Tag Archives: Rumours

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 creating clickbait content in lieu of actual news.

I’m a content creator in the basketball gaming community. I think it’s fair to claim that; I write articles, co-host a podcast, produce videos, and even occasionally create mods. To that point, I’m all too aware of the desire to see your content clicked on, downloaded, shared, and hopefully enjoyed. I realise that we all need to aim for SEO, jump on trends and hashtags, and attempt to appease whatever convoluted algorithm is steering people towards content on any given platform. I’m not puzzled as to the reasons why content creators engage in clickbait, because it’s a highly effective tactic.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a cheap, lousy practice. Mind you, if the content is at least halfway decent, then having some clickbait-y elements is somewhat excusable. Indeed, if the content is enjoyable and there’s nothing really misleading about it, you could argue that it isn’t actually clickbait. Some things are pure clickbait however, and it does exist in the basketball gaming community. With an extremely short preview season nowadays, not to mention NBA Live’s absence, it’s inevitable – and logical – to fill in the silence with speculative content. That needn’t be a problem, but it depends on how it’s presented. A lack of news is not an excuse for clickbait.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #478 of the NLSC Podcast!

Games that we wish we played more, seasons that we wish we finished, and saves that we wish we still had, are common tales among basketball gamers. This week, we join the community in reminiscing about some of our biggest basketball gaming regrets! A misconception about a job listing also prompts us to address the subject of NBA Live rumours, as well as clickbait content. Additionally, we touch on whether a theoretical future NBA Live should be sim, arcade, or a sim-arcade hybrid. We also reflect on some spectacular highlights in last week’s NLSC Top 10 that had us all buzzing, and provide an update on reaching Year 6 in NBA 2K14 MyCAREER.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:17:08 — 53.3MB)

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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!

Episode #378 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Derek (aka Dee4Three) and I are your hosts for this weekly podcast that’s all about basketball gaming.

Having sorted out our issues with Parsec, we’ve enjoyed a full week of basketball gaming. From epic clashes with video game legends in NBA Live 10 to co-op play in NBA 2K Playgrounds 2, we’ve had a lot of fun on the virtual hardwood and blacktop this week! Spotlighting recent modding developments leads to us discussing various ideas for retro rosters, as well as philosophies for rating players. We also react to the recent leaks regarding the cover players for the standard and Legend editions of NBA 2K22. In this week’s mailbag, we’re looking back at the NBA 2K21 Next Gen trailer, and discussing some interesting issues with licensing and likeness rights.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:27:53 — 60.4MB)

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Join in the conversation in the comments below, or here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as mailbag questions and topic suggestions for future shows. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. The show also comes out on our YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe for future episodes and other video content.

Episode #328 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Derek (aka Dee4Three) and I are your hosts for this week’s show.

Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, NBA Live wasn’t featured at EA Play 2020. We reflect on how it’s made the community pessimistic about the series’ future. Elsewhere, the inevitable lull following NBA 2K21’s announcement trailer has tipped off this year’s rumour mill. As we’re not fans of misinformation, we analyse the rumours making the rounds, and offer up some tips to avoid falling for clickbait. The NBA 2K League also comes up when we broach the topic of online play, as does a program that’s worth checking out. In modding news, we note a couple of recent developments, and once again talk about minimalist mods. We wrap up with a discussion of a forgotten 1-on-1 tournament that the NBA held in 1972, including how such a tournament could work today. Old heads that we are, there’s also some grumbling and further push back on the whole “plumbers and dentists” rhetoric.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 2:17:33 — 94.5MB)

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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 a public service announcement regarding clickbait, ahead of yet another NBA Live and NBA 2K preview season here at the NLSC.

July is upon us, which means it (hopefully) won’t be too much longer before we start getting our first information about NBA Live 20 and NBA 2K20. Unfortunately, a lot of content creators are prone to taking advantage of basketball gamers eager for news, and engage in clickbait during the preview season. We do our best to be accurate here at the NLSC, and as a gaming community, we must do all we can to avoid spreading rumours and misinformation. It’s a perpetual problem, so I’ve put together what I hope will be a timeless PSA: Clickbait & You! Watch it below or here over on YouTube.

