Tag Archives: NLSC Podcast

Episode #306 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! It’s an episode of returns as Arcane joins the show for the first time since August last year, and Josh and Dave from Namo Gamo are our guests for the second time. Dee4Three is also along for the ride as we talk about Basketball Classics, retro gaming, and the NBA.

Version 1.0 of Basketball Classics launched on Steam last year, so we’re glad to welcome Josh and Dave from Namo Gamo back to the show! We chat about the journey from Early Access to full launch, and how the game has grown since it first became available to the public. The game will be supported for some time to come, as the guys have some great plans for future updates, and are also looking at feedback from the community. To that end, we even managed to workshop a few ideas while we were recording! We also compare indie and AAA gaming, reminisce about old favourites, and talk a little about the real NBA.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 2:31:55 — 87.0MB)

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What are your thoughts on Basketball Classics and indie gaming? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

Episode #305 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! After a short break for the holiday season, Dee4Three and I are back on the air to tip off Season 9. Join us as we talk about David Stern, the community’s relationship with developers, and frustrations with the NBA.

Our first episode of 2020 opens with a tribute to NBA Commissioner Emeritus David Stern, who passed away on New Year’s Day. We discuss the impact he had on the league, and his legacy as its longest-tenured and best commissioner. Diving into this week’s main discussion topic, we reflect on some recent Tweets that highlight the disconnect and sometimes contentious relationship the community has with developers. We also discuss 2K’s reaction to criticism, and the increased frustration that has strained relations with the dev team. The show wraps up with some spirited thoughts on recent events in the NBA, from travelling to bizarre calls for rule changes.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 2:32:40 — 87.4MB)

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What are your thoughts on this week’s topics? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Start your week here at the NLSC with a feature that’s dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games. This week, I’m tipping things off with a look back at the year that was 2019 in basketball gaming, and our community here at the NLSC.

We’re at the start of a new week, but a couple of days away from the end of the year, not to mention a decade. Given the timing, I’ve decided to use this week’s Monday Tip-Off to reflect on the past twelve months, just as I did last year. Although this isn’t The Friday Five, I will be using a similar format on this occasion, as I’d like to take the opportunity to spotlight some of my favourite content from the past year, and discuss various aspects of the hobby under their own subheadings. If you’ve missed out on any of these features, I’ll be linking to them so that you can check them out.

Overall, it’s been another successful year here at the NLSC. Our modding community is still productive, and we’ve been able to do some fun things with our content. We expect to be around for some time yet, and basketball gaming itself is still thriving. There have been some ups and downs as there always are, and that does leave us with a few issues that we need to deal with moving forward. However, I’m confident that we can come together as a community and work out appropriate solutions. Without any further ado, here are my reflections on the final year of the 2010s, and an editor’s pick of articles, podcasts, and other features that I’m particularly proud of.

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Episode #304 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! With 2019 and the decade drawing to a close, not to mention a new generation of gaming looming on the horizon, Dee4Three and I discuss the past ten years in basketball gaming, the current generation, and our thoughts as we look ahead to next gen.

After a quick rundown of Patch 1.09 for NBA 2K20, we get right into this week’s featured discussion. The end of the decade and announcement of the Xbox Series X has prompted us to reflect on the past ten years of basketball gaming, in particular the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One generation. We compare it to previous generations, noting the positives and negatives. As we look ahead to next gen, we discuss what we’re hoping to see, and what not to see. From troubling trends to imaginative innovations, it’s a discussion of where the hobby is at, and where it should be. Along the way, we’re even able to draw some parallels to the real NBA.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 2:27:19 — 84.4MB)

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What are your thoughts on basketball gaming over the past ten years, and two gaming generations? What are your expectations of next gen? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

Episode #303 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! This week, Dee4Three and I discuss a mysterious new patch for NBA 2K19, our appreciation for franchise gaming, and how the preferences of basketball gamers have evolved over the years.

A new patch has come through for the console versions of NBA 2K19. There aren’t any patch notes or any word on what it might entail, leaving us to speculate on what it’s all about. We also talk about gamers returning to NBA 2K19 and other older games, as well as the possibility of servers being turned back on. After touching on some issues with toxic attitudes in basketball gaming, we dive into the topic of franchise modes. They were once the premiere attraction in NBA titles, but have since been surpassed by career modes and the connected experiences. We reflect on how preferences came to shift, while also noting that franchise gaming still has plenty to offer. We’ve also got some advice for enjoying franchise modes, and share fond memories of putting on our virtual GM suits.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 2:32:49 — 87.5MB)

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What are your thoughts on franchise gaming in NBA Live and NBA 2K? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

Episode #302 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! This week, it’s Part 2 of our celebration of the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live. Join Dee4Three and I as we cover NBA Live 07 through to NBA Live 19, look ahead to the future, and reflect on the series as a whole. If you haven’t caught Part 1 yet, be sure to tune in here!

