In NBA 2K24, scoring baskets from the tricky spots c?an often make the difference, and knowing how to set a screen is crucial.

In ?easier difficulties, it's pretty simple to score the baskets. As you face more challenging opponents, the open spaces on the court reduce drastically, minimizing the chances of scoring a basket. When you call for a screen, it signals one of your players to come short and create space for your ball handler. This extra space, when done at the right moment, can catch the opposition defense off guard.

How to call a screen in NBA 2K24

You have two options when trying to set up a screen - call a random player or call a specific player. If you go for the first option, the game will automatically consider a suitable screen. This process might be the less efficient option out of two, but it's b??etter suited for beginners.

Here are the instru??ctions to set a screen with the random player.

• Hold the L1/LB button on your PlayStation/Xbox controller when the ball is with your ball handler. This will automatically push one of your other players to offer himself as a screen.
• Once the screen is set, press the LS button to make the player switch sides (beneficial if you think he is standing in the wrong position).
• Press the R1/RB button on your PlayStation/Xbox controller to decide what the screen should do.

I personally feel that it's important to determine which player is being called as the pote??ntial screen. For example, the Center is always a good choice as they have the big physical build required to create the space.

• Instead of holding the L1/LB button on your PlayStation/Xbox controller, press it once when the ball is with your ball handler.
• You'll see a button icon appearing on top of each of your remaining four players.
• Select the button of the player you want to set the screen. The remaining process and options are the same as when creating a screen with a random teammate.

You could also create a dummy movement by canceling the screen midway. To do this, just press the L1/LB button second time before the process of setting the screen is complete in NBA 2K24.

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Take-Two Interactive has an interesting response to gamers upset with what the company does with the in-game currency they buy. In an ongoing dispute over whet??her money is essentially stolen when a game's servers shut down, Take-Two characterized in-game virtual currency as "fictions c??reated by game publishers."

Currently Take-Two is facing a class-action lawsuit in California related to microtransactions in the NBA 2K games. Particularly, the lawsuit takes issue wi??th the fact that when Take-Two takes down servers for? old games, players lose access to the virtual currency (VC) that they bought.

According to Axios, the suit alleges that: “By removing Plaintiff and the Class members' VC, Defendants took and stole their personal property, or fraudulently appropriated property that had been entrusted to Defendant.�?/p>

In response to the lawsuit, Take-Two’s lawyers are targeting the claim that virtual currency is property. Game File reports that the company’s attorneys filed a request to dismiss the lawsuit last week. The argument goes that  gamers might have paid to obta?in the currency, but it’s not something they can actually own.

In the filing, Take-Two’s attorneys write: “VC is not plaintiff’s property. Instead, in-game VC are fictions created by game publishers, subject to the publishers�?terms of service and user agreements.”�?/p>

That said, lawsuits targeting microtransactions of all kinds seem to be popping up more frequently. In May 2023, Nintendo faced a class-action suit over the loot boxes in Mario Kart Tour. And NBA 2K has run afoul of microtransaction issues before, with Belgian and Dutch gambling la??ws in? 2018.

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Chicago Sky star shines in GameStop exclusive artwork

WNBA star Candace Parker will be the first-ever woman athlete to feature on the cover of 2K Games' annual basketball sim, NBA 2K. Parker's cover �?which will feature as a GameStop exclusive �?is one of several stylish and extremely colorful variants set to bedeck NBA 2K22 when it launches on PC & cons??oles September 10.

Parker, who plays as a center/forward for Chicago Sky, has seen amazing success in her 13-year career. Having won numerous awards in high school and college leagues, Parker would be ranked the WNBA's Rookie of the Year in 2008, alongside numerous MVP declarations and two gold medals during her time with the Los Angeles Sparks. Having captured a WNBA championship and being featured as a WNBA All-Star no less than six times, Parker moved to Chicago Sky in early 2021 to embark?? upon a new chapter in her already storied career.

"Representation m??atters, so this is a special moment of progress for the sport and the series," said C??andace Parker of her cover honors. “To be part of this historic cover is a testament to the growth and rising popularity of the women’s game, and I’m proud to be the first female cover athlete to be the face of NBA 2K."

Developed by Visual Concepts, NBA 2K22 will be the 23rd release in the NBA 2K series and will be themed around the 75th anniversary of the National Basketball Association. A special Anniversary Edition will feature splendid artwork celebrating basketball legends Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as painted by social history artist Charly Palmer �?who recently won acclaim for their work "America Must Change", which featured on TIME's July 2020 cover

The NBA 2K22 75th Anniversary Edition will retail for $100 and will include cross-generational upgrades along with a huge list of in-game bonus content. The standard edition of NBA 2K22 will retail for $70 on PS5 and Xbox Series X and $60 on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. A cross-gen digital edition will be available for PlayStation and Xbox for $80. 2K Games will not be offering free next-gen upgrade??s for standard edition owners.

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In-game content, virtual currencies, and XP boosts

The ?next phase in Sony's Play at Home 2021 giveaway is a bit... unexpected.

After giving out a dozen PS4 titles this year including Ratchet & Clank, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Subnautica, the next freebies are just in-game content rather than more on-the-house full games. It was fun while it lasted, right? Actually, some of you may get decent mileage out of this stuff. Some.

You can grab the following free content and virtual currencies from May 17 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific until June 6 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific:

• Rocket League: PlayStation Plus Pack – includes four unique customization items including Blue Notch Wheels, Blue Smoke Boost, Blue Rocks Trail, and the Trimpact BL Player Banner.

• Brawlhalla: Brawlhalla: Play at Home Pack – includes the Rayman Legend Unlock, Sir Rayelot Skin with Axe and Gauntlet Weapon Skins, Shrug Emote, and Grimm Sidekick.

• Destruction AllStars: 1100 Destruction Points.

• MLB The Show 21: MLB The Show 21 10 The Show Packs.

• NBA 2K21: The Play at Home Pack – includes MyTEAM Series 2 Amethyst Damian Lillard, 5,000 MyTEAM Points, and more.

• Rogue Company: Rogue Company: Play at Home Pack – includes the Kyoto Undercover Ronin Outfit and 200 Rogue Bucks.

• World of Tanks: Five x1.5 Silver Boosters, five x2 XP Boosters, seven days of Premium Account, and more.

• World of Warships: Tier III battleship Arkansas, 7 days of Premium Account, and 5x Rare Boosters of all five types.

• Warframe: Warframe: Starter Bundle – includes 100 Platinum, 100,000 Credits, 7 Day Affinity Booster, Essential Base Damage Mod Bundle, and more.

And there's a Warzone giveaway from May 20 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific until June 6 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.

• Warzone: Five 60-minute Double XP tokens ("accessed exclusively in-game through the Message of the Day").

