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Monday Tip-Off: Giving NCAA Games The Old College Try

Monday Tip-Off: Giving NCAA Games The Old College Try

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 reflections on my recent interest in college basketball video games, particularly EA’s NCAA series.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles and on our podcast, I didn’t grow up playing college basketball games, as issues with international licensing rights prevented them from being released outside of North America. With no PAL versions of the games, it was usually unfeasible to import them, since they wouldn’t work on the hardware that I own. Of course, college basketball itself isn’t as popular in Australia as the NBA or our own NBL are, so I’ve always had a more casual interest in the NCAA anyway. At the same time, I was intrigued by college basketball video games.

After all, I loved playing with the fictional players in World League Basketball, which of course was originally a college hoops title that was rebranded for PAL regions. I also read previews of NCAA games with a degree of envy, my interest piqued by mechanics such as momentum meters, the ability to shatter the backboard, and the inclusion of classic teams. When a friend gifted me his old PlayStation 3 back in 2019, I was finally able to add a few college basketball games to my collection. It was satisfying to track them down and finally check them out after all this time, as well as write about them. Recently however, they’ve been getting more time in my rotation.

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Wayback Wednesday: Regional Exclusives & Late Releases

Wayback Wednesday: Regional Exclusives & Late Releases

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 a time when certain basketball video games were regional exclusives, and/or had late releases.

The basketball gaming landscape has changed drastically since our choices were whittled down to just NBA Live and NBA 2K, culminating in a virtual monopoly for the latter. When a handful of developers and publishers were throwing their hat into the ring with hoops games, we received a variety of titles of varying quality, but most brought something interesting to the table. Of course, not every game was available worldwide. While NBA Live and NBA 2K stood as examples of global brands, other games were regional exclusives, usually only released in North America.

On top of that, if other regions did receive a particular game, it might not be until several months later. It may seem like a terrible marketing decision to release an NBA game well after the season has tipped off, but there are titles that have come along quite late in a campaign, even with their domestic release. Indeed, not even NBA 2K and NBA Live have been immune to late releases, if only outside North America. It’s an interesting difference in the way that basketball video games used to be handled, so let’s take a look back…way back…

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NLSC Podcast #484: NCAA Basketball, NBA 2K18, & Damian Lillard

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #484 of the NLSC Podcast!

The community has spoken: whether it comes from EA Sports, 2K Sports, or indeed both, many of us are very keen to see a new college basketball game! From licensed players and gameplay to presentation and features, we join the community in discussing our expectations for a hypothetical NCAA title. Elsewhere, we’ve noticed a couple of Tweets attempting to rehabilitate NBA 2K18’s image. Naturally, we have a few thoughts on that! We also discuss Damian Lillard’s trade request and big contracts for NBA role players, react to the recent separation of EA Sports and EA Games, and open up this week’s mailbag for some NBA 2K17 Overall Ratings trivia.

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 #482: Basketball Gaming in Five Years

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #482 of the NLSC Podcast!

What will the basketball gaming landscape look like in five years, as a new generation of consoles likely tips off? This week, we join the community in speculating on the future, from what we expect from NBA 2K to whether we anticipate NBA Live or any other competition returning. Recapping fun sessions with NBA 2K9 and NBA 2K14 leads us to reflect on why those older games hold up, and are often held in higher regard than more recent titles. We also send out our congratulations to the Denver Nuggets and their fans on the team’s first NBA Championship, reminisce about the 2009 Orlando Magic, and celebrate another outstanding Top 10 Plays of the Week.

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 #469: March Madness in Video Games

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #469 of the NLSC Podcast!

With March Madness underway, there’s no better time to talk about college basketball video games! This week, we’re joining the community in reflecting on our history with NCAA on the virtual hardwood, listing some of our all-time favourite college basketball titles, as well as a couple of regional variants. We also provide an update on the latest action and results from our NCAA Basketball 10 Parsec Tournament, and discuss plans for some College Slam content. Revisiting the possibility of college basketball video games some day making a return, we wonder whether an NCAA title would be EA Sports’ ticket back into the basketball gaming space, or if Visual Concepts would just swoop in and steal their thunder once again.

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 Features NBA Live & NBA 2K Didn’t Originate

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 lists five features that didn’t originate in NBA Live or NBA 2K.

From the mid 90s through to today, NBA Live and NBA 2K are the two biggest names as far as sim basketball games are concerned. Obviously NBA Jam and NBA Street were the top dogs in the arcade space, and there have been other series of sim titles that have produced quality releases. However, when we’re talking about the brand leader in NBA licensed sim titles, it’s been NBA Live and NBA 2K for more than a quarter of a century, with the latter taking the crown from the former during the 2000s. Of course, it hasn’t been a competition for quite some time.