We continue our conversation with a look back at NBA Live 07, a strong candidate for the worst game in the series. As we proceed to break down each game year by year, we reflect on the downfall of NBA Live, and the mistakes that have led to its continued struggles. We discuss what could have been, from the cut retro teams in NBA Live 08 and the full season version of Be a Pro in NBA Live 09 on PS2, to the disastrous change of direction with NBA Elite 11 and cancellation of NBA Live 13. The importance and selection criteria for cover players also comes up, and we reveal the NBA Live 13 cover player that was never officially announced. That brings us to the current generation as we recap the series’ ups and downs since returning with NBA Live 14, and how it’s looking as of NBA Live 19. Once again, we touch on what we want to see in NBA Live 21 and beyond. We wrap up with our fondest memories of NBA Live, our favourite games in the series, and thoughts on what it’s meant to us these past 25 years.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 2:16:40 — 93.9MB)

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What are your memories of NBA Live 07 through NBA Live 19? What are your thoughts on the future of the series? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

Episode #301 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! This is Part 1 of a two-part episode, as Dee4Three and I celebrate the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live. We’re covering the series’ origins through to NBA Live 06 in Part 1, with retrospectives, trivia, and personal memories. Be sure to catch Part 2 next week, when we cover NBA Live 07 through to the present!

To mark the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live, we’re taking a look back at the history of the series with retrospectives and other fun content. We’re extending those deep dive retrospectives to the NLSC Podcast, as we start at the beginning with the precursor to the NBA Live series: Lakers vs. Celtics. From there, we move on to the game that started it all – NBA Live 95 – and go through the series year by year, discussing improvements to gameplay, debuting features, modding, and the overall evolution of the series. Along the way, we share some personal anecdotes of our time with the earlier titles, and compare them to the other releases they were competing with. We also discuss how and why the quality of the early NBA Live games is too often forgotten. Part 1 ends with NBA Live 06, a significant turning point for the series that it’s still feeling the effects of today.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 2:01:15 — 83.3MB)

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What are your memories of NBA Live 95 through NBA Live 06? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

Episode #300 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Join Dee4Three and myself as we mark the 300th episode of the NLSC Podcast with a conversation about some recent controversies in the community, the thought-terminating cliches that bother us, Basketball Classics, and the joy of collecting basketball video games, new and old.

As we celebrate 300 episodes, we reflect on one of our favourite shows: our interview with Tim Kitzrow back in Episode #280. Recalling his passion for NBA Jam, we’re reminded of how it’s too easy to be dismissive of what came before as pure nostalgia – on the real and virtual hardwood alike – and resort to cliched buzzwords to shut down criticism of newer things. That leads us to note the fantastic fusion of the old and new with Basketball Classics, as we share some more impressions of the game. After touching on the recent hack of NBA 2K accounts and issues with ad links in our modding community, we finally get to our featured discussion topic: collecting basketball video games. We talk about our collections, the process of tracking down older titles, the problems that digital content and releases present for collectors, and the fun of playing our old favourites and checking out games we missed out on the first time around.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 2:01:43 — 83.7MB)

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What are your thoughts on the recent controversies? Do you consider yourself a collector of basketball video games? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

Episode #299 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Dee4Three joins me again as we react to the recent announcement that the NBA Live 15 servers will soon be shutting down, and have an in-depth discussion about what basketball gamers want out of the hobby.

EA Sports has announced that the NBA Live 15 servers will be shutting down as of December 1st, 2019. We react to the timing of the announcement compared to the NBA Live 14 shutdown, and reflect a little on NBA Live 15 itself. This leads to some thoughts on why we dust off older titles, and sometimes seeing them in a new light (and sometimes not). Our feature discussion this week is a deep dive into what basketball gamers want; not just expectations of the virtual hardwood and blacktop, but also our relationship with developers, and approach to game design. We also talk about toxic attitudes, and how we clash with one another over what we want out of the basketball gaming experience.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 2:09:57 — 89.3MB)

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What are your thoughts on this week’s topic? What do you want out of basketball video games? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

Episode #298 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! We’re back on the air after a longer than expected hiatus, and man, do we have some news to catch up on! Join guest co-host Dee4Three and I as we chat about NBA Live 20 being cancelled, the future of NBA Live, and the latest updates for NBA 2K20 and NBA 2K Playgrounds 2.

NBA 2K20 has been out for around nine weeks now, and has already received several patches. Although the updates have been controversial due to their size, quantity, and lack of detailed patch notes, we are pleased with some of the changes. This leads to a discussion about transparency, toxicity, and overall, our current impressions of the game. We also talk about the latest update for NBA 2K Playgrounds 2, and how the game has turned out. After that, we turn our attention to this week’s main topic: NBA Live 20’s cancellation. Was it the right call? How does it affect the brand’s image? What needs to happen with NBA Live 21? Is it time for another Wishlist? And finally, what happens to basketball gaming as we enter a new generation?

