Menu
Home | Tag: NBA Elite 11

Tag Archives: NBA Elite 11

Wayback Wednesday: EA Sports Cover Players in NBA Live 16

Wayback Wednesday: EA Sports Cover Players in NBA Live 16

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at the EA Sports cover players that can be found in NBA Live 16.

Did you know that every single NBA 2K cover player is available to play with in NBA 2K24? Between the cover players that are still active and the game’s array of classic and All-Time teams, they’re all accounted for. Obviously, we haven’t had a new NBA Live since 2018, but even then, NBA Live 19 didn’t include every cover player in the history of the series. On top of that, a couple of the cover players that were included in NBA Live 19 were nevertheless retired, and thus exclusive to the collection of Legends in Ultimate Team.

If we want to find the last NBA Live game that featured a healthy selection of players who appeared on the cover of EA Sports’ long-running basketball sim series, we must go back a few years to NBA Live 16. In fact, not only does NBA Live 16 feature a number of NBA Live cover players, but also players who graced the covers of EA Sports’ college basketball titles. And so, I thought it might be fun to spotlight those cover players who are readily accessible in NBA Live 16, wearing EA Sports jerseys in the game’s practice mode. Let’s take a look back…way back…

Read More »

NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week: February 17th, 2024

NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week

Get ready for more fantastic highlights from the basketball gaming community in the NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week, curated by Dee4Three! New and old games alike are featured in this celebration of spectacular moments on the virtual hardwood. To submit your clips, post them in this topic, or hit up Dee on Twitter.

It’s February 17th, so Happy Birthday to Michael Jordan! The Greatest of All-Time turns 61 today, so it’s only appropriate that this week’s NLSC Top 10 Plays features one of the greatest highlights you’ll ever see from virtual MJ; even if he is wearing a Cleveland Cavaliers jersey! You’ll also see action from the All-Star Weekend, and some of the biggest names in the history of basketball doing their thing on the virtual hardwood, as seven different games ranging from NBA Live 2005 through to NBA 2K24 are featured in the latest countdown. Let’s get to the action!

What was your favourite highlight this week? Sound off in the comments below, and once again, get in on the fun by sending us your best plays! Remember, as long as it’s a basketball game, it’s eligible for the countdown. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to us on YouTube for more basketball gaming videos.

NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week: February 3rd, 2024

NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week

Get ready for more fantastic highlights from the basketball gaming community in the NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week, curated by Dee4Three! New and old games alike are featured in this celebration of spectacular moments on the virtual hardwood. To submit your clips, post them in this topic, or hit up Dee on Twitter.

We have a rare treat in this instalment of the NLSC Top 10 Plays, as a highlight from NBA Elite 11 took the top spot! It’s the only cancelled game featured here, but there are also a couple of often-overlooked titles on display. Indeed, the countdown tips off with a two-way play from Total NBA ’96 (aka the first NBA ShootOut), and you’ll also see an awesome jam from the session of ESPN NBA 2Night that Dee and I played; one that surprisingly wasn’t waved off with a charging call! That’s just scratching the surface of another exciting Top 10 filled with great moves and spectacular dunks. Let’s get to the action!

What was your favourite highlight this week? Sound off in the comments below, and once again, get in on the fun by sending us your best plays! Remember, as long as it’s a basketball game, it’s eligible for the countdown. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to us on YouTube for more basketball gaming videos.

The Friday Five: 5 Evergreen Issues with NBA Live

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 issues with NBA Live that were seemingly evergreen.

When we look at the struggles that NBA Live endured for over a decade, there are two levels to our critique. The first concerns the minutia of the games; the hands-on experience, from gameplay to game modes. In other words, the technical issues and specific design choices that have resulted in titles which failed to live up to ours or EA’s expectations. That’s an important conversation to have, especially when we’ve compiled Wishlists, or otherwise sent in feedback to the developers. However, there’s also a second level in which we evaluate concepts and approach.

It’s at the conceptual level that you’ll find many evergreen issues with the NBA Live series, which have served to hold it back and take it in bad directions. It isn’t a case of laziness, a lack of knowledge, or even resources, though it could be argued that NBA Live has never received the same support from EA Sports brass as its other franchises. There are common mistakes that are present in all of the problematic NBA Live titles though, and even some of the best releases still suffer from these evergreen issues. A comeback for NBA Live will require many specific fixes and additions from a virtual basketball perspective, but conceptually, it must also break the cycle on these trends.

Read More »

NLSC Podcast #503: Good Vibes, Free Mods!

NLSC Podcast Logo

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #503 of the NLSC Podcast!

We’re all about good vibes and enhancing everyone’s basketball gaming, from recommendations about an Android emulator that allows you to play mobile games on your PC, to advocating for freely available mods! Fortunately, we do still have people releasing some great projects free of charge, including wiscard_rush who has just completed a great 2009 season roster for NBA Live 10 PS3. This leads us to join the community in speculating on why we’re not seeing anywhere near as many mods for NBA 2K24 as we have for previous games. We also ask the community which console they’d choose if they could only have one for life, and what they consider to be the turning points for NBA Live and NBA 2K.