Nevertheless, being the two biggest names/brand leaders in sim basketball games has meant that many of the innovations in the genre did originate with either NBA Live or NBA 2K. To that end, they’ve ended up borrowing ideas from each other, which as I’ve long maintained is actually a good thing when it comes to features that should be staples of a sim game. Of course, there are also some great features that we take for granted that didn’t originate in NBA Live or NBA 2K. Some of them are older than we think, appearing in one of their predecessors, while other times it was one of their contemporaries that beat them to the punch. Either way, another game did it first.

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NLSC Podcast #458: Why We’re Thankful For Basketball Games

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #458 of the NLSC Podcast!

To all of our listeners, Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings! We’ve got a very festive episode for you this week, as we’re reflecting on why we’re thankful for basketball video games, and what basketball gaming and modding has meant to us throughout the years. From our very first games that tipped off our love of the hobby, to the landmark releases and innovations that blew us away, there’s plenty that we’re grateful for. In this week’s mailbag, we join the community in sharing some of our favourite holiday memories on the virtual hardwood, including the hoops titles that we received as gifts.

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!

Wayback Wednesday: Virtual Stadium Technology

Wayback Wednesday: Virtual Stadium Technology

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 Virtual Stadium Technology in the early NBA Live games.

In our desire to see games and gaming technology constantly improve, we obsess over specifications. This isn’t a new phenomenon, of course. One only needs to look back at the console wars of the 90s, where the number of bits and jargon such as Sega’s “blast processing” were thrown back and forth in the eternal fanboy debates. These days, we’re also aware of the most popular game engines, and the use of technology that we hold in high esteem is often celebrated. We also speculate on how it could help the games we’re interested in. “If only NBA Live had used Frostbite!”

It’s interesting to see how the engines and tech of different basketball games have been hyped through the years. Eco-Motion may not have lasted, but it was definitely well-received in NBA 2K14 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Conversely, although EA Sports’ IGNITE engine worked out well for other titles, it didn’t make NBA Live better than its predecessors. The Playmaker Engine in NBA Live 13 sounded good on paper, but the game shaped up so poorly that it was cancelled. And then, there’s NBA Live’s Virtual Stadium Technology. What did that entail? Let’s take a look back…way back…

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NLSC Podcast #425: Sliding Back Into 1995, With Stildo33

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #425 of the NLSC Podcast!

Ken (aka Stildo33) returns to the show to talk about replaying the 1995 season in NBA 2K19 MyLEAGUE! In addition to a little trash talk, there are reflections on some of the favourite games so far, exciting upcoming matchups, and learning new skills on the virtual hardwood. We also talk about the importance of fine-tuning gameplay sliders, and some of the issues that NBA 2K19 had out of the box. A couple of ideas for future Parsec tournaments are also floated for your consideration! With the preview season of NBA 2K23 looming on the horizon, and the continued hope that EA Sports will return with a new basketball game at some point, we also touch on some of our Wishlist items.

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 #424: The Many Ways We Play Basketball Games

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #424 of the NLSC Podcast!

NBA Live 2000 PC is back in the rotation, delighting with its gameplay. However, its presentation also leads to a surprising revelation, and a tribute to the late Don Poier. Once again, we can’t rule out some retro modding projects for the game! We also circle back to the potential tease of a new college basketball game, and reflect on missed opportunities with EA’s marketing of its hoops titles. As always, we provide updates on what we’ve been playing, including the latest progress in NBA 2K19 MyLEAGUE using the 1995 season mod, and Year 3 of NBA 2K14 MyCAREER. This week’s mailbag is all about how the community likes to spend its time on the virtual hardwood, and we received plenty of interesting answers covering a variety of modes.

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!

Monday Tip-Off: My Basketball Video Game Collection (2022 Edition)

Monday Tip-Off: My Basketball Video Game Collection (2022 Edition)

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 a look at my basketball video game collection, as of 2022.

Back in March, I tweeted out a photo of my entire physical basketball video game collection, with some follow-up screenshots of the digital releases I own. I’m proud of my collection and satisfied in how I’ve been able to amass it, so I was pleased with the reception. While collecting is something that I do for my own enjoyment – and create content for the NLSC, of course – I was naturally hoping that my fellow hoops gamers would be impressed and get a kick out of the photo. I wanted it to inspire nostalgia, intrigue, and yes, a slight touch of good-natured envy. I’d say mission accomplished!