I feel like the Warframe, Rocket League, and Warzone freebies will be the most enticing around these parts. As someone who keeps?? up with literally none of these games, I'll be sitting this one out.

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Dunking your usable GBs straight to hell

Imagine, if you will, someone who buys a PlayStation 5 this week and only has a couple of holiday 2020 games on their radar. Let's suppose, for the sake of the exercise, that they're going to pick up NBA 2K21 and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. That's a reasonable assumption. Those are two of the biggest games ever??y single year.

It's a very quick way to put yourself behind the 8-ball when it comes to next-gen storage. We already knew Call of Duty would be huge; it needs 135GB on PS5 and Xbox Series X. Now, NBA 2K21's file size has leaked and it similarly h??its triple digits. 

Redditor robo3687 had their PS5 copy of NBA 2K21 arrive a couple days early, and revealed that the box lists a minimum of 150GB reserved space on the SSD as the requirement. As 2KInsiderr points out, it's actually 101GB on Xbox a???nd will be about the same on PS5.

Just those two games together will eat up about 35 percent of the PS5's usable 667GB on its 1TB SSD after accounting for the operating system (and the pre-installed Astro's Playroom). Stupidly big file sizes are nothing new, and they're only going to keep shooting up as developers ship more and more high-res texture packs. But, it feels kind of defeating ?to know that you can only install five or six games on a brand new hard drive.

It's to the point where secondary storage is almost a requirement. It's like the time when I was a kid and I bought a GameCube but didn't realize that I also needed to buy a memory card. I had to go back to Target and plop down like an extra $30 just to be able to save my games. When you're a kid, an unexpected $30 is the sort of thing that could bankrupt you for life. So, for anyone who's already stretching their financial limitations and is annoyed that NBA 2K21 needs all the gigabytes, you have my sympa??thy.

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Double Dribble

Earlier this week, we reported on a controversy that had blown up within the NBA 2K community, after publisher 2K Games added unskippable commercials to the loading screens of the latest entry in the basket?ball franchise one month after the title's launch.

The commercials for the Oculus Quest 2 appears during pre-game loading screens as a part of NBA 2K21's "2K TV" segments. Fans took to Reddit and social media to express their disdain at being forced to sit through product ads in a title they had paid upwards ??of $70 for.

2K Games has released a statement on Twitter, where the publisher acknowledged that the offending videos "impacted our players' experience in a way we didn't intend, as these ads are not meant to run as part of the pre-game introduction." 2K Games then stated t??hat "This will be fixed in future episodes."

Note that "fixed" does not necessarily mean "removed." As such, players will have to see how the ads are implemented going forward. Last year's franchise entry, NBA 2K20, would become a notorious example of aggressive monetization, advertising, and gambling within the AAA industry. NBA 2K21 has already gotten off to a poor start in regards to turning around said reputat?io??n - and the ball, ultimately, lies in the publisher's court.

2K Community 🗣 pic.twitter.com/rvMC9z0Wft

— NBA 2K21 (@NBA2K) October 20, 2020

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Foul Play

The NBA 2K community has hit back at publisher 2K Games after unskippable adverts materialised within the latest entry in the basketball sim, NBA 2K21. The adverts were not in the sports title at launch, and have popped up one month after release, to the cha??grin of many?? paying customers.

As reported by Stevivor, fans spotted video adverts for Oculus Quest 2 hardware that auto-play during certain NBA 2K21 loading sequences, as ??a part of "2K TV" cinematic?? presentations. The adverts always complete before the segment finishes loading, regardless of platform or PC capabilities. You can see the offending segments in action in Stevivor's video below.

NBA 2K fans have taken to Reddit to blast the commercials, fuming at the concept of being forced to sit through ads in a $60-70 video game. This isn't even 2K's first rodeo, as previous entry NBA 2K20, a controversial title t?hat would go on to become a poster child for overly aggressive monetization and gambling mechanics?? in gaming.

This situation also recalls a similar event that took place last month, when Electronic Arts' UFC 4 sudden?ly implemented advertising? in-game, again one month after release. Following backlash from fans, EA relented and the adverts were then removed from the game.

Sports games, more so than any other genre, are ripe for these sneaky shenanigans. Due?? to the televised nature of sports, the heavy emphasis on sponsorship and advertising, and the constant drive to make sports video games "authentic," publishers often take advantage of the natural opportunity for mass advertising. After all, it presents a "realistic depiction" of watching said sport on the box. Time and again it has been proven that fans do not agree with this way of thinking, though I'm hesitant to suggest the message will be heard anytime soon.

NBA 2K21 inserts unskippable ads into pre-game ??loading ?screens [Stevivor / Eurogamer]

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Here's a quick, but effective look

Another generation, another attempt to s??ell you on expensive hardware.

I mean, I'm always there. I've been there since I started shoveling snow and working at 15 years old to partake in the newest games. But some generational leaps are more exciting than others. ?The jury is still out on this coming gap, in ??part due to the $10 price hike on a lot of software.

NBA 2K21 was one of the first games to be announced to? buck that t??rend. It's going to be $70 on newer consoles, with is? chalked up to more visual polish, says its publisher. But now t??hat it's really getting down to the wire and we have ample footage of both the PS4 and PS5 editions of the game, it's time to compare and contrast.

YouTuber BBallCreator 2K put up a really useful and quick video that does just that, which you can view below. It's interesting, as so??me of the diffe??rent character models look great on PS5 just because the PS4 ones look fairly poor, but overall there's a ton of detail in the former version. You can also see a drastic upgrade in terms of lighting when the camera shifts to an aerial view around 30 seconds in.

Like most things, they need to be seen in person to be believed. Hopefully the PS5 version is actually technically sound, and can hold these visuals with a prope?r framerate. With some games seemingly making us choose, these upgrades might not be as enticing. Also, does anyone else think 'Bron and the boys will take it on Friday?

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Leave it to Take-Two

[Update: This might be the start of something bigger. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, research firm IDG Consulting notes that given the last time a price hike occurred was roughly 2005 ($60), we're past due for one. IDG notes that a potential $10 increase will "only" be a 17% hike, compared to a 39% increase for film ticket prices or a 100% increase for Netflix subscriptions. Of course, that figure doesn't take into account all of the extra monetization prospects of ??games.

IDG says that according to "their channel checks" more publishers are looking at a $70 price point, with the concession that "not every game should garner" that new MSRP. That said, once the floodgates open and the usual suspects (WB, EA, Take-Two) make th?eir move, there's probably no going b??ack.]

A line has been drawn in the sand. Will other publishers follow? Stay tuned, as this ??coming generation still has a lot of muck to wade through (like you know, the cost of the PS5 and Series X).

