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 inaccuracies and other issues that have bothered me while basketball gaming.
Even the best basketball video games have had issues and inaccuracies. Perfection is basically an impossible bar to reach, and coding a sophisticated video game of any genre is hardly as simple as typing plain English into a word processor! Also, some ideas simply just don’t pan out. And so, we accept that our favourite hoops titles will have imperfections. In the best case scenario, it doesn’t stop us from enjoying them. Mind you, because we’re passionate about basketball and basketball gaming alike, any major inaccuracies and technical issues are naturally difficult to ignore.
Of course, these issues and inaccuracies don’t always ruin basketball video games. As I said, even our favourite games have them, and we all have different standards and expectations besides. With that being said, while technical problems, inaccuracies, and other issues may not completely spoil a game, they can still end up bothering us. The good ultimately outweighs the bad, but they’re still the finer points that we can’t help but notice, and would like to see fixed and improved upon for an even better experience. To that end, while the following five issues and inaccuracies didn’t stop me from having fun on the virtual hardwood, they were nevertheless a bit annoying!
From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #627 of the NLSC Podcast!
We’re back on the air after an unfortunate technical mishap last week, and we’re ready and eager to take a deep dive into the somewhat overlooked PlayStation version of NBA Live 96! After recapping a couple of our sessions with the game and reflecting on the nostalgic 1996 lineups for the four featured teams, we take an in-depth look at the features and on-court experience, break down the detailed results of a simulated season, and draw comparisons to the 16-bit and PC versions along the way. We also join the community in discussing which version (or versions) of NBA Live 96 we owned and played the most back in the day, and nominate which one we’d currently say is our favourite.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 57:04 — 39.6MB)
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!
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 once again revisiting NBA Live 95 for the Super Nintendo, in order to demonstrate how Dominique Wilkins can break the game.
There are several reasons why I enjoy revisiting classic basketball video games. So many titles remain a blast to this day, so I love hitting the virtual hardwood in them. Also, there’s always the possibility of discovering something new, whether it’s a cool feature or mechanic that I overlooked, an explanation for a design choice or technical issue, or a fun bit of roster trivia. And of course, if you mess around with a game, you might stumble across something truly weird! That’s what happened when I reversed the Dominique Wilkins for Danny Manning trade in the Super Nintendo version of NBA Live 95. Here’s a video breaking down a rather unexpected sim engine outcome!
I hope you enjoyed this exploration of a weird phenomenon that we can create in NBA Live 95’s Season mode! I’ll have to mess around a little more and see if I can find any other players that are capable of having the same impact as Dominique Wilkins when traded. In the meantime, let me know if you’ve encountered any sim engine oddities like this one, and also be sure to subscribe to the NLSC’s YouTube channel! In addition to in-depth game retrospectives, essays, and features like this, you’ll also find plenty of gameplay highlight reels, the weekly NLSC Top 10 Plays curated by Dee, episodes of the NLSC Podcast, and more basketball gaming videos.
From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #592 of the NLSC Podcast!
Next up in the NBA 2K26 preview season is a deep dive into the presentation in this year’s game! To that end, this week we’re breaking down the Presentation Courtside Report and giving our thoughts on everything from the updated lighting, player models, and team arenas to the additions and enhancements to commentary, and other authentic details. In addition to our reactions, we also share what the community had to say about the insights into presentation in NBA 2K26. We also discuss some of our favourite virtual hardwood commentators, and name potential replacements for the current crop of announcers.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 55:38 — 38.6MB)
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 how “realism” is rapidly becoming a dirty word among basketball gamers.
We all have our own ideas of what makes for a fun basketball video game. Beyond a preference between the sim and arcade styles, we each have a vision of what games in those subgenres should be like. Obviously, sim gamers have traditionally preferred a realistic approach to the virtual hardwood, though opinions will vary as to what that realism should entail. However, when the sim titles were primarily aimed at hardcore basketball fans, there was usually more unity in calls for the games to be as realistic as possible. The notion that realism didn’t matter was certainly an unpopular view.
It’s why Da_Czar’s catchphrase of “don’t play video games; play basketball!” became a creed that resonated with so many simheads, and why there was excitement when he joined the development team at Visual Concepts. After all, if Take-Two was going to hire anyone to help in the continued efforts to strive for realism in their NBA series, Da_Czar was an ideal choice! As NBA 2K’s popularity has grown however, there’s been a noticeable shift in attitude. More and more people are saying “who cares about real basketball, it’s just a game!” Sim gamers are suddenly the ones being labelled as “casuals”, and realism is being treated as a dirty word when talking about sim titles.
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 dusting off NBA Live 2004 to see when LeBron James will retire in its Dynasty mode.
