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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 improvements in basketball video games that I believe are somewhat underappreciated.

Basketball video games have come a long way, in ways that are extremely obvious. Technological improvements have allowed them to look more realistic, include more modes, content, and features, and generally achieve more accuracy throughout the years. However, the little things do matter, and often go a long way in making games more enjoyable. Of course, sometimes the big improvements are underappreciated as well, particularly if we focus on their potential drawbacks rather than how they’ve benefitted the genre.

If nothing else, some milestone improvements are underappreciated because they’ve been a part of basketball video games for so long, leading us to simply expect to see them and thus take them for granted. As such, I’d like to spotlight five improvements that I believe are underappreciated these days. Sure, they’ve become standard features so they’re not necessarily exciting anymore, and it’s not as though we need to grovel in gratitude. Nevertheless, they still deserve recognition for improving the games and pushing them forward. As someone who has been playing basketball games since the 90s, I’d suggest that these five improvements are among the most underappreciated.

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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 another list of things that you’ll see in games that are unpatched.

As I noted in my first article recalling things that you’ll see in unpatched games, official updates are a contentious issue. Day 1 patches do little to convince gamers that modern titles aren’t rushed out before they’re ready, and frequent updates can be annoying when they’re several gigabytes in size, essentially forcing you to download the entire game all over again. From the list of issues that they have to fix to some of the undesirable changes that are pushed through, the sight of a pending patch is one that makes many basketball gamers groan in frustration.

However, when we consider that we used to have to beg and plead for patches that barely fixed any issues, and for a long time weren’t viable on console, I’ve come to believe that having too many patches is actually the lesser of two evils. While there are times when foregoing an update or downgrading to a previous version is in fact preferable, you’ll also be reminded of some weird and bothersome issues when you play unpatched games. Of course, you’ll also see some interesting snapshots of the league when a game and its rosters are restored to their vanilla state. With that being said, here are five more noteworthy things that you’ll encounter without patches.

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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 times that we were able to alter the frontend in basketball video games without modding them.

You know, sometimes we focus so much on searching for the video game secrets that we wish were real, that we forget to enjoy the fun things we can actually do. Take Super Mario 64, for example. So many people have painstakingly collected every coin in every level, and done everything else they can to unlock Luigi; an endeavour that’s doomed to fail, because it’s been proven that he’s not in the game. Something that is in the game however is the ability to stretch Mario’s face on the title screen into goofy poses and expressions. Silly as it may be, I’ve laughed uproariously while doing that!

After all, there’s something satisfying about being able to mess around with a game’s presentation or frontend, without actually having to externally mod any files. It may not have a practical use, but it doesn’t need one. It’s still a novelty, something fun to do as you’re preparing to jump into gameplay, or you’ve just finished up a session. I realise that doesn’t gel with the idea of competitive play, grinding for rewards, and taking video games super seriously, but that’s not all that gaming is about. Whether it’s a prominent option that you can select, or a minor detail that you can manipulate, there’s joy in having the ability to alter the frontend in various basketball video games.

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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 players either using renders or real photos for portraits in basketball video games.

When you’re a fan of a specific sport or genre – probably both in the case of basketball video games – it’s easy to get stuck in a bubble. As such, it’s always interesting to take a glance at other fandoms, and observe familiar debates over similar issues. Of course, if you’re part of multiple fandoms, you may have had those discussions many times! Case in point, I happened across a thread in the WWE Games subreddit that raises a question about an issue that I’ve had as a fan of both basketball and wrestling games: in-game renders, or real life photos for portraits?

Reading through that discussion reminded me of my own conflicting thoughts on the matter throughout the years. Like many incompatible preferences, both are reasonable to desire, and both have clear advantages and disadvantages. To that end, it’s hardly surprising that the debate rages on, and that it’s difficult to find common ground. In the grand scheme of things, there are certainly more important issues with basketball and wrestling games than whether their presentation makes use of in-game renders or real portraits. All the same, the little things in gaming definitely do still matter. And so, while I don’t expect to settle the debate here, I’ll throw in my two cents once again.

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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 weird bugs and design errors that I’ve encountered in the modes of basketball video games.

It bears repeating that no video game, basketball or otherwise, is going to be perfect. If it were possible to design games and software that were completely bug-free, it would’ve happened a long time ago! As basketball games and their modes have become deeper and more sophisticated, the chances of there being a few bugs here and there has only increased. Likewise, while there have been some very smart and passionate people working on basketball video games past and present, not all ideas pan out as well as hoped, leading to what we could reasonably call design errors.