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, NBA 2K21 will sport an MSRP of $69.99 on the PS5 and Xbox Series X: a $10 price increase over the respective PS4 and Xbox One editions. While the current-gen console versions of 2K21 will launch this September, the future ??generation will get their versions "this holiday season" at that new price.

2K Sports, owned by Take-Two Interactive (who in turn owns Rocksta?r, and many other pricey properties), notes that the $10 premium is due to the fact that the new editions are "built from the ground up" for next-generation machines. Although Take-Two is seemingly alone in this venture right now, the writing has been on the wall for some time. Multiple industry veterans have called for a price increase for a long while, with the $60 standard holding for far longer than a lot of people expected it to.

Of course, with the advent of loot boxes, subscription services for genres that traditionally did not have them (Fallout 76), microtransactions (especially in sports games) and DLC, a lot of the "standard retail price" was baked into that racket. It remains to be seen if further legislation will limit that increasing encroachment — or if players will end up getting hi?t with higher retail prices and micros to boot.

There's ??????????????????????????still so much to suss out about this coming generation, b??ut at least we have cross-play and cross-buy to look forward to.

NBA 2K21? price is $10 more ex??pensive on Xbox Series X and PS5 [GamesIndustry.biz]

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The usual suspects led the way

Rockstar and 2K parent company Take-Two Interactive had some good news for its shareholders today: It had a record-setting fourth quarter to its 2020 fiscal year. Take-Two had to refrain from gloating too much though, because the success w??as largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In its end-of-year report to investors, Take-Two ended up with $760.5 million in fourth quarter revenue, up a staggering 41 percent year-over-year. Recurrent spending (which generally means microtransactions) increased 40 percent and was responsible for approximately $410.7 million of the Q4 revenue. Between Grand Theft Auto Online, Red Dead Online, and NBA 2K, T??ake-Two is uniquely positioned as one of the game companies that benefits the most from in-game spending.

Take-Two doesn't try to hide the fact that this unexpected success is due to coronavirus restrictions. "With more people staying at home, we have experienced, and are continuing to experience, heightened levels of engagement and net bookings growth-to-date," it says. Take-Two has had good fortune at a time when many people struggling. As a way of giving back, Take-Two is donating 5 percent of in-game spending from certain games in April and May to COVID-19 relief charities; the bulk of these funds will come from GTA Online, Red Dead Online, and NBA 2K.

Elsewhere, as reported by GamesBeat, Take-Two gave updates on lifetime performances of two of Rockstar's shiniest gems. Grand Theft Auto V is sitting at 130 million copies sold, while Red Dead Redemption 2 has broken 21 million sales. These numbers are through March, so they don't include all the copies of GTA V given away in the past week as part of the Epic Games Store promotion.

Take-Two Inter?active Software, Inc. Reports Strong Results for Fiscal Year 2020 [Take-Two Interactive]

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No games to simulate

Here's some unexpected collateral damage from the coronavirus pandemic: NBA 2K20 is endlessly simulating game??s until it eventually crashes under?? the strain of its own processing.

Let's rewind and explain. Last night, the NBA indefinitely suspended its season because of the coronavirus outbreak. Rudy Gobert, a player for the Utah Jazz, tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. Shortly after, one of Gobert's teammates also tested positive. Given that coronavirus leaves victims asymptomatic during its incubation period, it's likely that the Jazz played multiple games while its players have been infected. (Probably unrelated: Gobert made a point of mocking COVID-19 by touching reporters' microphones at a press conference a few days ago.)

The dominoes of sports in the US have fallen quickly. The NHL similarly suspended its season today. It's worth noting that the NBA and NHL share a lot of facilities across North America, so an outbreak among one player base could affect both leagues. MLB also suspended operatio?ns for the time being. The NCAA c?anceled its basketball tournaments. Sports in the United States basically don't exist right now.

That, evidently, extends to video games. With the NBA suspending the season, NBA 2K20&nb??sp;doesn't know how to interpret that previously sch??eduled games aren't on the schedule anymore. The culprit is the NBA Today mode which lets you start a new franchise mode from the exact day it is in real-life. However, when starting it up, NBA Today tries to simulate games that don't exist, sending it into a spiral that ends up with the game crashing.

This is all reminiscent of the WWE 2K20 bug that caused the game to crash when played in the year 2020. That, obviously, was more foreseeable, that the year would change at the end of December. NBA 2K20's predicament is on??e that no one could predict. Why would a developer safeguard something into their game in the extremely unlikely event of a season being canceled because of a global virus outbreak? Anyway, it'll probably be patched soon, but that doesn't mean there will be games to simulate.

NBA 2K20's NBA Today mode endlessly simulates a?nd then crashes p??ost-Corona suspension [ResetEra]

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Take-Two had an interesting quarter

A lot of Rockstar and 2K's biggest franchises ended the most recent quarter with impressive sales figures. Parent company Take-Two Intera??cti?ve just ended an investors conference call where the main takeaway was that the most prominent names in the portfolio continue to be the most profitable.

The most visible game over the past year or so has been Red Dead Redemption 2. An excellent launch period in late 2018 resulted in 23 million sell-in units (shipped) within the first few months. Following the recent PC port, Red Dead Redemption 2 sits at 29 million lifetime sales. That's nearly twice what the original Red Dead Redemption sold; although its most recent reported numbers are a couple years old, Take-Two said it was at 15 million lifetime sales in 2017.

However, Red Dead Redemption 2's previous success was directly responsible for Take-Two's current underwhelming financials. Quarterly revenue is down 25 percent year over year (from $1.25 billion to $930.1 million) largely in part because of how well Red Dead Redemption 2 sold at launch. Investors are evidently unimpressed, as VentureBeat reports Take-Two's stock dropped 9.6 percent in recent hours. The market isn't sure how to perceive Take-Two right now, especially following this week's departure of Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, which also sent the stock in flux.

Despite all this, Take-Two had positive things to say about most of its lineup. Borderlands 3 is at eight million sales, which is higher than its initial projections. Take-Two expects it to set a record for the franchise in terms of net bookings, calling it "a massive hit by any standard." Interestingly, the Borderlands 3 season pass is performing incredibly well, as Take-Two says it has set an attach rate record for all of 2K Games. Borderlands 3 still has an ????eventual Steam release ahead, but Take-Two executives declined to elaborate on their expectation of how this would bolster sales.

Grand Theft Auto is still the biggest fish in the pond, as it added another 20 million sales in 2019. That brings its lifetimes sales to 120 million. Although GTA Online is a phenomenon of sorts, it's actually the NBA 2K series that leads the way in recurrent consumer spending (microtransactions, DLC, and other in-game purchases). Recurrent spending is up 37 percent this quarter, but Take-Two admits that NBA 2K20 could be performing better in this regard.

