Tag Archives: Take Two

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 attainability of the NBA license for video game developers and publishers.

As Dee and I discussed on last week’s NLSC Podcast, we have some concerns when it comes to NBA The Run. While we’re happy to see another basketball video game in the space – one that has the NBA license, no less – we’re not so thrilled about it being an exclusively online PvP title. The snippets of gameplay that we’ve seen so far have also left us feeling sceptical. Irrespective of how successful NBA The Run turns out to be – and again, we absolutely want to see alternatives to NBA 2K – it may not be the game for us. That’s just the way it goes, sometimes.

However, in a way, NBA The Run has already enjoyed a measure of success. What began as an unlicensed streetball game comprised solely of fictional characters now has the NBA license. More to the point, the NBA reached out to Play By Play Studios to discuss a partnership. Obviously that was great news for the game that started life as The Run: Got Next, but it also bodes well for other developers, and ultimately us as gamers. It demonstrates that the NBA isn’t interested in an exclusive deal with 2K or any other developer, and that they’re willing to work with smaller studios. In short, if you’re developing a basketball video game, the NBA license appears to be attainable.

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EA has advised that the NBA Live 19 servers will be shutting down on January 30th, 2026. The game was de-listed from digital storefronts in late October, basically telegraphing that the end of online support was rapidly approaching.

In recent months, gamers have reported problems when trying to play LIVE Events in The One, suggesting that online support has been in the process of wrapping up for a while now. However, Ultimate Team has remained online and fully functional to this day, and I can confirm that a handful of people are still active in the Community Market on PlayStation 4. With that being said, Ultimate Team will definitely be inaccessible once the NBA Live 19 servers are shut down early next year, along with all other online modes. The final roster update will also be unavailable at that time.

With the shutdown of the NBA Live 18 servers last year, it’s no surprise that NBA Live 19 will soon follow suit. EA has been unusually generous in maintaining online support for the eighth gen NBA Live releases, especially compared to the 27 months that Take-Two guarantees for NBA 2K titles. Obviously NBA 2K has been markedly more successful with a majority of gamers moving on every year, but to that end, it’s quite surprising that the less popular NBA Live releases have retained online support for so long. Prior to support ending for NBA Live 18 last year, NBA Live 14 and NBA Live 15 were still online as of 2019, while NBA Live 16’s servers were finally shut down in 2020. As such, the eighth gen NBA Lives have ended up receiving between five and seven years of online support.

However, the time has obviously come for NBA Live 19 to be sunset. For anyone still playing the game – which includes me, thanks to a recent kick – we’ll still have three months to finish up any business with modes featuring online content. The offline modes will naturally still be available, though speaking for myself, it’ll be a shame to lose Ultimate Team. Additionally, if you don’t own the game and want to add it to your collection, at this point you’ll need to track down a physical copy. In any case, if NBA Live 19 is still in your rotation or you’d like to give it another look while it’s still relatively intact, make sure you’re ready to be done with it by January 30th next year!

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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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #601 of the NLSC Podcast!

A couple of weeks ago, it was announced that Electronic Arts will be going private after being acquired in one of the biggest deals in the history of video games. This week, we share our thoughts on the news, and what it might mean for the future of basketball gaming (if anything). We also note some of the reactions that we’ve seen from the wider gaming community on social media. Needless to say, it’s proving to be quite a controversial move! To that end, we also touch once again on the effectiveness of video game boycotts, and how much the average gamer realistically cares about who owns the companies that are developing their favourite titles and series.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 34:06 — 23.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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 #596 of the NLSC Podcast!

In a shocking and rather unfortunate development, EA Sports has rescinded their proposal for a college basketball game in light of Take-Two reaching agreements with several schools to develop their own “college basketball experience”. This week, we join the community in reacting to the news and speculating on what we can expect from 2K as far as DLC and possibly a standalone game within a couple of years. Interestingly, not everyone is in favour of 2K beating EA to the punch here, but there certainly is interest in what they’ve hinted at. We also follow up on last week’s show with some further impressions of NBA 2K26, now that we’ve both had a chance to spend ample time with this year’s game.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:08:37 — 47.5MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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!

Just as I finished posting the previous bulletin about EA Sports rescinding their proposal for a college basketball game, 2K announced that they were going back to school with the following post:

It’s NBA 2K26 launch week! It seems like a good time to share even MORE incredible news about the future of basketball at 2K.

Yes, it’s true. We’re working on a college basketball experience that will feature more than 100 programs from across the country, from powerhouses to Cinderella stories. Competition fuels quality at all levels, which is why our approach with college basketball ensures our partner schools, college athletes and our players all benefit.

More good news – you won’t have to wait long to start seeing your favorite colleges show up in game. We’ve got big plans for 2027 and beyond, and even a few surprises coming in early 2026.

We’ve proven the quality of the basketball experience we can deliver for years, and have every intention to bring that same level of quality to college hoops.

Ball Over Everything.

Obviously further details are yet to come, and “college basketball experience” is somewhat vague wording, but we might possibly see a standalone game from 2K as early as 2027. As for the surprises that are coming in early 2026, my guess would be MyTEAM content as they apparently originally proposed, but we’ll have to wait and see. For the moment, we can only speculate.

We’ll be sure to cover any future announcements, as well as the game/content when it arrives. I have no doubt that Dee and I will have plenty to say about these developments with EA Sports, 2K, and college basketball games in an upcoming episode of the NLSC Podcast, so stay tuned for that as well. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, as well as join in the discussion here in the Forum.

Back in June, many of us were excited to hear that EA Sports were planning to make a new college basketball game, targeting a 2028 release. Since then however, Take-Two has also thrown their hat into the ring, and it appears that their efforts have already sunk EA’s return to the virtual hardwood.

