Tag Archives: The Playground

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #415 of the NLSC Podcast!

What would you do if you were made the Gameplay Director for NBA 2K? We discuss our visions for the series, and open up the mailbag to find out what the community would do if they were in the driver’s seat. Our Parsec sessions over the past week also produced some incredibly fun games with NBA Jam: On Fire Edition and NBA Live 2001, and we’ve been challenged to aim for a statistical goal in the latter. Speaking of which, recent attempts to curb turnovers and reach milestones in NBA 2K14 MyCAREER raises the question: do we psyche ourselves out when we’re trying to pad stats and set records on the virtual hardwood?

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:21:40 — 56.4MB)

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!

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 concepts that ended up changing NBA 2K forever.

I’m no psychologist, but I’d hazard a guess and say that most of us have experienced an aversion to change at some point in our lives. Whether it’s apprehension of new surroundings, nostalgia goggles, or just plain comfort with the current arrangements, we’d prefer things not to change. Not to get too deep here – again, I’m no psychologist – but it’s important to accept change as part of life, and be able to adjust and grow. Of course, not all change is desirable, and change for change’s sake can prove to be a bad idea. Given the choice, it would’ve been preferable to leave things as they were.

We’ve seen a lot of these changes in basketball video games over the years. Many have been for the best, representing revolution and evolution within the genre. Others haven’t panned out so well. In the case of the latter, some of those concepts have only lasted a game or two before the developers scrapped them in favour of a new and better solution; or perhaps, returned to an old approach that still works best. Other concepts unfortunately stick around despite their negative impact, or at the very least, mixed results. For better or worse, these concepts have forever changed the NBA 2K series as we know it, either from a mechanical or philosophical standpoint.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #410 of the NLSC Podcast!

We had an exciting modding breakthrough this week, which means our All-Time Teams roster mod for NBA Live 96 PC is going to feature a detail that we could only dream of having back in the day! Our NBA Jam: On Fire Edition Tournament has also produced some great action so far, and once again, everyone seems to be having a fantastic time with it. Seeing as how it’s Wishlist season, this week’s extended mailbag segment is dedicated to what the community wants to see in NBA 2K23. We read out the suggestions that our listeners sent in, and give our thoughts on some great ideas for the next NBA 2K game.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:15:49 — 52.4MB)

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!

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 looks at five ways that playing MyCAREER messes with your overall game on the virtual hardwood.

Putting aside MyCAREER in favour of MyNBA, fun match-ups in Play Now, and a little bit of MyTEAM, has been a breath of fresh air. As always, I must emphasise that I’ve had thousands of hours of fun with MyCAREER and its connected modes. I mean that literally, as I’ve checked the Hours Played count on PC and PlayStation alike! It was a mode that I was playing out of habit though, and when I finally broke that habit, I found that I was enjoying basketball gaming in a way that I hadn’t been for quite a while. In short, it was time to move on, and I finally did.

Not only was it refreshing, it was also eye-opening. I was aware of how playing MyCAREER had become a habit, to the point where I could say that grinding had become oddly addictive. However, as I’ve shifted away from MyCAREER and its connected modes, I’ve been caught off guard by how my style of play, as well as my expectations of gameplay, had been affected by playing the mode for so many years. It’s something I noticed when I first started playing head-to-head games on Parsec, as well as diving into MyTEAM and MyNBA. Simply put, as fun as it can be, playing MyCAREER messes with your virtual game. Here are five examples of how it does.

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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 things we need to stop saying in 2022.

And so, we’ve come to the end of 2021! It’s been a challenging couple of years with a global pandemic and whatnot, so hopefully better times await us all in 2022. Around these parts, we’ve obviously had basketball video games to keep us occupied. We get a lot of joy out of our hobby, but there are obviously moments of frustration as well. As I’ve said before, it’s necessary to cover all aspects of basketball gaming. We should celebrate and enjoy our passion for the virtual hardwood, and at the same time, voice our criticisms and concerns. Positive or negative, it’s vital that we have our say.

However, there are some things that we should stop saying, and with 2022 upon us, it’s a prime opportunity to cut them from the discourse. I don’t say this as a way of impeding freedom of speech, and it certainly won’t be a rule enacted in our Forum. I just believe it’s in our best interests, because thought-terminating cliches ultimately pollute the conversation. They stifle discussion of important issues, and are needlessly divisive. As always, I’m under no delusion that one article will eradicate these tired and trite phrases from the basketball gaming community. Nevertheless, if we see less of them in 2022, the quality of conversations about virtual hoops should improve.

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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 lists the five worst aspects of my favourite modes across years of playing various basketball video games.

When it comes to the quality of basketball video games, gameplay is paramount, but modes are still crucial. Deep modes can’t be enjoyed without great gameplay, but the gameplay won’t be nearly as interesting and engaging long-term without modes that keep us hooked. Fortunately, the modes in basketball games have come a long way. They’ve gone from a basic single NBA season – or just three rounds of the Playoffs – to comprehensive multi-season franchise modes, career modes with connected online team play, and card-based team building modes.