Take-Two also confirmed that Obsidian's The Outer Worlds surpassed two million sales. That seems to be considered a success, as Take-Two praised its critical acclaim and the number of awards it won. Publisher Private Division also had a deal in place with Microsoft for Outer Worlds to launch on Xbox Game Pass, meaning many more people played it than the total sales reflect. When asked whether Xbox Game Pass might've helped or hurt the success of Outer Worlds, a Take-Two executive commented "It's hard to say. Generally speaking, we want to be where the consumer is. We?'re willing to take experimental chances when it makes sense for a particular title, and when the underlying deal also makes sense."

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The video thumbnail is literally a loot box

2K NBA Playgrounds, a modern-day reimagining of NBA Jam but with current players, is being ported to mobile as a free-to-play game. It's currently in open beta on Android in select markets.

It is going to be a microtransaction wasteland. Here's the lineage of 2K NBA Playgrounds on mobile: It's an arcadey take on the NBA 2K series, the most prominent and best-selling basketball franchise that has come under intense scrutiny for flagrantly pushing microtransactions; the most recent game in the 2K NBA Playgrounds was slammed for slowing progress unlocking new players to a halt without the assistance of re??al-?life money; and, it's a free-to-play mobile game which are almost always littered with in-app purchases.

But hey, if you're cool with grinding out card packs (or forking over some cash for them), 2K NBA Playgrounds might be your thing. The beta will presumably ?come to more regions soon enough, followed by a proper release on both iOS and Android somewhere ??down the road.

NBA 2K Playgrounds [Google Play]

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She's on fire

It's been a long time coming, but 2K Sports has announced that this year's entry in their annual basketball sim NBA 2K will be adding the entirety of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) to its roster. This addition brings NBA 2K up to speed with Electronic Arts' NBA Live, which added the WNBA to its franchise in 2017.

NBA 2K20 will feature all 12 WNBA teams, totaling some 140 players, for use in Season and Play Now modes. A new video released by the publisher features the Los Angeles Sparks' Candace Parker and Seattle Storm's Breanna Stuart, performing motion capture for the female character models. A selection ?of star players and top collegiate athletes were gath??ered together to record somewhere in between 3000-5000 animations for the new game.

A blog post on the official NBA 2K Facebook explains how gameplay has been redesigned specifically to represent women's basketball. This includes detail on how visual design - including facial animation, body movement, and hair tech - has been overhauled from the ground up in order to?? present the WNBA as a fully-realised addition, with its own individual look, style and gameplay.

NBA 2K20 launches September 6 on PS4, PC and Xbox One.

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Basketball Jones

It's like boom 

I put it in the hoop

Like slam 

I heard the crowd screaming out jam 

I swear that I'm telling you the facts

'Cause that's how I beat Shaq

NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 (PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One [reviewed], Windows)
Developer: Saber Interactive
Publisher: 2K
MSRP: $29.99 (plus $9.99 fee to unlock all players)
Release Date: October 15, 2018

After playing Playgrounds 2 for a few hours, my biggest question was "why does this exist?" I was trying to remember back to my time with the first game (which is no longer available for purchase) and deduce what was new in the sequel. Well, the microtransactions have definitely been ramped up, t?hat's unmistakable. So I went on the official website. I guess the draw here is the expanded roster (that is still missing Patrick Ewing) and...new stages? I eventually came across my answer:

This sequel exists to make money.

I was looking back at my review for the first game. I made it a big point, even bolded the line, to mention that there were no launch microtransactions in NBA Playgrounds. That could not be further from the truth he??re. We are now in two currency territory, though both can be earned in-game. Everything just screams "give us more money:" 2K is now prominently in the title, two versions of in-game currency, and the early-goings are a slog to entice players to spend an extra $10.

Earning players works the same way as the original, except now everything goes through an in-game currency. Players earn a currency that allows them?? to purchase card packs (like buying trading cards in real life) which contain a random array of players. Earning this felt a lot slower than the original game, though I will admit it has been a while. Unlocki??ng players for a specific team becomes frustrating, which normally wouldn't matter because it is possible to mix and match players when playing a game. Unless you're playing Season Mode. 

Season Mode lets you play a 15 game NBA season (and potentially playoffs afterward) as any team. Players must select two players from ?that team, and if two players from that team are not unlocked yet, the game will gift two random (maybe?) players. Finishing a season unlocks an all-star from tha??t team that cannot be earned through packs, even the "unlock everyone" micro-transaction. Well, I guess it's a macro-transaction because it's $10. The issue is that without a slew of players to pick from, this is just 15 exhibition games playing the same damn players each time. It's absolutely boring, and often unfair as your characters are ass and each opponent is going to have a legend or someone else great.

So eventually I caved. I used the code the publisher provided and unlocked the full roster. If I had to pay ten dollars, after already paying thirty, I may have simply stopped playing Season Mode for a while. It is unfortunate, but I will say that the game felt infinitely better after owning all the characters. This is exactly what they want!

There are three rarities of player packs (gold, silver, and bronze), each has a higher chance of unlocking higher ranking players. Normally it would take about ten-ish games to unlock enough currency for a single gold pack if you are completing challenges for players and playing well. Each game has three minutes on the clock, so when you consider clock stoppage, choosing players, and loading in, we'll say five minutes per game. So it will take about an hour to unlock a single pack of five player cards at best. In reality, it will likely take more than that.

For all intents and purposes, this is a $40 game. That is double the price of the original game!  Playing to unlock everything without paying extra is absolutely not worth it. So let's try and justify the price increase. The improvements made to the original post-launch are here, like the shot meter. I originally complained about the first Playgrounds because easy layups and open jump shots would miss; well now there's a visual red bar with a green section to perfectly aim each shot. Excep?t even nailing the green section does not guarantee success. It all depends on a player's stats.

To an extent, this makes sense: having Shaq shoot a 3-pointer should always rarely result in success, even if I nail the green section. BUT! If literally, anyone goes in for an undefended dunk, I should have a 99% chance to score, not 68. My guy is literally all alone and soaring into the sky, only to come down and doink it off the rim. The same goes with missing the green section, which always results in a 0% chance of success. This feels way too punishing. There's no gradient to the colors or percentage -- if you miss by a pixel, you're missing the shot and I hope your other player is a tall rebounder.&n?bsp;

Mechanically, the game is the same. Everything is dictated by a stamina bar, doing crazy stuff earns "lottery pi??cks" which act as random bonuses to the team, and everything in general is over-the-top. At its core, it is still an enjoyable 2-on-2 basketball game that doesn't take itself too? seriously. It's just that now that is surrounded by an absolute mess of a currency and unlock system. 

