Showing posts with label nba. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nba. Show all posts

Saturday, June 18, 2016

NBA 2K17 to Feature Face Scan App, Signature Animations, Timed Locker Codes

The season finale of NBA 2KTV has arrived, along with a number of small tidbits of information regarding what we’re going to see leading into the next installment of NBA 2K. As you’d probably expect, there isn’t a lot of big news, but they did reveal some cool additions to NBA 2K17.


There are a lot of jokes in there, but some of the news we got includes yeezys, timed locker codes, a face scan app, and some signature animations. In fact, signature animations might be one of the biggest things talked about in the video aside from the often requested face scanning app, as they seem to be adding a substantial number of them this time around.


Well, that’s about it. You can check out the video up top if you haven’t seen it in-game yet. Are you excited for some of these new features? Let us know in the comments and be sure to stay tuned to SGO for more NBA 2K news!



NBA 2K17 to Feature Face Scan App, Signature Animations, Timed Locker Codes

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Paul George Might Be the NBA 2K17 Cover Athlete

Well, it looks like we have a good idea as to who might be appearing on the cover of NBA 2K17 when it releases this fall, thanks to a slip-up from Sony on their PlayStation Store Update page.


According to ExtremeGamer on twitter, Sony briefly displayed pre-orders for NBA 2K17, including one for the standard edition whose cover athlete has yet to be revealed. The man on the cover appears to be Paul George.


https://twitter.com/ExtremeGamer/status/737761287770243072


We’ll have official confirmation tomorrow, when the cover athlete for the game is official announced at the NBA 2K16 Road to the Finals championship (we’ll be there to bring you coverage of the event), but for now, it seems pretty likely that Paul George will be making the cover.


Interestingly, he can also be spotted wearing the USA team’s jersey in the background, which means we might see the Olympics make some sort of appearance.


It seems that it’s become commonplace for retailers to leak information nowadays, with Madden 17 having a similar hiccup earlier this year thanks to a leak from the Xbox Store, which pointed to Rob Gronkowski as the cover athlete. That leak was later confirmed, when SportsCenter revealed that Rob Gronkowsi would indeed be gracing the cover of Madden 17.


Regardless as to whether or not this leak holds up, are you excited at the prospect of Paul George potentially landing the cover spot? If not, who would you prefer? Let us know in the comments, and as always, stay tuned to SGO for the latest NBA 2K17 news.



Paul George Might Be the NBA 2K17 Cover Athlete

Monday, May 30, 2016

The Road to the Finals Championship Round Begins This Wednesday

If you haven’t been paying attention, 2K has brought their NBA 2K franchise into the realm of eSports with their own tournament called Road to the Finals. It’s been underway for about four months now, and on Wednesday, it will all culminate with the championship final.


The tournament and the finals took place earlier this month on May 21, with 3 rounds deciding who will make it to the finals. Later that day, those teams competed for a chance to win it all on June 1st, for a chance at a whopping $250,000 reward and the opportunity to attend the NBA Finals. There’s a lot at stake!


road to the finals bracket nba 2k16The top two teams, HLZ and GFG, will be competing for the prize while 2K streams the event in its entirety on twitch and facebook. We’ll also have someone out there to cover the event, so you can look forward to that soon as well!


If you haven’t been watching, the guys over at 2K Sports have put together another great episode of NBA 2KTV. I’d recommend giving it a watch even if you’ve already watched the previous games, as it does a great job offering a recap, and also includes some interviews with players from the brackets. You can find that video below.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0f-JcobABc


Will you be watching the Road to the Finals championship this week? Let us know in the comments or on social media, and as always, stay tuned to SGO for the latest news and info on NBA 2K16.



The Road to the Finals Championship Round Begins This Wednesday

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

NBA 2K16 Adds Spectating With 2K StreamCast

NBA 2K16 is giving you the ability to spectate, and they’re calling it 2K StreamCast. The new feature will allow you to spectate NBA 2K16 games on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One while they’re in-progress, but you can also watch them after they wrap up.

2K StreamCast will become available this weekend on Saturday, May 21. That’s just in time for the finals of NBA 2K‘s first Road to the Finals tournament. As of May 21, you’ll be able to watch all of the games live, directly from your console. The games will also become available on-demand to watch afterwards.


If you haven’t been paying attention, the Road to the Finals tournament will pit 16 teams against one another for a shot at being one of the two finalists to compete for the championship on June 1. Games will take place between 10 AM and 6 PM Pacific, with a full day of streaming featuring Chris Manning, Ronnie2K, along with some of the developers behind NBA 2K.


Unfortunately for the moment, 2K StreamCast seems to be limited to games in the Road to the Finals tournament, but hopefully it’ll become more open in the future to allow for spectating your friends. Well, I know one feature I’d like to see in NBA 2K17.


Will you be checking out the tournament through 2K StreamCast? Let us know in the comments or on social media.