Of course, whether you’re talking about gameplay or game modes, perfection is an impossible goal. As is the case with the experience on the sticks, ideally the franchise, career, card collecting, and other modes will be relatively bug-free and enjoyable, but for a few quirky issues or missing features here and there. Although I was a long-time franchise gamer after the concept was introduced, over the past decade I’ve branched out into other ways to play basketball video games. I’ve had literally thousands of hours of fun with my favourite NBA Live and NBA 2K titles, but reflecting on those fantastic experiences, these are some of the worst aspects of my modes of choice.

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Episode #405 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.

An eye-catching statistic regarding the Lakers this year, and some other recent NBA observations, explain a lot about The Rec (and why we’re happy to avoid the online scene). Unfortunately, even the franchise experience in NBA 2K22 hasn’t been appealing, due to the gameplay feeling dry. On the plus side, NBA 2K17 has been fun to dust off, and it leads us to reflect on one of our all-time favourite basketball video games. We once again note that gameplay mechanics aren’t automatically good just because we’re able to get used to and master them. Elsewhere, preliminary plans for the next NLSC Tournament have begun, with the community voting on the game. A new roster with fixed retro teams is also worth checking out on PlayStation 5. In this week’s mailbag, we’re talking about slow motion dunks, signature moves, and other old school features that we miss and would love to see return.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:27:55 — 60.7MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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.

As sticky-fingers noted in our Forum, the servers for NBA 2K20 will be shutting down on December 31st, 2021. After this point, no online features and functionality will be available. This includes roster and Draft Class sharing, Play Now Online, MyTEAM, and MyCAREER and its connected modes.

Contrary to previous games that offered a lightweight version of MyCAREER in offline mode, MyCAREER in NBA 2K20 will no longer be available when the servers are shut down. It’s therefore advisable that you wrap up any business in MyCAREER before online support ends, from gaming to capturing video and screenshots for content creation. Naturally, the same goes for MyTEAM and other online modes.

It would also be a good idea to browse the shared files and download them while you still can. Obviously we’re able to distribute rosters the old fashioned way on PC, but PlayStation 4 and Xbox One gamers will have no way of sharing files after December 31st. Custom team art files in MyLEAGUE and MyGM will also be unavailable, and we’ll no longer be able to import our own images in-game as that requires online support.

To that point, feel free to share any suggestions of rosters and Draft Classes that you believe your fellow gamers will enjoy, and want to preserve. sticky-fingers has noted a few examples already, including Thunder Shaq’s rosters, PCBasket by Shuajota, the retro rosters by RMJH, and some other major projects.

For those who are unaware, 2K increased online support for all of their titles from 18 to 27 months back in 2015, following the controversy with NBA 2K14. This means we can expect the servers for NBA 2K21 and NBA 2K22 to be shut down over the next couple of years. Needless to say, we’ve still got ample time in that regard, but keep those impending server shutdowns in mind if you’re sticking with an older title. Thanks to sticky-fingers for the reminder regarding the shutdown, and the suggested downloads so far!

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 some thoughts on how MyCAREER is essentially an NBA speedrun.

When I recall my virtual achievements in MyCAREER, it’s not to brag. First of all, it’s a basketball video game. While we do take basketball gaming fairly seriously around these parts, in the grand scheme of things, I wouldn’t count what I’ve done on the virtual hardwood as achieving important life goals. Furthermore, while I’ll never invalidate the single player experience, it’s easier to master a predictable AI than it is to be successful in competitive multiplayer. I’m also far from the only person to put up ridiculous numbers in MyCAREER, and win several virtual NBA championships.

On top of that, a new game comes out every year. Some of my best performances in the NBA side of MyCAREER aren’t unique to a single game in the series, let alone compared to gamers everywhere. If there is anything that I can take pride in when it comes to the MyCAREER experience – and I’m sure many others can say the same – it’s efficiency in milestones and levelling up. The tasks required to qualify for the Hall of Fame in MyCAREER are not difficult to perform on the sticks, but doing so within the span of a year does require successful employment of specific strategies. To that point, MyCAREER is essentially a speedrun of an NBA career by design.

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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 examines the five best parts of modern basketball gaming.

Since I’ve taken a look at the best and worst parts of retro basketball gaming, it’s only fair that I reflect on the pros and cons of their modern equivalents. As I’ve said, while I do have a passion for retro basketball gaming and will always advocate for it, I’m also a fan of the modern games and spend a lot of time with them. New isn’t always better, but by the same token, old isn’t unsurpassable. Not everything holds up well, and basketball video games have come a long way in the decades that I’ve been playing them. And yes, saying that does make me feel very old.