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

NLSC Podcast #502: Hoop Land & NBA 2K24 Ennui

NLSC Podcast Logo

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #502 of the NLSC Podcast!

Koality Games has released a new version of Hoop Land for mobile devices, and having followed their progress reports in the NLSC Forum, we were keen to give it a try. After doing so, we’re hoping to see it come to PC via a Steam release! Unfortunately, we’re far less excited about both versions of NBA 2K24 right now, and based on the responses to this week’s community question – to say nothing of the lack of mods, highlights, and discussion – we’re not alone there. On the bright side, we’ve been having a blast with other games in our rotation including NBA Live 10 and NBA 2K14, and so spend some time catching up on our recent sessions.

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

NLSC Podcast #500: NBA 2K10 & A Huge Milestone

NLSC Podcast Logo

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #500 of the NLSC Podcast!

We’re celebrating a huge milestone this week, as it’s the 500th episode of the NLSC Podcast! To mark the occasion, we’re dipping into the archives to find some classic clips from over eleven years of shows, from the original test pilot in 2010 to interviews with a couple of fantastic guests. We’ve had a ton of fun over the years, and we promise that we’re not done yet! We also recap a couple of sessions with NBA 2K10 PC that we played with the recently-released fixed official roster, and reflect once again on how the game is often overlooked due to the brilliance of NBA 2K11 the very next year.

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

The Friday Five: 5 Basketball Game Collecting Regrets

The Friday Five: 5 Basketball Game Collecting Regrets

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 regrets I have regarding basketball game collecting.

Generally speaking, basketball game collecting is something that I don’t regret. I’ve enjoyed building up my collection, playing some games that I overlooked back in the day, and having a variety of titles to fall back on if I’m not enjoying the latest release. I’ve aimed to be a savvy collector with a sensible budget, so I don’t really have any regrets as far as the money I’ve spent. Well, sort of. In the past, I’ve carelessly bought the wrong version of a couple of titles, as well as a manual instead of the actual game, because I didn’t pay enough attention to the eBay listing. Rookie mistakes!

Fortunately, I wasn’t out of pocket for those erroneous purchases. Beyond that, adding to my collection has been fun and exciting, especially when I’ve been able to track down a rare game at a great price. I am, for the most part, quite satisfied with the games that I currently have at my disposal. However, I do have some regrets when it comes to my adventures in basketball game collecting. I’ve missed out on a few opportunities over the years, and at this point, I’m not going to get a second chance. There were understandable reasons that I passed up those opportunities of course, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t occasionally grumble at myself for letting them slip by.

Read More »

The Friday Five: 5 Reasons NBA 2K Has a Virtual Monopoly

The Friday Five: 5 Reasons NBA 2K Has a Virtual Monopoly

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 reasons that NBA 2K now has a virtual monopoly over the virtual hardwood.

We’re fortunate that the NBA hasn’t followed the NFL’s example of offering video game developers and publishers exclusive rights to their license. In theory, we could still see an array of licensed NBA video games from a variety of companies, since there’s nothing legally preventing them from throwing their hat into the ring. Of course, in terms of feasibility and practicality, it’s not so simple. NBA 2K has set a high bar that sim basketball games are expected to clear and raise, meaning the NBA license alone won’t allow alternative titles to compete.

Since no one else is taking a chance on competing with NBA 2K, they have a virtual monopoly when it comes to basketball video games. Sure, there have been a handful of NBA Live games over the past decade – though none since 2018 – as well as two NBA Playgrounds titles. We’ve also seen some indie hoops games that don’t use the NBA license, including the outstanding Basketball Classics. However, NBA 2K is the only Big Name™ in basketball gaming, and the lack of alternatives and competition is essentially a monopoly. How did we get to this point? Here are five reasons that NBA 2K was able to establish a monopoly, with a little help from its one-time competitors.

Read More »

Wayback Wednesday: The Misuse of Legends in NBA Live

Wayback Wednesday: The Misuse of Legends in NBA Live

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at how Legends have been misused in NBA Live over the years.

If you remember hitting the virtual hardwood before NBA Live 2000 was released, then you’ll recall what a big deal it was when Legends were announced for the game. Sure, we had modding, and even on console Create-a-Player could be used to make some serviceable retro players, but now they were going to be right there in the game by default! They’d have proper faces, and their names would be called by the PA Announcer and commentators. And of course, Michael Jordan would at long last appear in an NBA Live game. It was huge news, and a landmark feature.

Considering that EA Sports had found themselves in hot water after trying to sneak some Legends into the 16-bit version of NBA Live 96, it seemed like something that would never happen. That made the official inclusion of Legends even more special, and it’s why I won’t take historical content for granted. However, it’s fair to say that over the years, NBA Live didn’t do as much with the Legends as they possibly could have, leaving the door open for NBA 2K to blow us away with retro content and features. Even before that though, NBA Live was dropping the ball with throwback players. Let’s take a look back…way back…

Read More »

Wayback Wednesday: NBA Jam 2010 Retrospective

Wayback Wednesday: NBA Jam 2010 Retrospective

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at NBA Jam 2010 by EA Sports, with a video retrospective.