This was a fun (but arduous) video to put together, so I hope you enjoy it! While it’s obviously all in fun, we do want to avoid those tactics here at the NLSC, and remain dedicated to providing fair-handed coverage and reliable information about basketball video games. To that end, it’s a message that I’d like the community to take to heart. I’m looking forward to the preview season for NBA Live 20 and NBA 2K20, and I hope that you’ll stick around for all of the pre-release news and post-release content. If you haven’t already, I invite you to subscribe to the NLSC’s YouTube channel, as more fun and informative videos will be on the way in the not too distant future!

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 reminiscing about the weirdest NBA tall tale that I ever heard as a kid back in the 90s.

Although the Internet is a place of much subjective debate when it comes to the NBA, it offers plenty of resources for looking up objective statistics, records, and other such information. That makes it more difficult to concoct rumours, and try to trick your fellow fans with tall tales. I recently remembered the weirdest tall tale that someone told me back in the 90s: that Michael Jordan was originally drafted by the Charlotte Hornets! It got me thinking about how this bizarre tall tale originated, so I’ve decided to re-tell the story using clips from NBA 2K19. Let’s take a look back…way back…

Check it out here if you can’t see the embedded video. I’m working on some more video ideas for Wayback Wednesday and other features, including a comparison of NBA Live 95 and NBA Showdown, so be sure to subscribe to the NLSC’s YouTube channel! I hope that you enjoyed this look back at a weird NBA tall tale from the 90s, as told by NBA 2K19. Has anyone ever tried to fool you with an unusual and unlikely myth about the NBA? If so, share it in the comments section below! Additionally, if there’s a game you’re particularly nostalgic for, let me know what it is, and I might profile it (or an interesting aspect of it) in a future Wayback Wednesday feature.

Episode #253 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Join Arcane and I as we react to the gameplay videos, impressions, and other tidbits of information about NBA Live 19 that have come out of EA Play 2018. We also touch on a rumour that’s making the rounds, and once again discuss some of our hopes for this year’s game from EA Sports.

On this week’s show…

• Following EA Play 2018, the attendees have been sharing raw gameplay videos. They’ve provided us with an extended work-in-progress look at NBA Live 19, as have a few screenshots.
• Although we’re not expecting to see too many deep dive developer blogs just yet, the devs at EA Play managed to drop some more tidbits through interviews with content creators.
• Rumours are swirling of a PC release for NBA Live 19. We’d love to believe it, but given the listing on the official website, we’re not getting our hopes up just yet.
• The developer blog regarding Franchise mode in Madden 19 has us feeling a little envious. We wrap up Episode #253 of the NLSC Podcast by reiterating a few thoughts on what we’d like to see in NBA Live 19.

Click Play to listen to the show!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 53:13 — 36.6MB)

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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.

UPDATE: The official website only lists PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as the platforms, so it appears as though the rumours are false. We may look to start up another PC petition in the near future.

There are some very interesting rumours regarding NBA Live 18 making the rounds at the moment. According to Game Informer, both NBA Live 18 and Madden 18 are slated for release on PC, in addition to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. If true, it would be the first time in ten years that either game has been released on the PC platform.

Before we all get too excited, it wouldn’t be the first time that a PC version has been erroneously listed for NBA Live following the game’s last appearance on the platform. It should be noted that EA Sports have yet to officially confirm any platforms for NBA Live 18, aside from the current generation consoles. As such, this could simply be a copy and paste error, as the platform listings for the upcoming NBA Live and Madden releases are identical to FIFA 18, a series that is currently available on PC.

Nevertheless, this is a rumour that we’ll obviously be keeping an eye on. A return to PC would definitely be welcomed by our community, especially if the game turned out to be anywhere near as moddable as the series’ previous releases for the platform. That’s obviously something we’d look into, if indeed NBA Live 18 comes out on PC.

For now, it’s probably best to take the rumour with a grain of salt, as it’s a move that seems somewhat unlikely as the NBA Live series tries to reestablish itself with the significantly larger console demographic. We’ll obviously discuss the rumour in this week’s NLSC Podcast though, and if we can get any more information on the situation, we’ll naturally be sure to pass it along. In the meantime, feel free to speculate in the comments section below, as well as in this thread in the NLSC Forum. Incidentally, if you missed the first official look at NBA Live 18, you can check it out here.