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 2:13:00 — 91.4MB)

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What are your thoughts on NBA Live 20’s cancellation? How do you feel about the latest updates for NBA 2K20 and NBA 2K Playgrounds 2? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

We’re back on the air, as Episode #297 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Join Kenny and I as we talk about our initial impressions of NBA 2K20. Please keep in mind that we recorded this week’s show before the release of Patch 1.03, so we’ll definitely be following up with further thoughts.

NBA 2K20 is out now, and it’s proven to be one of the more controversial releases in the series. We discuss the backlash, including some brutal user reviews on Metacritic, and the pre-release misinformation that has only fuelled the fire. That leads into our own impressions of NBA 2K20 which tend to be positive, though we do have a few gripes. From gameplay to game modes, from the MyCAREER grind to the changes in MyTEAM, we share our thoughts on NBA 2K20 after our first week with the game.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:32:20 — 63.5MB)

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What are your thoughts on NBA 2K20 so far? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

Episode #296 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! With the release of the NBA 2K20 Demo, I have some impressions to share, as well as some thoughts on the MyCAREER trailer, Game Informer preview, and other news from the past week.

The countdown to NBA 2K20 is entering its final two weeks, and we’re getting a better picture of what to expect. The MyCAREER trailer provided a glimpse of this year’s story, and while it promises great things, it also feels like more of the same. Meanwhile, the NBA 2K20 Demo’s hands-on preview of what to expect on the sticks has indicated that it’s not quite the same game this year. It’s not a deep demo, but it showcases aspects that are good, bad, promising, and concerning ahead of the full release. In other news, a Game Informer article suggests a much less grindy approach this year, and some preview videos confirm that some key players are missing from classic teams.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 51:06 — 35.2MB)

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What are your thoughts on the MyCAREER trailer and NBA 2K20 Demo? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

Episode #295 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! I’m on my own this week, but I’m not lost for words following some good news as the NBA 2K20 preview season rolls on.

In a throwback to basketball games from last decade, All-Decade teams are making a triumphant return in NBA 2K20! They’ve even got some spiffy uniforms based on retro All-Star designs, but admittedly not everyone is thrilled. Six new retro teams have also been added, including four that have been mentioned in an ongoing series of Friday Five articles. Coincidence? Quite possibly. Some MyCAREER news has also been trickling out of the recent Community Day. From a new approach to Archetypes to reworked Badges, it’s quite promising. There are also reports of a huge change to the way attribute upgrades are purchased. It sounds too good to be true, so we’ll see.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 41:19 — 28.4MB)

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What are your thoughts on the new retro teams and changes to MyCAREER in NBA 2K20? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

Episode #294 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! This week Arcane and I cover all of the latest previews for NBA 2K20, along with record-setting numbers for NBA 2K19, and the latest word on NBA Live 20.

A statement from Andrew Wilson has reiterated that NBA Live 20 is coming. Free-to-play has neither been denied nor confirmed, which along with talk of a “different approach”, has us feeling a little concerned. We also wonder what a free-to-play NBA Live 20 would look like. As for NBA 2K20, we have a better idea of what it will look and play like thanks to this year’s gameplay blog, as well as Tweets from Beluba. There are some very promising details, but we have been burned before. News on the WNBA’s presence in NBA 2K20 emphasises the gap between NBA 2K and NBA Live, which leads to a discussion on the matter of who did it first vs. who did it best. Finally, record-setting numbers for NBA 2K19’s sales and recurrent revenue are something Take Two has to be very pleased with, but it speaks volumes about the attitude and resolve of the basketball gaming community.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:33:46 — 64.5MB)

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What are your thoughts on the latest NBA 2K20 developer blogs, increases in recurrent revenue, and the situation with NBA Live? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

Episode #293 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! As the preview season rolls on, Arcane and I are discussing the MyGM blog and “Next is Now” trailer for NBA 2K20, and the latest news on what’s happening with NBA Live 20.

Not everyone is thrilled about it, but the first NBA 2K20 developer blog revealed details on MyGM and MyLEAGUE. As we’re burned out on MyCAREER and thinking of returning to the franchise mode experience, it comes as good news. We’ve also received a longer look at gameplay thanks to the “Next is Now” trailer. It’s another slick production, but does it have us hyped for the game? Speaking of hype, the latest NBA Live 20 news has dampened our optimism somewhat. The game is slated to come out later than NBA 2K20 which may work in its favour, but with talk of a “different approach”, we do have some concerns.

Tune in below!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:30:40 — 62.3MB)

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What are your thoughts on the latest NBA 2K20 and NBA Live 20 news? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! Additionally, feel free to hit us up with any feedback on the episode, as well as suggestions for topics that you’d like to hear us discuss in future episodes. For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.