EA Sports dropped a bombshell when it announced that it was bringing back its College Basketball video game series. Obviously, this shocked the sports gaming community upon its announcement, because, although there had been some rumors over the years, nothing concrete had ever been presented to suggest that anything was actually happening behind the scenes. As of now, we don’t know when the first College Basketball game will drop or how far along it is in development. Despite that, there is an ongoing conversation about how it can affect the basketball gaming market.
Right now, the only real basketball game available to gamers is the NBA 2K series. And for years, 2K has run unopposed when it comes to the AAA sports games. But now that EA Sports has reentered the fray, how will the NBA 2K series be impacted?
Competition Isn’t Bad For Anyone
On the surface, the two series — NBA 2K and College Basketball — could be seen as being very different. One is based on professional basketball, while the other is based on college basketball. Sure, they’re both the same sport, but the cultures and long-term outlook are completely different. Despite these differences, as I’ve pointed out already, the basketball gaming market is sparse in terms of choices.
Overall, most people would agree that NBA 2K has excellent gameplay and mechanics. That said, the game is a money pit. If you wish to be competitive in The City or in MyTeam, players often have few options but to fork out real-life cash for Virtual Currency (or VC as it’s commonly known). This has predictably created a rift among the basketball faithful in the gaming sphere. And because of that, many people will immediately jump to another game just out of sheer curiosity.
This is where College Basketball comes in.
Should the game not only be good, but also offer a deep experience that is at least comparable to that of the NBA 2K series, College Basketball will be a success and create competition. And that’s a net benefit for the consumer, as it should put pressure on 2K Sports to deliver a better, less predatory offering in the future. Then again, gamers are creatures of habit, and it’s possible that NBA 2K continues along the same path without any changes whatsoever. Regardless, having another AAA basketball game on the market will surely give consumers options.
That said, if 2K doesn’t take EA’s foray back into basketball seriously, there is another, more suitable competitor that could be on the horizon…
If College Basketball Is A Success, NBA Live’s Revival Is All But Imminent
Remember NBA Live? While it may be hard for our younger readers to comprehend, there was actually a time when NBA 2K wasn’t nearly as popular as it is now. In fact, back in the day, EA Sports’ NBA Live series was the undisputed king of basketball video games. Towards the mid-to-late 2000s, however, 2K had leveled up to the point of becoming a legitimate contender to the throne. And by 2011, NBA Live was firmly on the back foot — so much so that it attempted to rebrand with NBA Elite 11.
While College Basketball is certainly huge news for college sports fans who love games, you can bet your top dollar that it is also a litmus test for EA to see what the market looks like in terms of the demand for a 2K alternative. And if College Basketball is successful, it’s almost guaranteed that EA will truly try to take a swipe at 2K’s monopoly on the pro basketball market with an NBA Live revival.
The last few times EA has tried to compete with NBA 2K, the company has fallen flat on its face. But having taken over half a decade off, maybe the company has developed an actual plan this time. Either way, if College Basketball works, NBA Live will be right behind it. I’m sure of it.
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