Tag Archives: Saber Interactive

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 how the fate of NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 was predictable.

In late February, 2K announced that online support for NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 will end on August 20th, 2026. While server shutdowns are always unfortunate, it should be noted that by then, NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 will have been supported for close to eight years; far longer than the 27 months that 2K guarantees for all of its titles. The game’s popularity has also been waning for years, with the Steam version currently averaging less than 20 players per day. As is the case with all games as their userbase dwindles, at a certain point it’s basically impossible to justify ongoing support.

To that end, I can’t fault 2K for deciding to pull the plug on Playgrounds 2 come August. I’m actually surprised that it took this long, and not just because of their 27-month guaranteed support policy. Enthusiasm for NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 began to evaporate around 2020, when it became clear that it wouldn’t receive any further updates in terms of content or significant patches. As a result, it ultimately failed to achieve any enduring popularity, making the continued online support unusually generous. Of course, NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 being something of a flop that reduced the chances of any more Playgrounds games was sadly a rather predictable fate.

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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 reasons why both NBA Playgrounds and NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 fell short of the best NBA Jam titles.

When Saber Interactive announced NBA Playgrounds back in 2017, we were excited and intrigued. EA Sports had allowed the NBA Jam series to fall dormant once again following the masterpiece that was NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, so NBA Playgrounds appeared poised to be a worthy spiritual successor. Both it and NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 reportedly sold quite well, though critical reception was mixed. I did have some fun with both NBA Playgrounds games, but I was definitely somewhat underwhelmed by them. To that point, I’m on record as calling them a poor man’s NBA Jam.

That was once impossible to say without receiving pushback, and accusations of being an NBA Jam fanboy blinded by nostalgia. However, there’s no denying that NBA Jam pioneered the genre of arcade basketball games, setting the bar with success that speaks for itself. There are a few lacklustre releases in its lineage – primarily the ones developed by Acclaim – but the best NBA Jam titles remain the gold standard. NBA Playgrounds had good intentions, but in terms of becoming the NBA Jam of a new generation, both the original and the sequel came up short. Here are five reasons why NBA Playgrounds ultimately failed to equal or surpass the best NBA Jam 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 the way that 2K responded with pettiness to the announcement of a new college basketball game from EA Sports.

Last week, EA Sports surprised a lot of gamers with the announcement of a new college basketball title, tentatively scheduled for release in 2028. There have been some questions as to why the announcement is being made so far out. It appears that the Collegiate Licensing Company entertained bids for a new basketball game in late June, with EA Sports’ bid being successful. A three year development window would be similar to the return of EA Sports College Football, which was announced in 2021 and released in 2024. Presumably, pre-production on this new hoops title has begun.

Needless to say, while not everyone is optimistic about a new college basketball game from EA Sports – understandably so – many gamers are excited. It’ll be a new release from an established company, in a genre that’s suffered from a lack of alternatives and competition. To that point, how did 2K respond to EA Sports rejoining the basketball gaming space with a college game? In short, a quote reply to a post on X opining that they should be the ones making the game wryly saying “the campus has been quiet for too long”, and a statement in which they referred to themselves as the “undisputed home of basketball gaming”. Basically, 2K is giving pettiness the old college try.

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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 a few thoughts on a nasty surprise that greeted me when I fired up NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 recently.

I’ve been critical of NBA Playgrounds and its sequel NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 over the years. Look, call me a snob if you want, but I still consider the best NBA Jam titles to be the gold standard when it comes to NBA-oriented arcade basketball video games, with NBA Street being the benchmark for the streetball-style releases. As games that attempted to be a mash-up of NBA Jam and NBA Street with a few original ideas sprinkled in, the NBA Playgrounds games fell short of the series that inspired them. From gameplay to roster management, they’re a poor man’s Jam crossed with Street.

At the same time, I have had fun with them, and came to appreciate both a little more after revisiting them in recent years. They’re not fantastic and I’m not a fan of the loot box mechanics or the grinding, but they’re solid and have their moments on the virtual blacktop. I even ended up playing through a season in NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 a while back. To that end, after searching for a game to play while getting some cardio in on my exercise bike, I decided to dust it off again. Unfortunately, I was confronted by a nasty surprise upon firing up the game for the first since 2023! Frankly, it proved that NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 was even more poorly designed than I previously thought.

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Episode #382 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.

We haven’t been able to get enough of Parsec as of late, but we’re not the only ones taking a shine to it. More members of the community are participating in head-to-head games, with Parsec facilitating clashes in NBA 2K17 and NBA 2K19 using retro season and classic team mods. Speaking of retro season mods, which is our favourite so far? As for NBA Live 10, it’s still on our agenda, as we’ve got plenty more ideas for Fantasy Teams mode! Fresh NBA 2K22 rumours give us something else to talk about this week, though we still miss the longer and more exciting preview seasons of yesteryear. In this week’s mailbag, we answer a question about the new Space Jam game, which leads us to reflect on some other esoteric games starring basketball players.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:17:40 — 53.4MB)

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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.

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 look at how partnering with 2K has impacted the NBA Playgrounds series, both positively and negatively.

Since its release last October, our coverage of NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 has been fairly light. I must admit to missing a few bulletins regarding official patches, something I’ve tried to remedy recently. One of the main reasons that our coverage has been so lax is that our community hasn’t really taken to the game. There was some support of the first NBA Playgrounds a couple of years ago, especially when we heard that it would be available for PC as well as consoles, but since then, there hasn’t been much enthusiasm around these parts. The lack of modding probably doesn’t help.

It’s unfortunate, as NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 has made some pleasing improvements on its predecessor. It has its shortcomings, but overall, it’s a very solid arcade basketball game. The partnership between Saber Interactive and 2K has helped the game attain a higher profile, and also facilitated new content and features that are most welcome. At the same time, however, there have been some changes that definitely feel as though they’ve been influenced by the larger company. These changes incorporate some of the worst parts of recent NBA 2K titles, and are thus disappointing to see. Let’s go over some of the best and worst aspects of NBA Playgrounds joining the 2K family.

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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 how Saber Interactive has a new opportunity with NBA Playgrounds 2.

As I mentioned in Episode #244 of the NLSC Podcast, I’ve been meaning to write an article on how NBA Playgrounds was a missed opportunity for Saber Interactive. The game was solid and generally well-received, but several gamers, myself included, felt that it could’ve been more than what it was. While there were several fans that shot down any and all constructive criticism, often quite toxically, not all of us were ready to make excuses for its shortcomings. NBA Playgrounds had an opportunity to be this generation’s definitive arcade basketball game, but unfilled promises and potential led to it falling short of achieving that status.

However, Saber Interactive now has a new opportunity with NBA Playgrounds 2. While some gamers are questioning the release of a sequel so close to the original (and essentially abandoning further updates for the prior release), I think it’s a sound idea. NBA Jam Tournament Edition came out a year after the original Jam. EA Sports likewise released NBA Jam: On Fire Edition a year after the 2010 reboot. Each built upon its predecessor, taking the genre to new heights. Saber now has an opportunity to do the same thing with NBA Playgrounds 2, learning from their first attempt and taking gamer feedback into account. Hopefully, they’ve been taking notes.

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