Since April 2023 marks the 30th Anniversary of NBA Jam, I was intending to post this feature last week, rather than my look back at the golden presentation of NBA Live 96 PC. However, due to a couple of things getting in the way, it took a bit longer to produce. Of course, I was already well overdue to profile NBA Jam 2010 here in Wayback Wednesday! It’s a game that’s surrounded by some controversy owing to its connections to NBA Elite 11, which is tremendously unfortunate as EA’s NBA Jam was a fantastic reboot of the series. Let’s take a look back…way back…

As you can probably guess, this mini-celebration of the 30th Anniversary of NBA Jam will be going into overtime, as next week – barring any unforseen circumstances – I’ll be profiling NBA Jam: On Fire Edition! In the meantime, I hope that you enjoyed this video retrospective. Don’t forget to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more great basketball gaming content!

Monday Tip-Off: Getting Into Basketball Game Collecting

Monday Tip-Off: Getting Into Basketball Game Collecting

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 tips on how to get into basketball game collecting.

So, you say you want to get into collecting basketball video games? I’ve seen some people express interest in the hobby, especially with how often that Dee and I have talked about our collections on the NLSC Podcast! We’re admittedly at the crazier end of the hobby, doubling up on different platforms, picking up spare copies if we see them for ridiculously low prices, and seeking out some more expensive titles. One doesn’t have to be a completionist to collect though, especially when it comes to video games. It’s fine to just amass a collection of favourites that you want to have on hand.

We’ve received a couple of strange YouTube comments in regards to our collections, which seem to imply that we’re somehow doing something nefarious, or that we’re in some exclusive hobby that requires great wealth. To put it bluntly, neither is true! I believe the former comment mistook our discussion of shared experiences using Parsec as somehow hoarding games, while the latter is assuming that collecting needs to be an expensive hobby. We did respond to those comments and provided some tips on basketball game collecting way back in Episode #436 of the Podcast, but I’d like to offer some further advice, including a summary of key tips at the end of this article.

Read More »

Wayback Wednesday: The First Friday Five

Wayback Wednesday: The First Friday Five

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at my very first Friday Five, published ten years ago today.

As I always note in my introduction for Wayback Wednesday, one of the intended purposes of this weekly feature is to republish old articles, usually with some added commentary. Funnily enough, that was actually the subject of the very first Wayback Wednesday, as I posted an article that was no longer available on the site due to us switching content management systems. However, much like Jerry West winning the first NBA Finals MVP despite losing the series, this didn’t set a precedent! I’ve mostly opted for retrospectives and other game-oriented features over republishing articles.

Honestly, I do think that’s the right call, as it’s the optimal use of a weekly feature such as Wayback Wednesday. It’s handy to leave the door open to republishing lost articles and generally digging into our own archives, but I believe that basketball video games should always be the star of the show, so to speak. With that being said, since it is ten years to the day that I posted my first edition of The Friday Five, I’m reflecting on the beginning of my longest-running NLSC feature, as well as the topic that it covered. Let’s take a look back…way back…

Read More »

NLSC Podcast #453: Was NBA 2K17 The Last Great NBA 2K?

NLSC Podcast Logo

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #453 of the NLSC Podcast!

Is NBA 2K17 still the last great release in the series? The question has come up again, so we take another look back at one of our all-time favourite games. We also revisited NCAA Basketball 10 with an extremely fun co-op game over Parsec. Once again, we wonder might have been if EA Sports hadn’t dropped the ball with their sim basketball titles after 2009, and consider the possibility that they return to the space with a college title instead. We also reminisce about going to the arcade, and open up the mailbag to quiz the community on Overall Ratings in NBA Live 2005. In the process, we discover some interesting facts and figures!

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

The Friday Five: 5 Players In More Video Games Than NBA Games Played (Part 8)

The Friday Five: 5 Players In More Video Games Than NBA Games Played (Part 8)

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 Part 8 in an ongoing series listing players that appeared in more video games than actual NBA games.

It’s time for more player-based video game trivia! Browsing the rosters in various titles has yielded some interesting examples of players who became familiar faces in strange and familiar places, stints that are exclusive to video games, and comebacks that were over before they began. Another topic that I’ve been able to get quite a bit of mileage out of – obviously, since this is Part 8 – is players that have appeared in more video games than actual NBA games. It’s an unusual situation as one might normally expect them to be absent from the virtual hardwood, yet you’ll find them in games.

Researching the stories behind their appearances, what they went on to do, and other aspects of their professional basketball careers, has been an enjoyable endeavour. I’ve tried to focus on the most interesting stories, and wherever possible, players that at least some gamers will remember from real life or the virtual hardwood. Of course, it also invites the inclusion of some obscure names! On top of their personal journeys, the players that I’m profiling in this instalment also allow me to touch on some trivia related to the games they’re featured in, and in some cases, how it facilitated their inclusion. As always, I hope that you’ll find this trivia as interesting as I do!

Read More »