As of writing, it seems a safe guess to say that LeBron James will likely play at least one more season. He has an opportunity to set a new record by playing in his 23rd campaign, not to mention add to his career statistics and possibly contend for another championship. It would also give him an opportunity to further mentor his son Bronny and likely play some more minutes side-by-side with him, while also enjoying a full retirement tour. And of course, if by some chance he does decide that the 2025 season was his last, he’s obviously had a long and extremely successful career.
His longevity, while certainly impressive, isn’t altogether surprising. Not only are we seeing more players stick around for 16+ seasons, but LeBron is obviously a superb athlete, and has remained healthy throughout his career. As with other greats who came straight out of high school, it was commonly speculated that LeBron would go on to have a long career, but what did contemporary video games predict? With Dynasty mode in NBA Live 2004 consisting of 25 seasons, the game may still be able to correctly predict when LeBron will retire! Let’s take a look back…way back…
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 NBA Give ‘n Go.
Back in the 90s, EA Sports were the dominant brand in sim basketball games with NBA Live, while Midway developed the best arcade hoops titles with NBA Jam. However, Konami were producing some fun games in the sim-arcade hybrid genre; that middle ground between sim and arcade that’s not too over the top, but still isn’t too concerned with realism. I’ve already covered a couple of those Konami games, namely NBA in the Zone and NBA in the Zone 2. Left Field Productions also tried to imitate Konami’s formula with Slam ‘N Jam.
As I’ve said before, I didn’t really have much interest in those games growing up. I either wanted the sim approach of NBA Live, or the wild arcade action of NBA Jam. The hybrid style of Konami’s games or Slam ‘N Jam was certainly intriguing, but that middle ground didn’t really appeal to me at the time. All these years later, I have far more appreciation for the sim-arcade hybrid, even if it isn’t my first choice. Konami’s NBA Give ‘n Go is a classic release in that genre, and I’m definitely overdue to cover it. With that being said, let’s take a look back…way back…
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 the NBA 2K12 intro makes me wistful nowadays.
To celebrate World Basketball Day – which has indeed been declared an official day of observance – I’ve taken to posting the intro from NBA 2K12 on the NLSC’s socials every December 21st. It tends to get some traction with shares, likes, and comments, because it’s one of the very best intros that we’ve seen in a basketball video game. Accompanied by Kurtis Blow’s iconic hit “Basketball” and re-creating some of the best moments in the history of the sport in a way that blends past and present, it truly is a love letter to hoops.
Thanks to the way that Facebook’s algorithms work, the post on our page is the one that achieved the furthest reach out of all our socials, and it’s still being watched and getting regular reactions as of writing. Many of the comments are praising it for being such an incredible intro to a basketball video game, and also calling NBA 2K12 the best game in the series. I’m more inclined to agree with the former sentiment rather than the latter, but nevertheless, I’m glad that I’m not alone in my enjoyment of the NBA 2K12 intro. At the same time, seeing those comments and watching the intro again has left me feeling wistful about changes in basketball and gaming since then.
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 NBA Live still having an opportunity to succeed, as unthinkable as that may be.
Can we take a moment to acknowledge how absurd, indeed how unthinkable it is, that more and more disenfranchised basketball gamers are hoping that NBA Live has an opportunity to come back? That Electronic Arts will step up and make the basketball gaming space better? EA, the company that’s infamous for microtransactions, long-running series that have lost their lustre, numerous disappointing releases, and buying smaller studios only to shut them down and cancel their games? That’s the company we’re expecting to be the good guys; the saviours of the virtual hardwood?!?
Well…yeah! At this point, if we want to see another Triple-A NBA sim game as an alternative to NBA 2K, EA Sports and NBA Live probably remain the best bet. After all, they’re the developer with the most experience with the virtual hardwood outside of Visual Concepts. They also have a long-standing partnership with the league, and an established brand name. It may be a long shot and I’m nowhere near as optimistic as I once was, but when it comes down to it, if there’s going to be a viable alternative in the space, it’s probably going to be NBA Live. To that point, as unthinkable as it may seem, NBA Live still has an opportunity to return, and find an eager audience.
From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #559 of the NLSC Podcast!
There have been scores of basketball video games released over the years, but which one has been the best sim? This week, we join the community in nominating some of the top candidates for titles that have achieved the most realism on the virtual hardwood. We also reflect once again on what it actually means to be sim, from playcalling and performance to mechanics and motion systems. Following up on last week’s show, we also discuss even more madness with three-pointers in the NBA, as teams continue to brick treys at an alarming and historical rate, driving away hardcore hoop heads who are desperate for a better product.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:06:41 — 46.1MB)
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!
From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #557 of the NLSC Podcast!