As per Matt Brown of Extra Points, EA Sports has now rescinded their proposal to the Collegiate Licensing Company in the wake of Take-Two coming to terms with several schools. EA’s proposal was for an exclusive license to develop a game featuring every Division I school, notably representing both the men’s and women’s basketball programs. 2K originally proposed a non-exclusive deal that would see them integrate a limited number of college teams as MyTEAM content. However, they later proposed a standalone game, and began contacting schools accordingly.

EA Sports has yet to make a further public announcement regarding their planned college basketball game, but it certainly does sound as though they’ve backed away from those plans in light of 2K inking deals with a number of schools, and their own failure to secure an exclusive contract. Matt Brown’s coverage of this situation from the initial rumblings to the latest development has been excellent and on-point, so for now, it doesn’t look like we should hold out much hope for a new EA Sports college basketball title anytime soon.

This is obviously unfortunate news as many basketball gamers were looking forward to having an alternative in the space once more. With the success of EA Sports College Football, there seemed to be cause for optimism that EA would be looking to make a strong return to the virtual hardwood. 2K is undoubtedly in a better position to deliver a game sooner though, so it’ll be interesting to see if any announcements are forthcoming. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, as well as here in our Forum.

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #589 of the NLSC Podcast!

In the wake of EA Sports announcing a new college basketball game, Take-Two is reportedly planning to develop a competing title. This decision follows a particularly insulting proposal to the CLC regarding the use of collegiate content, and an attempt to hamstring the development of EA’s announced game that involves a broken NDA. We definitely have some thoughts about the situation, and as you can probably guess, they aren’t exactly positive! We also join the community in discussing whether or not we’d like to see a new college game based on the NBA 2K engine and if we’d prefer that 2K beat EA to the punch, and touch on 2K’s new NBA deal which apparently includes initiatives that go beyond the virtual hardwood.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 54:36 — 37.9MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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 important it is to support your fellow basketball gamers.

In many ways, gamers don’t have a lot of power or leverage as consumers. We can choose not to buy games – and I’d certainly advise that if you’re not sold on a new release – but generally speaking, widespread boycotts are ineffective. The same goes for abstaining from pumping extra money into games via their recurrent revenue mechanics. Whales will still spend, apologists will bleat “it’s optional”, and the gaming experience will remain weaker for anyone who doesn’t want to pay. Even constructive criticism gets shouted down as “complaining“.

Obviously this frequently happens on most any platform where basketball games (or titles from other genres) are discussed. However, it’s particularly disheartening when content creators with significant influence jump on that bandwagon. I’ve seen some creators with large audiences share some truly terrible takes that throw their fellow basketball gamers under the bus, yet somehow they don’t seem to lose any credibility when they do so. Along with so much zero-sum thinking in the wider community, it underscores a lack of willingness for basketball gamers to support each other. That only plays into the hands of the suits, making it high time that we change this attitude.

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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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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 controversy that surrounded the NBA 2K14 server shutdown.

The unfortunate reality of games with online features is that at some point, support for those titles will end. Obviously, this is a useful way for companies to push us towards buying a newer release, but in all fairness, it’s also understandable that the servers are shut down once a game’s userbase has largely moved on. Naturally, this happens even quicker with annual sports games. As much as we hate to lose online support for older classics, most gamers do move on every year, making it difficult to justify the expense and effort of maintaining the servers indefinitely.

It’s still a bummer though, especially when we’re locked out of save files and content that should be able to function in a limited capacity offline. While we’re never pleased to see the end of online support, the NBA 2K14 server shutdown ten years ago proved to be particularly controversial. Not only did it impact the way that Take-Two handled online support for future titles, but it also hinted at future controversies with a lack of communication and goodwill when it comes to the NBA 2K series. To that end, it was a significant event with lasting ramifications! Let’s take a look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #536 of the NLSC Podcast!

The NBA 2K League has been put on hiatus until 2025, an announcement that came as a surprise to both league players and everyone else involved. This week, we join the community in discussing how and why the NBA 2K League failed to meet some incredibly lofty expectations, despite the backing of the NBA. We also recap a game of NBA Live 10 in which we took on Argentina with Team USA, as well as an NBA 2K10 session in which we ran back a showdown between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz using the fantastic 1997 season mod. There’s also some fun trivia to share, along with a PSA to grab the digital version of NCAA Basketball 09: March Madness Edition from the Xbox Live Marketplace while you still can.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 50:42 — 35.2MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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 #529 of the NLSC Podcast!

Which stars, past or present, have been harder to use in basketball video games than they should’ve been? This week, we join the community in recalling our most memorable examples of struggling stars on the virtual hardwood, and what made them so difficult to dominate with. We also recap a fun Parsec session of NBA 2K19, in which we used the 1986 roster from the Classic Seasons project. On a less positive note, there’s the dismaying news that NBA 2K24 has been extremely profitable for Take-Two despite the game receiving significant backlash and criticism from the community. Along with some damning remarks from someone who has been involved with the NextMaker program, it doesn’t fill us with hope for future releases.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:27:05 — 60.1MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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 #527 of the NLSC Podcast!

MyTEAM gamers are up in arms once again, as 2K has pulled a Kobe Bryant card that a pre-release developer insight for NBA 2K24 promoted as the top Collector Level reward, coming in Season 6. We share our thoughts on the situation and 2K’s trademark lack of communication, drawing comparisons once again to the Pink Diamond fiasco in NBA 2K19. Talk of Take-Two’s greed also has us looking beyond the virtual hardwood, as Top Spin 2K25 has presented some familiar issues. In our main discussion this week, we join the community in listing some of the most overused jargon in basketball discourse. If these terms come up when talking about hoops, it’s not going to be a fun or thoughtful conversation!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:20:12 — 55.4MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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!