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Although not announced, assuming that EA is indeed working on an NBA sim title for 2013, what do you think the game has to do to compete with NBA 2K?
Is there anything the title could do differently to separate itself?
Just curious as to what everyone would want to see.
Interesting question and topic.
Some of the issues with NBA Live centered around the authenticity of the title. Player models, signature animations, etc. weren't true to life, trailing NBA 2K significantly.
On the court, NBA 2K has done an excellent job in making the game very deep - even if the controls are not necessarily user-friendly or friendly for new gamers. (That is an avenue EA should try to exploit.) However, I believe 2K12 added in some sort of tutorial mode/feature, so that could help get new players into the franchise.
2K has been notorious for online issues, whereas EA hasn't exactly been stellar top-to-bottom in their franchise but they seem to be improving overall.
For their next title:
- EA needs to get the gameplay deep with user-friendly controls (ex: EA had better post-play controls, but actual post-play gameplay in 2K ran circles around Live).
- Make sure strategy matters in gameplay. The 2-3 defense in Live 10 was exploitable,
- They need to nail the details....every player needs to have anything unique regarding them (tattoos, walk style, shot style, signature jams, signature taunts, etc.) in the game. Player models were a mess in the little we saw of NBA ELITE. The didn't even get the cover athlete correct in-game (Durant).
- They need to make online is not a 3-point cheesefest (or dunkfest) as it has been in EA basketball titles for as long as I remember. Again, there has to be some sort of strategy, not just pure run n' gun.
- They also need to keep and build upon the Synergy updates that existed in Live (seemed very popular and relatively well-designed), but also make sure roster moves get into the game quicker than the 2-3 day period it took in Live with the same system. Once Carmelo was officially traded, people wanted to play with him on the Knicks the next day....not 72 hours later.
Feature-wise, they need to closely monitor Online Association, copy it, and improve any shortcomings that exist with it while also expanding upon it.
They are going to have to do a lot of emulating & catching up to NBA 2K and learn from their mistakes. Make sure the game has a mode similar to Crew mode, have legends available in some format (and an option to draft/sign them in online/offline franchise), etc.
They are probably years off from competing with 2K (I believe Peter Moore has said as much), but they can certainly get the title past where Live 10 was rather quickly, maybe in year one. That would be a huge start.
I never played Live so I can't really offer any insight but one thing that might help Live keep up with 2K is by offering a better overall package. By this I mean offering a pro and college game. There is still a demand for a college basketball game, just one that actually works and is supported by the devs.
Online franchise!
I agree that something substantial feature-wise could help out immensely right off the bat if gameplay isn't going to compete for a few years (Peter Moore's comments). I think @bdoughty makes a good point with the NCAA license. It is something I have thought about as well. More so using the March Madness license as something to use in a Be A Pro mode. So for instance your character starts out in the tourney and what you do in it will determine how you get drafted etc. It could offer something the competition can't and would fill a void in a market that is not currently being exposed.
The problem with this idea is that the NCAA license costs a ton of money. I don't know if EA would be willing to risk that kind of cash on a title that is obviously climbing a steep hill and is already in risky ground. If the spent the money on that, and the title didn't sell it would mean sure doom for the series. It's a great idea, and I love it but I worry if the risk would be too much.
I agree with a ton of this stuff cdj. You make a ton of great points. Online features (an area 2K lacks in) should be a priority. I also believe user ability and user friendly controls are a big area of focus EA should concentrate on. 2K, while deep, is very congested and animation heavy. If EA could somehow create as deep of a system but put more control in the hands of the user along with a more defined control setup they would attract attention.Quote:
Originally Posted by cdj
There is a lot to do, and everything won't be perfect year 1. That is my expectation anyways. What they have to do to get people to play it is offer something DIFFERENT to get people's attention while still maintaining the authenticity of the sport and making the game fun to play. NBA Live 10 was on the right track in my view. I also think the scaling should be fixed. The characters in Live always looked smaller to me but spacing was always better in Live then in 2K. If they could keep the spacing but make guys bigger I'd be happy.
Use the strategy and AI that NHL uses. Adapt a intuitive AI system that tracks what you do and changes it's gameplan.
Online franchises, and a return of the NBA All-Star weekend would be big. Maybe some sort of Legends mode - get the Dream Team of '92.
The details as cdj mentioned are vital. Add a ton of minor details that could give players a different feel over 2K.
Keep the ideas coming fellas...