Needless to say, it’s frustrating for everyone when bugs and design errors stand in the way of modes being as fun as they could and should be. In the best case scenario, a patch can fix the problem, or the issue will be resolved in next year’s release at the latest. Sadly that isn’t always the case, and there are times when we’ve been stuck with bugs and design errors for a few games running (and sometimes, even longer). Even when bugs and design errors don’t completely ruin a mode, they still have an impact on the experience, and they become one of the things that we remember most about a title. Here are five weird bugs and design errors that I’ve encountered in modes I play.

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Congratulations to SexCurryBeats and Looyh on having the first NBA 2K24 mod releases in our Downloads database! SexCurryBeats has released an assortment of mods including a custom net, basketball, Blacktop court, and menu, while Looyh has released a File Explorer tool to aid in modding. Pick up all of these fantastic NBA 2K24 mod and tool releases at the links below!

SexCurryBeats
Red White and Blue Net
Red White and Blue Ball
Sack Wern Houses Court for Blacktop
Space Court Main Menu

Looyh
NBA2K24 File Explorer

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 Mod Releases bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

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 presentation in NBA Live 96 PC.

While the Super Nintendo version of NBA Live 95 was the first game in the NBA Live series that I ever played – and one of my first basketball video games, period – NBA Live 96 PC was the first hoops title that I actually owned. I remember the day I got it. It had been featured in an ad that showcased EA Sports’ 1996 season lineup, presented as the “EA Sports Countdown”. My basketball fandom was now in full swing, and I wanted to be able to hit the virtual hardwood without relying on a weekly video store rental, where my Season save files were constantly at risk of deletion.

It may have taken a boot disk to run it properly on a rapidly aging 486, and at one point I needed to use a scratch repair kit on the CD to get it working again (it’s never failed me since). However, from playing to modding, I’ve spent countless hours with NBA Live 96 PC, solidifying it as one of my all-time favourite games. Obviously I’m partial to it because of the sentimentality of it being one of the first basketball games that I owned, but I still appreciate the game itself: the on-court experience, the season it’s set in, and of course, that golden presentation. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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Today’s NBA 2K23 mod release include an assortment of rosters, and a mod to access game rules settings. Download them all at the links below!

pinoy21
NBA 2K23 City Jersey Pack 4

KINGJMASE
2K23 ESL STREETBALL MOD

RedLite2K
NBA 2K11 Definitive Edition Mod for NBA 2K23

TGsoGood
2K23 Game Rules Menu Mod

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 Mod Releases bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

We have our first mod releases for NBA 2K23! This is thanks to looyh releasing an updated version NBA2K_Hook, which is essential for creating and installing mods. Other releases include a Next Gen Edit Player Menu, a list of CF IDs in NBA 2K23, a San Antonio Spurs jersey pack, and an updated Mobile watermark and wipe. Check out all of the NBA 2K23 mod and resource releases at the links below, and welcome to a new season of NBA 2K modding!

Water Way
Next Gen Edit Player Menu

Shuajota
NBA 2K23 CF ID List

Pinoy21
San Antonio Spurs Jersey (Pinoy21)

bongo88
Mobile Watermark and Wipe V2

looyh
NBA2K_Hook For NBA2K23

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 Mod Releases bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

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 reflecting on how NBA Live 98 for the SNES was rather strange.

The main reason that I love collecting basketball video games is that I get to check out titles that I didn’t play when they were new. Whether it was due to my preference for NBA Live, only owning Nintendo consoles, or releases that were North American exclusives, there are titles that I didn’t experience until decades later. Getting my hands on a PlayStation 3, utilising the backwards compatibility of my PlayStation 2, and picking up a converter cartridge for my Super Nintendo, have all gone a long way in being able to expand my collection, and try out some old games for the first time.

One of those games is NBA Live 98 for the Super Nintendo. NBA Live 98 SNES was, quite frankly, a notably strange release. The PC version made a major leap, and the PlayStation port was solid in its own right. I’ve discussed NBA Live 98 in-depth in my retrospective for the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live, but I want to revisit the SNES version to highlight just how strange it was. Anyone who bought NBA Live 98 on SNES undoubtedly got the weakest version of the game, yet it has some interesting points. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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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 gripes that I’ve had with menu and presentation elements in various basketball video games.