Given the old maxim of a picture being worth a thousand words, I could just leave it at those Tweets. However, I would like to talk a little more about my basketball video game collection, and provide a comprehensive listing as it’s impossible to get every title to be clearly visible in one photo. There are also a few digital releases that I didn’t display in my follow-up screenshots, including a couple I neglected to mention since they’re standalone releases and not on a digital platform such as Steam, Xbox Live, or the PSN Store. Finally, it’s been almost seven years since I wrote about my basketball video game collection, and I’ve been able to make some exciting additions since then.

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NLSC Rewind 2021

NLSC Rewind 2021

Welcome to the NLSC Rewind for 2021! It’s been another challenging year for many of us around the world, but fortunately, we’ve had basketball gaming to provide some much-needed distractions. Here at the NLSC, it’s been another year of great mod releases and basketball gaming discussion. We’ve also aimed to cover a wide variety of topics in our original content.

As always, it’s been our goal to cover both the positive and negative aspects of the games we play. From holding publishers accountable and criticising practices that impact our enjoyment, to celebrating the fun we’re having and brainstorming new ideas for future games, we’ve strived to be fair, thorough, informative, and hopefully entertaining. Above all, we want our original content to share interesting facts, ways to enhance your basketball gaming experiences, and advocate for our fellow gamers. Whichever mode and game that we each prefer, we should all get the most out of it.

This NLSC Rewind is a collection of “editor’s picks” for our 2021 content. Obviously, I encourage everyone to dig through our entire archives if you’re enjoying what you’re reading, watching, and listening to with our articles, videos, and podcasts. However, these recommendations represent content that I’m particularly proud of, and believe are worth a second look or listen; or a first one, if you missed them when they were originally posted! Seeing as how we’re celebrating our 25th Anniversary this year, I decided that I’d make 25 picks for each of our weekly features. As we prepare for a brand new year of basketball gaming, join me as I rewind 2021 here at the NLSC!

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NLSC Podcast #400: Just Like We Remembered

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Episode #400 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Derek (aka Dee4Three) and I are your hosts for this weekly podcast that’s all about basketball gaming.

Welcome to the 400th Episode of the NLSC Podcast! To mark the occasion, we’re reflecting on significant milestones in basketball gaming: the developments, good and bad, that shaped the genre. We also profile the infamous NBA Live 07 for Xbox 360. Was it as bad as most of us remember it being? Yes, but it’s still interesting to discuss! In this week’s mailbag, we provide further thoughts on the dunk meter in NBA 2K22 Next Gen. We also pick up where we left off in NBA Jam: On Fire Edition’s Road Trip, nominate games that we’d like to see re-made, and list our favourite teams to play with over the years.

Join in the conversation in the comments below, or here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as mailbag questions and topic suggestions for future shows. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. The show also comes out on our YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe for future episodes and other video content.

NLSC Podcast #395: Retro Kicks, Lucky Breaks, & Modding Ideas

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Episode #395 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Derek (aka Dee4Three) and I are your hosts for this weekly podcast that’s all about basketball gaming.

An extended retro kick with NBA 2K14 will soon wrap up, as the end of a season in MyCAREER looms. We reflect on having a new appreciation for the game, and compare the MyCAREER experience to more recent NBA 2K titles. Patch 1.6 for NBA 2K22 Next Gen came close to causing heartbreak, but fortunately a further update seems to have resolved the issue. We share further impressions of this year’s game, and recap our adventures in MyTEAM. Super Dunk Shot and Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside were our games of choice in a recent Parsec session, with both proving to still be fun all these years later. Building off a recent NLSC Forum topic, we also discuss some creative modding ideas for the community to consider.

Join in the conversation in the comments below, or here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as mailbag questions and topic suggestions for future shows. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. The show also comes out on our YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe for future episodes and other video content.

The Friday Five: 5 Games Where Everyone Can Dunk

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Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown. This week’s Five is a list of five basketball video games where every player is able to dunk.

I realise the three-pointer is in vogue these days, but I’m all about a flashy dunk. In fact, I’m old enough to remember when the debate was between dazzling dunks and basketball bloopers! To be fair, it’s not as though the dunk has gone completely out of style. Dunks still make the highlight reels, and many gamers who play MyCAREER and its connected modes want a build that can throw it down just as well as stroke a three. Sure, it’s only two points like any other shot within the three-point arc, and analytics insists twos are bad, but many of us are still suckers for spectacular slams.

In real life, while it’s assumed that everyone who makes it to the NBA can probably dunk – even if it’s just a rim grazer – not everybody does. Smaller players who threw it down in college tend to dunk far less in the NBA, where there are bigger and stronger defenders crowding the paint. Sim games usually reflect this, with a combination of ratings and animation packages that ensure specific players will only ever perform layups. Arcade titles naturally take liberties with reality, but even a few sim-oriented games aren’t very strict about which players can slam it home. If dunks are your thing, here are five basketball video games where every player is able to throw it down.

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