Oh! I haven't even mentioned why there are two currencies yet. Well, obviously it's to convolute and confuse, but also because there are now pieces of clothing that can only be unlocked using the gold currency. Gold currency can be bought with real money, but there is also a chance to earn a paltry amount via standard card packs. So yes, you could earn 5000 gold currency (the cost of unlocking the entire roster) by playing. But even if you earned 100 gold currency per pack (not likely), you're looking at roughly 40-50 hours of playtime to do so. An??d by then, you will have unlocked approximately 150 - 200 players depending on your luck, so the overall value of unlocking everyone goes down. 

Damn, I got sidetracked again. Okay, so players are earned through packs using non-gold currency, and aesthetic items like pants, shirts, and costumes are earned through gold currency which can be occasionally earned from player packs (instead of a player, mind y??ou) or bought with re??al money. The aesthetic items are literally just to play dress-up. I actually like this aspect on principal (it adds to the zaniness of the game), but the idea of enticing players to pay money for the chance to dress up Kristapz Porzingis like a pumpkin makes me cringe.

This is a game that does absolutely not need to exist but does for the sheer fact that the original game had no way of raking in the dough. I don't expect this game to become a yearly title, because NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 is now set up to appropriately gouge the players for money for years to come. Unless maybe that doesn't work, in which case you can look forward to NBA 2K Playgrounds 3 brought to you by FanDuel to release in 11 months. 

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher. I was also provided a code to unlock the full roster, but played without using it for a few hours to experience the game as-is.]}

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Permanently benched

Without any prior notice, Saber Interactive has removed NBA Playgrounds from all digital storefronts. The delisting was noticed by a Reddit user for the eShop version before confirming it had disappeared from each digital shop. I suppose the reasoning has to do with poor critical reception and the sequel, NBA 2K Playgrounds 2, just launching.

While I'm not sure many people will be sad, the lack of any notification for the decision is very troubling. Were sales so low for the original that Saber didn't think to inform anyone of the removal? Even the DLC for the first NBA Playgrounds is gone, wh??ich means if you had just purchased the main title this week and wanted the add-on, you're SOL.

At any rate, Playgrounds is no more. Long live Playgrounds.

NBA Playgrounds 1 has been removed from the eShop. [Reddit]

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'Most people don't have the patience'

If you thought 2K Games would have learned anything after having microtransactions ripped out of the Belgian and Dutch versions of NBA 2K, then you would be sadly mistaken. In an interview with Trusted Reviews, Rob Jones (Senior Producer for NBA 2K) spoke about the series' patented VC bucks and how 2K has tweaked aspects of its reward system in the upcoming 2K19 to feel fairer to the player. That being said, Jones stated, "VC is an unfortunate reality of modern gaming."

"Every game, at some point, in some way has currency and they're trying to get additional revenu??e from each player that plays the game," Jones detailed. "You know, the question has to be when does it feel like it's a s??traight money grab versus when does it feel like it's value-added, right?" Despite the introduction to that statement being blatantly false, Jones continued by insulting players for a lack of patience.

Trying to frame VC as a generous offering, Jones elaborated, "We know nowadays that most people don't have the patience to work their way to the top. They just wanna be there right away. So, you know, we look at it as, oh it's an opportunity for us to allow you to skip? the grind, but then if the grind is too long, like some people felt last year, they're gonna sit there and they're gonna go 'well, you knew the grind was too long, to begin with."

I can't deny that some people might be impatient, but we're talking about a series with such a confusing credits system that some purchases end up being pointless. To blanketly accuse everyone of being too anxious is being exceptionally presumptuous. It also doesn't help that the governments of two separate countries? have stepped in and called 2K out on this, further cementing how unnecessary this system really is. Instead of claiming microtransactions are "unfortunate" or are placed to let us "skip the grind," why not just make a game that is worth playing in the first place without arbitrary roadblocks?

Jones then explained how 2K19's new "Neighborhood" hub will allow for better opportunities to earn in-game credits by giving players more choices to acquire currency. He also wishes that some players will see grinding as "a choice, not a force" and that certain items need to be out of r??each for a short while.

Microtransactions are an “unfortunate reality” of modern gaming, says NBA 2K19 producer [Trusted Reviews]

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'My Team' mode gets dunked on

Belgian customers will no longer be able to purchase in-game card packs for NBA 2K's "My Team" mode with real money. In compliance with Belgian gambling laws, the "feature" was removed from all iterations of the series to keep the games on store shelves. In a statement made to press, 2K Games said, "While we disagree with this position, we are working to comply with the BGC's current interpretation of these laws. We will be continuing conversations with the BGC in order to explain our view on how NBA 2K and MyTeam pack purchases already comply w??ith local ??laws."

In addition to Belgium, Dutch versions of the game have also had microtransactions removed. The Kansspelautoriteit's (Netherlands' gaming authority) stance is that any kind of loot box mechanic is in violation of the country's gambling laws, so 2K Games has forced to remove the feature. 2K Games told GamesIndustry.biz, "We will be continuing conversations with the Kansspelautoriteit in order to explain our view of how NBA 2K and ?the Auction House will co??mply with local laws."

2K Games is urging players that are ups?et to contact their local government officials and voice their opinions. I don't think you'll find many people that want to defend microtransactions, but I appreciate fighting for what you believe is right. They mi??ght want to prepare for disappointment, though.

2K Games alters NBA 2K MyTeam mode to comply with Belgian loot box laws [GamesIndustry.biz]

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The 'B' means Bucks

The NBA 2K franchise is almost twenty years old, believe it or not, but last year's entry NBA 2K18 must've been something pretty special, as?? publishers 2K have announced that it is the best-selling entry in the entire series.

The basketball sim has passed the 10 million sales mark, which also takes the franchise' lifetime sales past 80 million copies. That's a lot of slam dunks. This is a continuing trend as well, as NBA 2K entries have seen year-on-year ??increases in sales over the past five years.

NBA 2K18 is also available on current and last gen consoles, which also vastly increases its potential customer base. This has been a veteran tactic for the publishers of many sports titles, with EA's FIFA and THQ's run of WWE titles also seeing huge cross-generational sales f??or many years.

The next iteration, NBA 2K19, launches on PS4, PC, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on September 11. Let's see if the series can keep raking in the g??old sans last gen.

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Now where is NBA 2K Playgrounds 1?

The last we heard about NBA Playgrounds 2, it was being delayed past its May 22 launch date to some unspecified time in the future. Developer Saber Interactive wasn't happy with the progress it was making, so the game was given more time to come to fruition. I guess in the meantime Saber was looking for a new publisher, because Playgrounds 2 has resurfaced as NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 with publisher 2K Sports in tow.

Yes, the publisher behind the mega-popular NBA 2K series will now be publishing Playgrounds as a compliment to its simulation franchise in an effort to "expand 2K's footprint in the basketball video game space." Saber CEO Matt Karch said, "No one is more committed to bringing fans a great basketball experience than 2K. We can’t wait to share more on how we’re teaming up to make NBA 2K Playgrounds 2’s incredible arcade action big?ger and better than ever ?for players."

