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 retro basketball gaming.

Contrary to what you may believe given how often I’ve talked about going back and playing old titles, I’m not just about retro basketball gaming. I spend plenty of time with the latest release as well, and have the MyCAREER and MyTEAM progress in recent years to show for it. However, I’ll always advocate for retro basketball gaming, especially as it receives odd pushback from some gamers. I’ve seen more than a few people ask about getting older games to run over on the official NBA 2K subreddit, only for them to be mocked and told to just play the newest game.

Putting aside the rudeness of being so dismissive as to answer a question with an unwanted and irrelevant suggestion, there are reasons why people want to play older games, if only from time to time. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they have no interest in the latest release, or are unaware of its benefits. Of course, they may be well aware of its drawbacks as well, and seek a more enjoyable experience from an old favourite. There are pros and cons to retro basketball gaming, just as there are pros and cons to playing the newest release. I’m focusing on the pros today, because there is value in going wayback on the virtual hardwood, or sticking with a game you most enjoy.

1. Familiar Gameplay Experience

To that latter point, one of the best parts of retro basketball gaming is familiarity. It’s the reason why we enjoy retro gaming and other nostalgic pursuits in general, but it’s also why we’ll stick with what we like and know. An aversion to change is natural and something we often have to overcome, but when it comes to games and software, we do have our reasons for sticking with older versions. Some changes are undesirable, such as a more confusing interface, or the loss of a useful feature. There has definitely been a change in tone and direction for NBA 2K that many find unpalatable, namely a larger focus on the online scene, recurrent revenue mechanics, and cosmetic items.

For many devotees of the virtual hardwood, retro basketball gaming can actually provide a more enjoyable and even more realistic on-court experience. Alternatively, some gamers prefer the simpler approach to the sim style found in older games. The bottom line is that the gameplay experience is established, familiar, and unchanging. You know what you’re getting, and can enjoy it consistently. For some gamers, it’s why they stick with and even continue to update the rosters for a few beloved classics. For others, returning to that familiar experience can be metaphorical comfort food. Either way, you’re getting something you need and desire out of basketball games.

2. Interactive Almanacs

I know, I know. I’m getting dangerously close to turning this into a clichéd buzzword. It’s absolutely true, though. One of the best parts of retro basketball gaming is how they serve as interactive almanacs, preserving a snapshot of the NBA when they were released, and allowing you to interact with that history through gameplay. There’s so much to enjoy here, beginning with old team branding, and in some cases, teams that have relocated or changed their names. There’s the novelty of seeing players back with their old teams, and noticing stints that you’d completely forgotten about. It’s a moment in NBA history that you can interact with, whenever the mood strikes.

Obviously there are other ways to enjoy NBA history, including watching old games and highlights on YouTube. I’m certainly an advocate for that as well! However, there is something special about the interactivity that retro basketball gaming facilitates. When I go back to an old game, I like playing with teams that no longer exist in the same form; teams such as the Seattle SuperSonics, New Jersey Nets, or Vancouver Grizzlies. I like using alternate jerseys that are now retro designs, and looking through the rosters to find oddities and famous stints alike. The nostalgia isn’t just about the games, but also the era of the NBA they represent. There’s a lot of fun in that aspect.

3. No Reliance on Live Service Content

While the backlash to live service content – the whole “games as a service” model – is quite understandable and I share concerns about how that approach preys on FOMO and impulse control to generate recurrent revenue, there are benefits to gamers, too. Putting aside microtransactions, there’s value in games receiving fresh content, from cosmetic items and other collectibles to new activities and challenges. Paired with a strong core experience, ideally there’s always something new to do and dive into. Of course, once online support for a title ends, so does that steady stream of content. Any modes that are completely reliant on that content will also no longer be accessible.

On one hand, that’s a drawback of retro basketball gaming. On the other hand, it’s a benefit. If you’re interested in those core experiences that remain long after a game’s servers have been switched off, then you don’t need to rely on that fresh live service content for a game to be entertaining. Everything you need is right there, and always will be. There’s no worrying about saving your in-game currency in case better cards come along, or frantically grinding to obtain rewards before they’re gone. Again, that can be enjoyable in a game that’s still receiving content, but it’s also temporary. With retro basketball gaming, what’s there is there, and once you’ve got it, you’ve got it.

4. Old Saves & Completing Unfinished Business

Even if you’re not into retro basketball gaming right now, take my advice: hold onto your old save files! You never know when you may want to revisit them, even if it’s just for a quick look back at your results and achievements. If you still find the game appealing, then you can continue on from that point, progress intact, rather than start over from scratch (although there can be fun in doing that as well). There have been a few occasions when I’ve been able to pick up where I left off, and it led to creating more wonderful memories with some of my all-time favourites. Conversely, I’ve regretted deleting or losing save files, especially when reacquiring games years later.

It’s a lot of fun to continue the adventures by firing up an old franchise or career save file, and playing the next season. However, retro basketball gaming also allows us to find satisfaction in completing our unfinished business. With a new game coming out every year, we sometimes end up moving on before finishing a season, or attaining unlockable content and Trophies/Achievements. As I’ve said, completion is what you make it when it comes to basketball games, and only you can decide if you’ve had enough enjoyment and value for your money. If there’s something left to do, by all means dust off a game and spend some more time tying up those various loose ends.

5. New Experiences & Appreciation

The ease of modding certain older titles is undoubtedly one of the best parts of retro basketball gaming. There are some mods that are far more feasible to create for old games thanks to the flexibility of their file formats, and the tools and other resources we have on hand. This means that we can freshen up old games in a variety of ways, from current roster updates to retro season mods, and many other creative projects. Simply creating something new for an old favourite can be a lot of fun in and of itself, but enjoying the fruits of your labour and sharing that work with the community is a way to bring new experiences to a game that’s otherwise familiar and unchanging.

Mind you, even a vanilla game is capable of providing this freshness. If you’ve never played a particular mode in a game before – especially if it’s unique to the game – then there may be untapped potential for hours more fun with it, even many years later. I can also attest to games holding up better than I remembered, and developing a new appreciation for them after a second look with fresh eyes and an open mind. Even the best games can make a poor first impression for a variety of reasons, so it can be immensely satisfying to give a game another chance and discover how much fun it can be. If you eschew retro basketball gaming, you miss out on those opportunities.

What do you enjoy about retro basketball gaming? If you’ve never been able to get into it, what are some of the reasons holding you back? I’ll be discussing some of the drawbacks next week, but for now, have your say in the comments, and as always, feel free to take the discussion to the NLSC Forum! That’s all for this week, so thanks for checking in, have a great weekend, and please join me again next Friday for another Five.