA Live 19. In addition to updated rosters and a couple of bug fixes, it also adds double XP for The One, Court Battles, and LIVE Events. It requires a restart of the game to take effect, but it will last through the rest of the week, in celebration of the 2019 All-Star Weekend.

As always, feel free to share any thoughts in the comments section below, as well as join in the discussion here in the NBA Live 19 section of the NLSC Forum!

Episode #274 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! It’s been a busy week in basketball gaming with multiple patches and content updates, while things have also been interesting in the real NBA thanks to the trade deadline. Along with what we’ve been doing on the virtual hardwood, it’s given Kenny and I plenty to talk about.

On this week’s show…

• NBA Live 19 received a substantial title and content update this week. Getting a trade deadline roster update in time for the weekend was a pleasant surprise, but the addition of in-game injuries came as even better news. It leads us to reflect on some changes that were patched into NBA Live 10 all those years ago.
• Following up on Patch 1.08 for NBA 2K19, there have indeed been some improvements in terms of cutting down on body steals. Will the changes stick for NBA 2K20, though?
• With NBA 2K trying to strike a balance between its sim roots, competitive online play, and occasional demands for less realism, has the series become a victim of its own success due to the influx of more casual basketball gamers?
• NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 has received new content, just in time for the All-Star Weekend (and Valentine’s Day). We share a few more opinions on the game, and also discuss the removal of the first NBA Playgrounds game from the Steam Store.
• Our Week in Basketball Gaming included progress into Season 2 of MyCAREER, an online session for the NLSC crew, LIVE Events swag, and MyTEAM Domination. It also included a bit of modding, with further updates to a work-in-progress roster update for NBA 2K11.
• We wrap up Episode #274 of the NLSC Podcast with this week’s NBA discussion. Topics include the flurry of movement at the trade deadline, and a look ahead to the 2019 All-Star Weekend in Charlotte.

Click Play to listen to the show!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:53:57 — 78.3MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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.

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 few thoughts on the divide between online and offline enthusiasts within the basketball gaming community, and how it’s affecting the development of hoops titles.

By definition, fanatics are not always logical, with measured, reasonable opinions. It’s a rare fanbase that doesn’t have some sort of schism, if not a multitude of factions that hold differing opinions. I touched on one such example in last week’s feature, noting that there’s often dissonance when it comes to younger gamers, and those who have been playing basketball games for a long time (in some cases, more than a couple of decades). There are a lot of things that most basketball gamers want and can agree on, but also some very different ideas about features, identity, and overall direction.

The most noticeable schism within the basketball gaming community would have to be between online and offline gamers. The rise of online gaming in general, and the expansion of multiplayer modes in basketball games specifically, has led to a faction of hoops gamers who play exclusively online, with little interest in the offline modes. At the same time, there are a lot of gamers who prefer the single player experience. In the middle of the Venn diagram are gamers who play both online and offline to some extent, sitting in the crossfire of two passionate factions who are not only taking shots at developers, but also each other. Unfortunately, it makes us a hard group to please.

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Episode #273 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Arcane returns to the booth this week as we catch up on the latest title updates for NBA Live 19 and NBA 2K19, spotlight some recent mod releases, discuss the 2019 NBA All-Star selections, and react to the Kristaps Porzingas trade.

On this week’s show…

• The latest patch for NBA Live 19 has added several new courts to 3v3 LIVE Run. While we’re still hoping to see more attention paid to other modes in the future, they’re definitely worthwhile additions. On top of that, a very worthy member of the community has been featured in a LIVE Event.
• NBA 2K19 also received a new patch this week. It contains some promising gameplay tweaks, and some welcome bug fixes. We’ll have further impressions in the near future.
• We provide a quick round-up of some recent mod releases, including a 1992 Season Mod for NBA 2K19 PC, a College Hoops 2K mod for NBA 2K11, and the latest versions of U R Basketball for NBA 2K13 and NBA 2K14.
• Moving on to some NBA discussion, the 2019 All-Stars have been revealed. We give our thoughts on this year’s selections, as well as the special additions of Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki.
• We wrap up Episode #273 of the NLSC Podcast with our thoughts on Kristaps Porzingas being traded to the Mavericks, which certainly caught a lot of fans off-guard (ourselves included). We also speculate on the likelihood that Anthony Davis will be moved by the deadline.

Click Play to listen to the show!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:11:14 — 49.0MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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.