Greg Thomas, President of Visual Concepts (a 2K Sports developer), states, "The original NBA Playgrounds was a fantastic throwback to the glory days of arcade-action sports. The new NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 will step up this energy and attitude big time – with a bit of added NBA 2K flair &n??dash; giving fans of both franchises an exciting new way to game w?ith friends around the world."

Oddly, no new release date was given for the now rebranded game. 2K has given a vague "Fall" window, so I'm going to assume this will be hitting shelves around the same time as NBA 2K19 does. Since that releases in September, it seems likely we'll finally get Playgrounds 2 then.

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NBA 2K18, Overwatch, Rainbow Six Siege!

Have no plans for this weekend? Why not stay home and check out some NBA 2K18 on Xbox One? Don't have a real interest in sports games? You can also download Overwatch or Rainbow Six Siege and get to shooting. But wait, don't those require Xbox Live Gold to experience all the fun? Why yes, they do, but Microsoft has a nice surprise waiting for? you, non-subscriber!

Starting today and lasting until February 18 at 11:59 pm PST, anyone with an Xbox 360 or Xbox One will get free multiplayer to play anything their heart desires. The aforementioned three games will be available as trials?? for players with Xbox One's, regardless of whether they are currently subscribed or not. This could make for some great weekend plans, providing you actually have the hardware necessary.

At least if you don't own an Xbox Live, Overwatch and Rainbow Six will still have fr??ee play weekends on their other avai?lable platforms. I know that isn't a replacement for seeing LeBron James' digital visage, but I'll take it.

Xbox Live multiplayer free for all Xbox users this weekend, and Xbox One users can play NBA 2K18 free [VG 24/7]

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'It's been transformative for us'

Games like Grand Theft Auto V and companies like Take-Two have been making bank by giving players the opportunity to continue spending money beyond their initial one-time purchase. That kind of games-as?-a-service approach isn't going away in the triple-A space anytime soon; quite the opposite.

Speaking to investors, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick explained that we can expect more of this monetization strategy not just in Grand Theft Auto Online or NBA2K, but, well, everywhere. "There's a lot of room for growth," he said, as reported by Gamasutra. "This is just the beginning."

More to the point: "We've said that we aim to have recurrent consumer spending opportunities for every title that we put out at this company. It may not always? be an online model, it probably won't always be a virtual currency model, but there will be some ability to engage in an ongoing basis with our titles after release across the board."

This continued push makes sense for publishers with large, active audiences. As part of Take-Two's fiscal second quarter 2018 results, the company noted that "Recurrent consumer spending (virtual currency, add-on content and microtransactions) grew 66% year-over-year and accounted for 48% of total net revenue. The largest contributors to net revenue in fiscal second quarter 2018 were NBA 2K17, Grand Theft Auto Online and Grand Theft Auto V, WWE SuperCard and WWE 2K17, and XCOM 2."

Looking ahead, Take-Two will have Red Dead Redemption and Borderlands 3, two games that require little if any imagination to envision how "recurrent consumer spending" could fit into the picture.

Tak?e-Two plans to only release games with 'recurrent consumer spending' hooks [Gamasutra]

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Players left ankles are now safer from harm

The fourth major update has landed on the latest iteration of basketball (or "B-Ball") series, NBA 2K18. The 1.04 update launched on PS4 then Xbox One this week and?? has just gone live on the Switch to?day.

The extensive list of patch notes below cover?? all tweaks and changes, ranging from multiple bug fixes and glitch removals, to improvements in visuals, animations, the game's UI and the CPU's actions ??in-game. A host of new customisation options are also added in the update.

Most important??ly however, your million-dollar players will now be less likely to suffer left ankle injuries. Another amusing note is a bug has been fixed which was causing members of the losing team to join in the celebration with the winning team post-match.

General

– The Classic Edition uniforms for the Bucks, Hornets, Lakers, and Suns have been added to the game. Look for these to be released in the next roster update!
– Five new shoes have been added to the game: BBB ZO2: Prime, Jordan CP3.X AE, Jordan Super.Fly 2017, Nike Foamposite One, and Kobe A.D. NXT. Look for these to be released in the next roster update!
– Improvements to the CAP/Lab user interface.
– New CAP facial hair: 18 new beards, 2 new mustaches, and introducing 8 facial stubble styles that can be mixed & matched with our various hair styles.
– Girth now changes when adjusting weight in roster Create-A-Player.
– Added eyebrows and eye colors to the roster Create-A-Player.
– Detroit Pistons court floor updated has been updated to their new Platinum Equity floor.
– Orlando Magic court floor has been updated.
– Player names are no longer cutoff in the uniform editor when creating a uniform.
– (Switch) Game no longer suspends when pressing the home button while in a Play With Friends locker room. This will prevent the accidental disconnects reported to us.
– (PC) Coaches Clipboard timeout prompt will no longer appear off-screen on 21:9 monitors.
– (PC) Mouse support h??as been added to the MyCOURT Customization menu.

Gameplay

– The number of left ankle injuries should now be greatly reduced during user-played games.
– Added more variety to the types of injuries that can occur in-game.
– Attempting icon passing while posting up will no longer disengage you from post.
– More responsive triple threat moves when crowded by a defender.
– Fixed a dribbling issue that would cause escape crosses and hesitations to sometimes face sideways.
– Made catching passes in the corner more reliable.
– Made some improvements to the screen system to improve reliability and user control.
– Edited several off-ball ride/deny animations to improve user control and visual fidelity.
– Fixed an issue with putback layups that would sometimes cause them to hit the front rim or bottom of the backboard.
– Fixed a bug that would cause defenders to pop to a stand while lying on the ground after a hard foul.
– Various improvements to the Teammate Grading system.
– Fixed issues where defenders were set to GAP, ignoring user and ACE settings.
– Fixed a hang that could occur when the ball boy picked up the ball while it’s in play.
– “After Foul” animations updated to prevent hands from clipping into the head of another player.
– When the offensive team wins a jump ball, the shot clock should now be reset.
– Addressed a case where defensive settings inside the Coaches Clipboard were not sticking after being changed.
– Fixed an issue where a player o??n the losing team would sometimes celebrate with the winning team when ??his team lost the game.