What does “sim” really entail when it comes to basketball video games? There are definitely some myths and misunderstandings, which we’re certainly eager to clear up! This includes how realism affects the virtual hardwood, and how recent games have performed in their approach to the sim style. Talking real hoops leads into us joining the community in recalling the go-to moves that we like to use when we play basketball, whether it’s in an organised league or pick-up. We also recap a co-op session of NBA 2K17 featuring the Ultimate Classic Teams Roster and a couple of quintessential video game teams, and provide a PSA regarding NBA 2K23 and its impending server shutdown.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:00:18 — 41.8MB)
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!
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 we’ve now reached the end of Franchise mode in NBA Live 2000 in real life.
To quote Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – a classic film that I surprisingly haven’t referenced more often in my various articles – “life moves pretty fast“. That may not sound like a particularly profound piece of wisdom, but it is funny how a date that once seemed so futuristic is suddenly the present. In the 90s, the future draft picks in the 2000s that were being thrown into trades seemed so far away. Of course, back then the Year 2000 sounded incredibly sci-fi in general. Then it arrived, and apart from some very old computers rolling back to 1980 on their calendar, 2000 felt very much like 1999!
Around the turn of the millennium, we received one of the all-time great basketball video games: NBA Live 2000. The crowning achievement of the original NBA Live development team still holds up, especially the PC version which also brought us the first iteration of Franchise mode. Sim heads had been longing for multi-season play, and after NBA Live 99 gave us a small taste of the concept, Franchise in NBA Live 2000 truly delivered the goods. With the ability to play or simulate up to 25 seasons, we could reach the once faraway year of 2024! Let’s take a look back…way back…
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 predictions that were made while simulating through twenty seasons in NBA 2K19 MyCAREER.
From their earliest appearances, multi-season modes in basketball video games have provided us with the opportunity to simulate into the future, and in doing so, make some wild predictions. Although my cousin and I had a blast actually playing through a season in NBA Live 2000’s Franchise mode, we also had an interesting afternoon simulating through the full 25 years. What’s really wild to me looking back is that the once far off year of 2024 is now the present! In fact, that might just be tougher to get my head around than any of the fictional outcomes in that simulation.
Franchise modes have generally advertised their length, but career modes have been less forthcoming about their endpoint. As such, it was something that I was curious about when I ran some experiments in NBA 2K19 MyCAREER way back in March 2019 (seriously, where does the time go?). I discovered that there is indeed a forced game over after twenty seasons, as well as the answers to some other questions that I had. NBA 2K19 MyCAREER is now only available in a limited offline state, but I’ve kept records and screenshots of my time with it, including that 20-year simulation. To that end, it produced some wild predictions that I certainly have my doubts about!
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 NBA in the Zone, developed and released by Konami.
The sim-arcade hybrid genre of basketball video games is one that I’ve really come to appreciate in recent years. I didn’t play many of them growing up, as I preferred NBA Live for its more realistic approach to the sim style, and NBA Jam for its definitive arcade experience. While I ultimately still prefer games that are firmly sim or arcade in their style of play, sim-arcade hybrid titles undoubtedly have their place. The best ones strike a fun balance between a realistic depiction of basketball, and exaggerating the action for looser, up-tempo gameplay that takes a few liberties with accuracy.
Because they occupy a middle ground between simulation and arcade games, there are a handful of games that could be considered sim-arcade hybrids. And 1 Streetball is definitely in the conversation, mixing 5-on-5 gameplay with some power-ups and slightly exaggerated dunks. NBA Live 2003’s wackier elements arguably make it a candidate, though it’s still mostly sim at its core. When I think of prime examples of sim-arcade hybrid games though, Konami’s hoops titles are what come to mind, and that includes NBA in the Zone. Let’s take a look back…way back…
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 sim-arcade hybrid genre of basketball video games.
When it comes to 5-on-5 basketball video games, I’d consider myself a sim gamer. Going back to playing NBA Live in the 90s, it was my desire to see the series strive for more realism. When I finally warmed up to the NBA 2K series, I was delighted at the authenticity in the games. Sure, there were a few rude shocks as I realised that I perhaps wasn’t as sim as I thought, and had to adjust to play a more realistic style of virtual basketball, but I loved that that was necessary. There have been some great sim titles in every era that I’ve enjoyed immensely.
At the same time, I’m a fan of the arcade style, too. I grew up playing NBA Jam as well as NBA Live, and I’d alternate between the two, depending on what I was in the mood for. To that point, while I’d call myself a sim gamer, I’m an arcade gamer as well, with many fond memories of playing both types of hoops titles. However, there is a style of basketball video game that I’ve tended to overlook through the years: the sim-arcade hybrid. These games have combined elements of sim and arcade titles to create their own style of gameplay that definitely has its place in the genre. As I’ve expanded my collection, I’ve come to appreciate these sim-arcade hybrid games.
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