Monday Tip-Off: Would Two 2K Games Be Better Than One?
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 idea that having two separate NBA 2K games would be better than one.
In case you’re unfamiliar with this idea, there have been times when gamers have suggested that there should be two editions of NBA 2K on the market; essentially, an online-oriented release, and a more traditional offline version. The logic behind this unusual suggestion is that online and offline play can adversely affect one another during the design process, leaving fans of one or the other (and sometimes, both) to be left disappointed. It’s also been suggested that one version could be fully-priced, while the other is free-to-play and based around microtransactions.
When you put it like that, the idea of having two NBA 2K games isn’t as strange as it first seems. It’s highly unlikely though, and it would undoubtedly have drawbacks. Of course, even the best ideas have their downsides, and no concept will be universally popular. With that being said, could it work, and would it be a better approach than what we have now? I’ve previously broached the idea of having a spinoff “Legends” version of NBA 2K that focuses on historical content, and EA Sports has arguably set a precedent with World Cup editions of FIFA. Let’s take a look at what having two NBA 2K games would mean for the series, both for 2K and us as basketball gamers.
Expanding upon the reasons that gamers might be interested in having two editions of NBA 2K, there are philosophical differences between the offline and online crowds. The former usually tend to identify as sim gamers, with a greater interest in realism and NBA content. They’re more likely to be interested in franchise play and the NBA side of MyCAREER, with a preference for gameplay that’s based on realistic strategy and performance. Conversely, online gamers are focused on competition, meta, skill gaps, and seasonal content. I’m generalising here as some opinions and preferences are shared by both, but broadly speaking, those are the two types of NBA 2K gamers.
Historically, NBA 2K has done an admirable job of catering to both crowds. Whether you preferred online or offline play, the depth was there to keep you hooked all year long. Problems have arisen in recent years, however. Increased interest in the online competitive scene has pushed gameplay design towards incorporating mechanics that are more about proving skill than necessarily having fun, or realistic NBA basketball. MyCAREER’s connected modes have all but killed the traditional career experience, turning it into a grindy slog that’s intended to encourage microtransactions to be at all palatable. MyTEAM is likewise designed around pushy recurrent revenue mechanics.
Therefore, one solution that’s been floated is to have two NBA 2K games that each fully caters to a specific crowd. There are a couple of ways to approach that idea, but one suggestion would be to release a “traditional” version every year that focuses on franchise play and the NBA experience in general, as well as a free-to-play version that’s supported by microtransactions, and focused on the online arena and live service content. You can see the logic here. Offline gamers get their annual sim title with a single purchase up-front, while online gamers and big spenders get their own game optimised for competitive play, and the freemium that far too many of them defend.
From a gameplay perspective, and in particular when it comes to tweaks that are made post-release, neither crowd would be able to ruin the game for the other. If a mechanic works great offline but proves to be cheesy in the competitive scene, or is great for online play but hinders the fun in traditional modes, one side will end up disappointed. That needn’t be the case if there were two games. MyCAREER in the offline edition could cater to NBA fantasies and be a fun journey, rather than being a FOMO-fuelled money-grab. MyTEAM is a tough one because there’s more crossover interest there, but if it’s in the free-to-play version, no second purchase would be necessary to get it.
As you can probably guess, now that I’ve outlined the benefits of this idea, it’s time to poke holes in it, and shoot it down! Let’s talk feasibility. Developing two separate editions of NBA 2K wouldn’t be as simple as cutting the code in half, or taking out the online elements to create a brand new game. There are so many aspects that would need to be rebuilt, because everything is connected. As I’ve previously discussed, game design and programming isn’t like editing a Word document. You can’t just chop and change what’s there, or continuously add content, without introducing new errors. Developing two games would require time, money, and resources in general.