MyCAREER

– On-Court shoes are now free for the given shoe company your MyPLAYER has a contract with.
– Updated MyCOURT murals for: Thunder, Bulls, Pelicans, Mavericks, Nuggets, and Rockets.
– Support for subtitles has been added for the on-court interviews following a played NBA game.
– The user’s VC balance will now correctly display the current VC total in the post-game recap following a played NBA game where the received teammate grade was D+ or lower.
– XB1 Silver and PS4 Non-Plus users can now play MyCOURT drills with AI players they invite over.
– The in-game framerate will no longer hiccup when the ‘My Matchup’ overlay is on the screen.
– Fixed a hang that could occur when the coach caught the ball during a live practice.
– The shot meter will now display when taking shots outside of the court while playing HORSE in your MyCOURT.
– Logos for the events on the event calendar app on the 2K phone should now always appear alongside the correct event.
– The Karl Anthony-Towns pre-game scene will no longer repeat every time you play him.
– Fixed a hang that would occur when selecting the “I’m always in r??hythm” answer upon David Aldridge asking you how you wer??e able to find your rhythm during the current game.

Neighborhood / Playground

– New Player Edition NBA Nike Jerseys (and more!) in the NBA Store: Wade, Carmelo, I. Thomas, D. Rose, K. Thompson, D. Green, A. Wiggins, B. Ingram.
– The displayed VC balance should now correctly match what was earned after a played Playground game (the earned VC was there all along, but the balance was not always getting refreshed).
– A number of performance and stability improvements for the Ruffles event.
– Controllers Settings should now apply to Playground games.
– Gamertags will no longer cover the turbo meter in Playground games.
– Fixed a stutter that would occur when people are playing on the courts and someone levels up.
– The correct score will now be attributed to the correct team during in-progress Playground games when queued up on a Got Next spot.
– Shots will no longer queue up when playing the mini-basketball game in the 2K Zone, making it easier to develop a smooth rhythm.
– The Who To Guard indicator has been re-designed to make it easier for you to quickly identify the offensive player you should be guarding in Playground games.
– Player signature walks that incorporated a basketball will now correctly draw the ball when performed in the Playground area of the neighborhood.
– (XB1) Fixed an issue where the game became unstable when a team attempted to use custom Pro-Am Away uniforms.
– (PC) The shot release text will now provide accurate feedback when using a keyboard to shoot ball in the mini-basketball ga??me located in the 2K Zone.

Pro-Am

– Resolved Pro-Am Accessory issues that prohibited them from showing up correctly in the closet.
– Users will no longer earn progress toward their badges and cap breakers while the AI plays for them after fouling out in Pro-Am games.
– Fixed a case where users were not getting paid their full VC amount after Pro-Am games.
– When a team quits out of a Pro-Am game, the remaining team will no longer obtain the badge progress and progress of the team that quit out.
– The team overall will now calculate correctly on the loading screen of a Pro-Am game when there is at least one CPU player on the team.
– Fixed the issue where arena changes would fail to be applied the first time ‘Save Changes and Exit’ was selected when attempting to make changes to ?your Pro-Am Team Arena.

MyTEAM

– Users can now use strategy cards in Super Max games in MyTEAM.
– Strategy cards are now stackable, in quantities of 20.
– Non-NBA balls will now properly appear in your home court when set in the Edit Franchise menu.
– Users will no longer be automatically taken to the Edit Lineups menu after upgrading a player’s badge.
– Users that excessively foul in online multiplayer MyTEAM games will now get kicked and given a loss.
&ndash??; The “Replace Player” option has moved from t??he Edit Player menu to the Edit Lineup menu for usability improvements.

MyGM/MyLEAGUE

– To satisfy a popular community request, the NBA logo has been removed from the created uniform template in MyGM/MyLEAGUE.
– The CPU will no longer override user-made decisions during the Qualifying Offers offseason time period.
– CPU teams will now be more conscientious of when they should renounce the rights to their players during the offseason.
– Fixed a hang that would occur for some users when they were signing a two-way player for the remainder of the season.
– Fixed a soft hang during the draft in MyGM/MyLEAGUE when the user attempted to negotiate a trade.
– Addressed a fantasy draft issue where certain players were being incorrectly omitted from the selected player pool.
– Fixed a case where we were incorrectly determining that a user was trying to maintain the rights to too many Draft & Stash players (it would force you to release a player you should have been able to sign).
– Addressed a case where a Draft & Stash player would appear on a G-League roster prior to his signing an NBA contract.
– Identified and corrected an issue that would lead to the inability to load your MyGM file. For those previously affected by this, your save will now properly load.
– Baskets will now count for the correct amount of points when the league approves the rule change that grants automatic points to be granted on shooting fouls (in lieu of free throws).
– Attendance will no longer show ??as 0% for playoff games ??in the financial information menu of MyGM.

Many other small bug fixe?s and adjustments were also ma??de, game-wide.

Update 1.04 is now live across NBA 2K18 on all console f??ormats, with PC to follow presently.

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A triple double worth of problems

I feel like I'm playing a totally bent record on endless repeat. I can't even go a week without another report of a Switch game somehow screwing the pooch when it comes to storage. As found by NeoGAF users, NBA 2K18 is the latest culprit of Switch storage woes. According to the official Nintendo of America website, 2K18 will require a 5 GB save file, per?? save, that can only be stored on the Switch's internal memory.

This is in addition to the 16.1 GB software update that is required for both physical and digi??tal purchases of the game. If you happen to opt for the digital copy, you'll also need to install an initial 6.8 GB worth of data before the update. This has led many to believe that 2K Games decided to put the main game on the smallest Switch game card possible while requiring users to deal with storage concerns on their own?.

To make this doubly worse, a microSD card?? is required regardless of whether you have anythi??ng downloaded to your Switch or not. You cannot buy either version of the game without additional storage, I suppose to make way for each save file occupying around 20% of the console's built-in storage.

It would be easy to blame 2K entirely for this, but Nintendo also needs to share some of the shame. Why are users not allowed to back-up save data to an SD card? Why is there no option to upload save files to cloud storage? Why isn't there a premium model of the Switch available with more storage? At least you can actually upgrade the damn thing with bigger SD cards, but even then, making five saves in NBA 2K18 will completely fill you console and prevent you from creating another (an issue that could be mitigated by allowing back-ups!). Will future NBA 2K titles do the same thing?

I understand why Nintendo opted for only 32 GB of storage (it is Flash storage, which is basically an SSD and isn't cheap), but we aren't even out of the first year of the console's lifespan and the damn machine could be filled from casual gameplay. That is a ??huge concern that is going to turn off a lot of ??people come next year. Really, simple options could alleviate this, but I guess Nintendo just has to Nintendo.

Then again, 2K could have opted for a 32 GB card and solved this entire problem. That would fit the gam??e,?? its update and a single save no problem. What the hell?!

NBA 2K18 Storage Space Information [Nintendo of America]

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That's one way to ruin a cover

Earlier today we told you about a 400GB microSDXC card from SanDisk that will work on the Nintendo Switch, which as you may remember can handle an SD card up to 2TB for some reason. For as many wonderful eShop titles as the console is getting in the coming months, I think investing ??in a nice, large memory card is a wise decision. It may also be a decision that is being made for you as Nintendo did announce some upcoming retail games will require an additional download.