Not so old that I can’t enjoy modern basketball gaming, however! Indeed, even if certain aspects aren’t completely to my taste, I can still appreciate them and see their appeal to other gamers; particularly gamers younger than me. It’s very easy to get caught up in what we don’t like about modern basketball gaming, and to that point, there are many valid criticisms that we can make. I will be getting to them in next week’s article, but for now, let’s focus on the best parts of modern basketball gaming. These are the five that spring to mind for me, and I’m sure you’ll agree that they represent evolution in the genre, and incentive to check out the new game each year.

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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 some reflections on the addictiveness of grinding in modes such as MyCAREER and MyTEAM.

Much has been written about the predatory mechanics found in NBA 2K, and many other Triple-A video games over the past generation. On several occasions, I’ve joined the chorus of people who have criticised the practice. There have been many articles and videos that have discussed how recurrent revenue mechanics prey on those who struggle with impulse control and addictive personalities. That remains a huge issue, and I still condemn those mechanics. Regardless, even if you opt for a “No Money Spent” approach, you can still find yourself getting hooked.

I’ve at long last properly begun a MyNBA game in NBA 2K22, marking an overdue return to franchise gaming. If you know how long I’ve been talking about wanting to do that due to feeling burned out on MyCAREER, you can appreciate how big of a deal that is for me! I feel energised having returned to my roots as a franchise gamer, in no small part due to revisiting MyGM in NBA 2K14. However, I’ve been thinking about why it took so long, and why I continued to spend time with MyCAREER and its connected modes, with a detour to MyTEAM in NBA 2K21. I’ve realised that even if you resist the pressure of microtransactions, there’s addictiveness in the grinding.

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Episode #401 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 have our likes and dislikes when it comes to NBA 2K22, but what would someone who hasn’t played the series in over ten years think of it? We have an answer from the community, leading us to discuss bad first impressions. Of course, first impressions don’t always last, thanks to the abundance of patches and tuning fixes. In that regard, post-release support these days is undoubtedly a double-edged sword. It’s also a factor in the ongoing conversation about alleged skill gaps. Meanwhile, a MyTEAM poll has revealed some interesting statistics regarding NBA 2K’s demographics that suggest we’re not that old after all. We also discuss playing NBA Live 06 for Xbox 360 co-op over Parsec, the addictiveness of grinding, and some of the community’s Virtual Hardwood Legends.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:16:23 — 52.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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 some thoughts on how there’s a certain amount of myopia that comes with mastering mechanics on the virtual hardwood.

I think we can all agree that there should be some degree of challenge in basketball video games. A game that is easily mastered and beaten tends to be boring, though hoops titles – even sim-oriented ones – should nevertheless be accessible, and feature easier difficulty levels. When it comes to the virtual hardwood, there needn’t be a challenge on the level of the Souls series, or games like Returnal, the roguelike that was released earlier this year. Arcade or sim, they’re about representing the sport of basketball, not being exceedingly challenging and for the hardest of the hardcore.

At the same time, a certain amount of challenge and skill is expected of the online competitive scene. The best competitors are the ones mastering the mechanics and strategies that allow them to dominate and defeat their fellow gamers, not just the AI. Even offline, mastery on the sticks will allow gamers to rise to the sometimes unfair challenges of the Hall of Fame difficulty setting. This is obviously achieved through practice and dedication, which is a fair demand for the most challenging experiences in basketball gaming to make. However, in evaluating design principles and overall appeal and accessibility, mastering mechanics does unfortunately lead to myopia.

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Episode #398 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.

Despite some technical difficulties, we managed to play the first game in our semi-final matchup in the NLSC NBA Live 10 Tournament! We also still can’t help but wonder about retro modding possibilities for the PS3 version of NBA Live 10, especially with roster files being transferrable between real hardware and the emulator. Elsewhere, one of us has unlocked the NBA Street team in NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, but sadly they’re not quite as good as one might hope. After following up on a topic from last week by reading out some listener suggestions for re-branding NBA Live, we discuss the controversy surrounding Badges in NBA 2K22 Current Gen. Unfortunately, 2K has once again lacked transparency and tact in addressing the issue. We also make future plans for the virtual hardwood.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:04:55 — 44.9MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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.

Patch 1.7 has been released for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions of NBA 2K22. As always, it should come through automatically as long as your console is online. If it doesn’t, try restarting, or check for updates manually.

As with Patch 1.5 for Current Gen, the new update prepares the game for Season 2: Build Your Empire in MyCAREER and MyTEAM. It also includes court and player likeness updates, several gameplay adjustments, and technical fixes across all game modes. Various issues with MyCAREER quests have also been resolved.

Full notes for Patch 1.7 can be found in the NBA 2K22 Next Gen update history over in our Wiki. Feel free to share your impressions of the latest title update in the comments below, as well as join in the discussion in this topic in the NLSC Forum!

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