2K and Take-Two are big enough to accomplish it of course, but that brings us to whether or not they could justify the cost and effort. From a business standpoint, it wouldn’t be prudent to divide the audience like that. Sure, they make bank through microtransactions now, but they’d take a hit with online gamers not purchasing a new game every year if they no longer had to. To that point, the reason that 2K makes so much recurrent revenue from the NBA 2K series is that progress resets every year, which wouldn’t happen if our MyPLAYERs and MyTEAM squads weren’t exclusive to an annual release. Changing their business model like that wouldn’t make sense.
There’d also be issues from a technical and design standpoint. There are some things that simply can’t be added through updates, and I doubt that online gamers would be pleased that the annual traditional/offline version is receiving enhancements that they miss out on. Likewise, offline gamers wouldn’t be thrilled about paying for an inferior release. As it stands, 2K currently supports two Triple-A versions of NBA 2K, since the game still comes out on the previous generation. I highly doubt that they’d want to complicate matters by releasing multiple versions across multiple platforms spanning more than one generation, and understandably so. They have very little incentive here.
From our perspective, the potential benefits for us as gamers and consumers would likely be outweighed by the drawbacks. Having two versions of NBA 2K would undoubtedly lead to confusion; just look at what happened with the Xbox Series X and Xbox One X! A free-to-play game would be even pushier with microtransactions, with no offline play to facilitate grinding in a more relaxed setting. Separating online and offline into two releases would leave both feeling incomplete, with one almost assuredly being left in a much weaker state. As much as the online and offline modes can interfere with one another, there’s merit in MyCAREER’s connected approach.
So, what’s the solution as far as their incompatibilities? Unfortunately, there’s no easy fix here, at least as far as avoiding any conflicts at all. The good news is that we’ve seen other games succeed in catering to both online and offline gamers, thus we know that it’s possible. Furthermore, it’s not as though NBA 2K has completely failed in this regard, either. For all the differences between offline and online gamers, both groups share some of the same gameplay criticisms, as well as the common desire to have the best experience possible. Through tuning, boosts that are exclusive to MyCAREER and its connected modes, and offline-only options, that separation can be achieved.
Modes may present a greater challenge, but there’s precedent here for catering to different tastes. I believe that many complaints with MyCAREER could be resolved by including an offline version of the mode and giving gamers the choice to either select it or a connected save, with the explanation that the two can’t mix. Offline MyCAREER could strip away the MMORPG aspects, and even the story if there is one, simply focusing on stepping into the shoes of an NBA player. It could even feature higher starting ratings, though the online version should really do that as well. Like MyLEAGUE and MyGM, two modes – not two games – are better than one.
Two NBA 2K games wouldn’t be better than one, but it would be better if the one game could achieve a semblance of separation between online and offline. Even if having two editions could solve a few problems, realistically it would end up creating new issues. Therefore, the better solution is to work with what they’ve got, and make changes that allow the sim experience and competitive scene to both be as good as they can be, without detracting from the other. It’s easier said than done, but there is a precedent as far as alternatives in modes, offline versions of once-connected modes, and mechanics and tuning that are exclusive to online or offline play respectively.
Still, just because 2K can and should take those measures, it doesn’t mean that they will. That’s what gives rise to ideas such as having two separate NBA 2K games in the first place. There has been a shift in the demographic, and while many gamers are still in favour of a sim approach and are disappointed that MyCAREER in particular seems to be turning into Fortnite with basketball, many others are in favour of that! It feels as though the people who proclaim that NBA 2K is just a video game and thus doesn’t need to be realistic are beginning to shout down the sim heads. At the very least, they seem to be getting their way with MyCAREER and its connected modes.
What we really need more than two NBA 2K games is more than one NBA sim title on the market. Sadly, it doesn’t feel like that’s going to happen anytime soon. NBA Live 19 took EA’s series in a different direction, and still failed to move the needle, leading to its dormancy. People may not want to admit it, either because they’re flying the flag for 2K or they understandably distrust EA Sports, but this is the outcome of not having competition in the basketball gaming space. 2K trying to replicate that choice with two releases of their own is an intriguing idea, but it’s ultimately not viable or preferable for them, or for us. We need improvements, not a double dip.
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