One of those titles is NBA 2K18. Nintendo confirmed to IGN that players will be able to enjoy some of the game's content out of the box, but would n??eed to download the rest of the content to experience it all. Limiting your Denatonium Benzoate soaked cartridges to 32gb in an era where gam??es can easily run 100gb will do that to you.

To me, this was only a matter of time. If Nintendo wants that sweet 3rd party support, this is a sacrifice we're all going to have to make. Wh??at surprised me was just how much they're willing to sacrifice quality box art to let you know which games re?quire a download.

Stacy, eww. Now, while some people might not care because it's NBA 2K18, imagine that banner on the Super Mario Odyssey box art. Or Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Or Metroid Prime 4. Or Travis Strikes Again.

My hope is this is a placeholder or, at the very least, the first and last time we see this banner as Nintendo finds a more eloquent way to let people know they'll need?? to download additional content to enjoy everything a game has to offer. May I suggest one of those environmentally wasteful cardboard sleeves or just printing the warning on the wrapper itself?

Nintendo Switch Games May Require Memory ??Cards To Experienc??e All Content [IGN]

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Come on and slam

Well I was just talking in my Madden 18 review about the lackluster story of NBA 2K18, and now 2K shows an ambitious new mode called The Neighborhood. In an open world spanning several urban r??esidential blocks, players can team up?? for pick-up games, hit the arcade, workout at the gym, change your hairstyle, and even ride bikes to earn prizes, customization options, and stat points.

Mixing elements from previous modes like MyPARK and Pro-Am, the Neighborhood expands on them with many ways to progress and customize your player. No wonder they were keeping quiet. 

I like to think of it as like Dragon Ball Xenoverse only with basketball instead of martial arts and ki blasts. What would be cooler though, playing pick-up basketball in a Dragon Ball game, or Dragon Ball style fights with Kamehameha'??s and Galick Gun's in a basketball world?

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Play like a girl!

Lace up your high tops, kids, because this fall NBA Live 18 will be the first licensed basketball game to feature WNBA stars a??nd teams.

In a move reminiscent of FIFA 16's inclusion of twelve women's national teams, EA Sports will be including all twelve WNBA teams in this year's annual NBA franchise. Facial scans were performed on nine star players from the league, with motion capturing performed on more,?? to bring t??he professional women's league to gamers.

It's interesting to note that as of now, it looks like the WNBA will only be playable in a mode called "WNBA Play Now," which suggests it will be a quickplay game type (which again mimics the FIFA mode only allowing quickplay options). Additionally, player stats and movesets were adapted "...to reflect the unique playstyle of the league and skills of its play??ers," ac?cording to EA.

Adapting the game to fit the female stars makes sense, but their inclusion is a bit underwhelming if it holds true that they??'re only available in quickplay. Hopefully this move will open more opportunities for the league by introducing it to a wider range of fans and expand their role in the games moving forward.

I have fond memorie?s of watching the early years of the WNBA with my mother, who played basketball back in high school. It was a different? game than the men's version, sure, but was ultimately no less entertaining.

Coming from that admittedly pretty limited perspective, this is a move that at least gets me talking about the game, something the series could really use. After being revived back in 2013 under the NBA Live 14 moniker, the series has had a bit of a bumpy road. Years 14, 15, and 16 earned a respective Metacritic score of 43, 59, and 59 (as opposed to the 2K series earning 85, 83, and 87 in the same span), with NBA Live 16 reportedly selling only roughly 10% of its rival, NBA 2k16. Live 17 was delayed into the calendar ?year of 2017, and eventually canc?eled, never seeing a release.

With any luck, the inclusion of the WNBA will be the boon the series desperately needs, and with even more luck, the game will be able to handl??e the license properly in its first inclusion into the gaming world.

A demo for NBA Live 18 will be available on PSN and Xbox Liv??????????????????????????e on August 11.

WNBA Teams to Make Official V??ideo Game Debut in NBA Live 18 [WNBA]

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The digital edition is still set for September

Take-Two hasn't had much to show or even say about the Nintendo Switch version of NBA 2K18, and that silence has led some to understandably assume the worst about the port. I mean, just look at this barren landing page for th?e game. Not a video or screenshot in sight!

The digital Switch edition is still on track for September 19, just like the other versions, but the physical copy? That's been pushed back to "fall 2017," as disclosed today in Take-Two's fiscal first quarter 2018 earnings report. The company d??idn't provide an?? explanation for the delayed retail release.

NBA 2K isn't my particul??ar jam, but I ?do hope major publishers do right by Switch-owning sports fans.

Take-Two I???nteractive Software, Inc. Reports Strong Results for Fiscal First Quarter 2018 [Take-Two Interactive via Nintendo Everything]

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It's a mini-game compilation

My experiences with virtual reality have reinforced the idea that these games are (almost always) better in person than they appear in trailers. For the longest time, Rigs: Mechanized Combat League seemed over-the-top cheesy and easy to write off, but it's a much differ?ent story with a headset on.

That said, I'm struggling to give NBA 2KVR Experience, a $15 standalone title for Vive, Gear VR, Oculus Rift, and PlayStation VR, the same benefit of the doubt. Full stop, it looks like cheap filler that'll probably still sell relatively well regardless. This official description from the trailer doesn??'t do it any favors:

"Partnering with Gatorade, introducing NBA 2KVR Experience: the first basketball virtual reality experience immersing gamers in a new, entertaining NBA environment filled w/fun mini-games and challenges!" It's true: "Players can earn a variety of Gatorade fuel boosts that will aide their shooting acumen, speed, recovery and more to help reach the top of the leaderboards??."

Specifically, those three mini-games are a "three-point shootout, a speed and accuracy skills challenge, and the buzzer beater countdown." 2KVR releases tomorrow, November 22 for the aforementioned platforms excluding?? the Oculus Rift version, which is coming a little lat??er.

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Goin' home and goin' hard in the paint

The most prominent PlayStation Plus offering for June is a nice thematically-appropriate nod to the NBA Finals that are set to start in the coming days. And, because traveling isn'??t called?? in the NBA anymore, the second most notable game features a lot of walking.

Sony just announced June's free PlayStation Plus titles, and NBA 2K16 is the one that most people will recognize. The Spike Lee Joint shares the PS4 spotlight with Gone Home, a game that is a lot of things.

Most of June's other freebies are less high-profile. On PS3, Echochrome and Siren: Blood Curse (episodes 1-12) are up for grabs; PS Vita gets God of War: Chains of Olympus and Little Deviants.

PlayStation Plus: Free Games for June 2016 [PlayStation Blog]

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