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The Friday Five: 5 Concepts That Changed NBA 2K Forever

The Friday Five: 5 Concepts That Changed NBA 2K Forever

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.

1. Virtual Currency

Purchasing VC in NBA 2K19 MyCAREER

There’s no way that you can leave Virtual Currency off a list like this. In fact, if I were ordering these concepts into a Top 5, it would have to be Number One, as it strongly influences the impact and approach of other examples. I know it’s become cliché to criticise VC in NBA 2K, but when it made its debut back in NBA 2K13, it changed the series forever. Some of the changes were slow, taking place over a few years with a few of the resulting ideas being more intrusive than others. Nevertheless, as soon as NBA 2K provided a reliable stream of recurrent revenue for Take Two, VC was here to stay, and destined to impact the design of various aspects of the series.

It’s the reason that I always push back on the excuse of “buying VC is optional”. That is true, but the suits’ goal for NBA 2K is to strongly encourage microtransactions, and that affects how various modes are designed. Compare the rising cost of upgrading a player in MyCAREER between NBA 2K14 and NBA 2K22. It’s not “inflation” if the income doesn’t match the new prices (or not justifiable inflation, at any rate). Modes are designed to have more of a grind, sacrificing a fun journey for the frustration that encourages spending. Don’t tell me it’s just about a convenient shortcut or saving time for busy people. VC changed NBA 2K’s focus from fun and basketball to gouging.

2. Badges

Badges Have Had a Profound Impact on Gameplay in NBA 2K

Player differentiation and abilities beyond the base ratings is something that we’ve wanted in basketball games for a long time. Early attempts to achieve this, such as Freestyle Superstars in NBA Live, were meritorious but ultimately fell short. The Signature Skills that NBA 2K13 introduced were a much better idea, working in conjunction with signature animations. Their successor, Badges, was likewise a fine idea on paper. Their have their place in the game as far as representing specialised skills and uncanny abilities, such as Steph Curry seemingly being in range from the moment he steps out onto the court. I’m not against NBA 2K’s Badges in theory.

In execution however, there are some issues. It’s undeniable that they’ve changed NBA 2K forever, and while it’s not all bad, the drawbacks are a concern. Badges have become powerful boosts that are the key to victory in online play, establishing a video game “meta” in a sim title. It’s come to the point where in NBA 2K22 Next Gen, you can equip different Badge loadouts. NBA Live 19 allowed you to do the same thing with Traits, and while it wasn’t the biggest issue with that game, I wasn’t a fan of the concept there, either. Badges, as they’ve come to be implemented, fly in the face of the alleged goal of implementing a skill gap. Unfortunately, I don’t see that changing.

3. Green Releases

Green Releases Changed Shooting in NBA 2K Forever

This one has definitely been a mixed bag. I know that Mike Wang has expressed a desire to wean gamers off of Green Releases, presumably to push his pet project of shot aiming. The problem is that shot aiming can be just as cheesy when it’s mastered, and has a larger learning curve, even for experienced basketball gamers. While I do admire Beluba’s passion for innovation and stick skills, shot aiming has largely been a flop every time it’s been attempted. Likewise, the dice roll that allowed for miss after miss with wide open perfect releases in older games was too random. Green Releases are honestly one of the best concepts for shooting mechanics that we’ve seen so far.

To that end, they were certainly a game changer, replacing a system hampered by its ambiguity and somewhat contrived results. It’s been a reliable mechanic and a good approach for the most part. It’s also made it impossible to go back to a system without guaranteed makes, and likewise extremely difficult to sell gamers on something new. Sure, that’s an indication of its suitability and issues with other concepts for shooting mechanics, but it also demonstrates how it’s changed NBA 2K forever. There’s no going back, and it’s too ingrained for gamers to be open to further change. Of all the concepts I’ve listed here, it’s easily the most positive change, but it’s still inflexible.

4. The Park

Park Game Against Mascot MyPLAYERs (NBA 2K17)

Remember when basketball games were about simulating the sport, rather than being an MMORPG with elements of basketball thrown in? OK, that’s some cranky old man grumbling, so I’ll rephrase. Remember when the appeal of sim basketball titles was playing with and against real players, who performed like their real life counterparts? (Sorry, that’s as good as I can do.) Obviously there is still interest in seeing that, but the introduction of The Park, aka MyPARK, aka The Playground, undoubtedly turned that into an antiquated concept. Even the notion of controlling your own avatar to play through the NBA side of MyCAREER is now looked upon as a mode for old heads.

Fortunately NBA 2K is still catering to a variety of basketball gaming tastes, as the traditional franchise, NBA career, and card collecting modes are still available. It’s not as though everything else has been discarded in favour of Park play. The introduction of The Park did increase the popularity of the online scene, drawing in gamers who aren’t interested in a more realistic representation of basketball. When MyPLAYER clothing debuted, it was treated as a joke. Now, it’s a status symbol, and a makeshift matchmaking system in Park games. It’s not all bad because it’s a lot of fun for gamers who enjoy it, but Park changed the course of NBA 2K, and not entirely for the better.

5. The Neighborhood

The Neighborhood Changed NBA 2K Forever

That brings us to one of the most impactful and permanent changes to MyCAREER in NBA 2K: The Neighborhood. In short, it took the concept of The Park and ran with it, expanding MyCAREER beyond menus and into a game world that could be explored. Buying cosmetic items now meant travelling to shops. Team Pro-Am and Walk-On games also now required traversing The Neighborhood to visit the appropriate arenas, rather than just accessing a menu item while in your MyCOURT. When NBA 2K21 Next Gen launched, The Neighborhood was taken to the next level with The City; essentially the same concept of a game world, only much, much larger in scale.

No surprise, there. There’s no way that MyCAREER could feasibly return to modes and customisation options linked by menus. Many of us would like that, but it’s not innovative, or “going bigger”. Going from The Neighborhood to The City is. And so, we’re left with the time-consuming task of running around a virtual world for basic customisation and to participate in gameplay. Emphasis on cosmetic items has only increased, as has the pressure to buy VC. Offline MyCAREER was further stripped down, and then removed entirely. These concepts didn’t just change NBA 2K forever. In my view, they’ve ruined one of its flagship modes, with no chance of going back.

Whether or not you see these concepts as beneficial or detrimental to NBA 2K, I don’t think there’s any disputing that they changed the series forever. What’s your take on these concepts? What are some other milestones changes to NBA 2K that you feel changed the series forever, for better or worse? Let me know 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.

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