When it comes to my basketball video game gripes, issues with the menu or the presentation usually aren’t at the top of the list, unless something is particularly bad or frustrating. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the visual elements of basketball games, but if the gameplay experience is enjoyable, I can usually make allowances for graphical quibbles. Of course, the bothersome nature of gripes and pet peeves isn’t necessarily proportionate to their overall importance. Even if you’re well aware that something isn’t a big deal, it can still bug you all the same.

To that end, over the years I have had some gripes with aspects of the menu design and presentation in various games. I do still stand by some of them as they reflect personal preference and taste (or maybe lack thereof, as the case might be), but others simply reflect stubbornness. In some cases, they’re the final straw for a game that I just didn’t like the vibe of. And yes, at least one that springs to mind had an effect on functionality in addition to spoiling the presentation. Mind you, sometimes it’s the little things that really make a game, or conversely detract from it. As such, here are five menu and presentation gripes I’ve had. I’m sure I’m not alone with some of them.

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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 truly glorious menus found in the PC version of NBA Live 97.

The nostalgic rush you get from a beloved old basketball video game begins long before you hit the virtual hardwood. It’s there upon the first glimpse of the boot-up screens and introduction videos. The first notes of the soundtrack will take you back to all the hours you spent with a game when it was brand new. And then, there are the menus. For many of us, our memories of our favourite basketball games also include spending a sizeable chunk of time in the menus: setting up games, creating players, updating the rosters, and sometimes just enjoying listening to the music.

As such, there are some frontends that stick in our minds. If we vividly remember the menu from a particular game, it’s either because it was visually appealing and easy to navigate, or incredibly ugly and clunky. When it comes to the menus in NBA Live 97, I’d definitely describe them as the former. I know I’ve touched on the menus in NBA Live 97 PC in my retrospective of the game, but I believe that they’re worthy of their own article. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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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 details found in various basketball games that aged rather quickly.

It’s impossible for basketball video games to completely avoid being outdated in their content. Obviously there are benefits to this – as I’ve discussed on many occasions, I love the way hoops games can act as interactive NBA almanacs – but the point is that certain aspects of basketball titles will have already aged by the time we get our hands on them. If nothing else, the rosters need to be locked by a certain date, which gives us fun oddities such as players only appearing on a particular team in video games, players who ultimately never played in the NBA being included in games, and so on.

Of course, now that official roster updates are the norm, it doesn’t matter that a game’s roster has aged by its release. An abundance of content updates and patches ensure that modern games can evolve and stay current far more easily than their much older predecessors could. Of course, there are elements that aren’t updated, and although their outdated nature may not ruin a game, they nevertheless stand out. Some of the examples I’m discussing today aged quickly because of events that occurred after their release, while others were already outdated before the game hit shelves. Either way they’re fun to look back at, especially when a major event is involved.

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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 artistic choices in basketball video games that proved to be divisive.

It’s likely that at some point, you’ve heard the fable of “The miller, his son, and the donkey.” It’s the go-to fable whenever you want to illustrate that you can’t please everyone; or, to use the wording of the moral that’s appended to certain versions of the fable, “if you try to please all, you please none.” The fable is talking about actions, but the message holds true for art and entertainment as well. Whether it’s a video game, tabletop game, film, TV series (or an individual episode thereof), album, song, poem, drawing, painting, or whatever…nothing receives universal acclaim.

After all, it’s impossible for a single work to cater to everyone’s individual taste with its artistic choices. Of course, some artistic choices tend to evoke more extreme responses and opinions than others. They’re the proverbial “love it or hate it” artistic choices, with very little in between. It’s also interesting that some of the most divisive aspects of basketball games are generally inconsequential artistic choices that don’t inhibit the core gameplay experience. Atmosphere is still important though, and a gaudy art style can be off-putting. With that in mind, here are five of the most divisive artistic choices that we’ve seen in various aspects of basketball video games.

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We’ve had difficulty tracking down and preserving a lot of mods for NBA 2K10 PC, but today’s file additions have helped to fill up our archives. nba2kiraq has uploaded over 70 mods from an assortment of authors, which can now be found in our database for safekeeping. Pick up all of today’s file additions for NBA 2K10 at the links below!

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.

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