NBA 2K16 Adds Spectating With 2K StreamCast

Monday, May 16, 2016

NBA 2K16 Patch 6 Analysis

Unless you’ve been under a rock or just don’t play NBA 2K16, you have probably heard about

patch 6 coming out last week. The patch updated several parts of gameplay such as the changes to deep 3-pointers success rate (meaning Steph Curry actually plays like Steph Curry now) and toned down the ability for big men with break starter to pass like Aaron Rodgers. The change to the 3-point penalty range is a big deal across all modes of NBA 2K.


The ability to take much better advantage of some of the more skilled shooters in the game will change the way defense is played by many. Now telling your back court to go under those screens can actually have some major consequences.


Before this patch, Steph Curry was considered by the majority to have a broken jumper and was almost impossible to consistently have a good game shooting from the 3-point line with. Now his value is going to skyrocket in MyTeam and the Warriors will be even more deadly in play now games. If you were thinking about getting rid of that Curry card you got in MyTeam, I suggest you hit freestyle and reconsider.


As mentioned above, the Break Starter Badge was also tuned to be less effective across all game modes. Anyone who has played 2K‘s ProAm mode enough is probably all too familiar with big men with the badge on gold snatching rebounds and literally throwing picture perfect dimes from paint to paint to a cherry picking teammate with 100% success rate for entire game.


Meanwhile, your pg wouldn’t be able to make a pass from the 3-point line to the paint without someone nearly falling in the crowd to catch it. It was a very unrealistic feature, especially when you consider big men’s playmaking can only really get up to about 80 and that’s if they decide to slack off on other skills such as defense, rebounding, or shooting.


This issue also was a problem in MyTeam, since you can give any big man the break starter badge and upgrade it to gold. This fix was needed long ago considering it has been a problem since the game came out. It may be long overdue, but it’s still greatly appreciated. Another strong step in adding realism to the game and putting more focus on actual basketball.


The patch also notably removed the #1 exploit being abused in online MyPark games. That

exploit was often referred to as “Speed Boosting” by many online. Now, if you aren’t aware, “Speed Boosting” gave players incredibly unnatural bursts of speed when they do certain animations in the game such as the Kobe Bryant escape size-up ISO motion.


This has caused many of the more hardcore MyPark players (usually well over 2,000 games played) to rage and threaten to stop playing the game in favor of going back to NBA 2K15 to get some of their crossover speed back. The main complaint from these hardcore players is that without the “Speed Boost”, the game feels far too slow-paced and a lot harder to score on ISO plays due to how strong the defense is this year.


On the other side of that argument, you have people like me who are extremely pleased with the removal of the speed boost to make the game more focused on basketball knowledge and less so on exploits. Now when you get in the park you see less hero ball and more teamwork and ball movement to get wins.


That’s the way it should have been to begin with, and I’m glad 2K seem to be shifting more towards actual basketball and less so towards “cheese” and exploits. If they plan to continue with that creative direction in NBA 2K17 is currently unknown but we are all hoping they don’t disappoint us yet again with day 1 game-breaking exploits that can be fully taken advantage of. I still have nightmares about that whole “demi-god” situation.


Be sure to let me know in the comments which side of the argument you’re on, and whether you want this game style to continue to go this route of realism in NBA 2K17, or you’re hoping the arcade like animations and gameplay make a strong return. Feel free to tweet me any opinions, and be sure to subscribe to get more real opinions on all things gaming.



NBA 2K16 Patch 6 Analysis

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

NBA LIVE Moves to 2017, Will Focus on Mobile

NBA LIVE has been struggling to achieve the level of success and recognition among basketball fans that 2K has with their NBA 2K franchise. As a result, it seems like EA is making some additional changes to the latest entry and moving it back a few months.


Rather than release NBA LIVE 17 within the typical window of the Fall season, they’re pushing it back into early 2017, as revealed in their quarterly results report published yesterday.


We’ll see whether or not that increase in development time makes for a better and more polished game next year, but for the time being, it looks like we won’t be seeing NBA Live 17 this year.


With this news in mind, Sean O’Brien who serves as Executive Producer on NBA LIVE took to the blog over at the NBA LIVE website to briefly discuss what this move will mean for the franchise.


Perhaps the most interesting thing to note is that while NBA LIVE is committed to supporting consoles, NBA LIVE 17 will apparently have a large emphasis on mobile. That’s not a bad decision, given the state of NBA LIVE right now. At least the game will continue to find a home on consoles, for those who enjoy it.


You can find the full post from Sean O’Brien below.


Hey LIVE fans:


I want to share some important updates on what’s next for NBA LIVE and give you an overview of where we’re going with the franchise over the course of this year.


It’s important that you know that we are committed to NBA LIVE in the console space.  While we won’t be shipping a product this Fall, we will be back on the courts with something new and exciting for you to experience in early 2017. 


Our focus this year is to deliver an amazing, high-quality basketball game to a global audience. The best way to do that is through the fastest growing, largest, and most accessible gaming platform…mobile.  As a team, we’re really excited about taking the franchise to new places with the worldwide release of our mobile game later this year.


More details to follow in the coming months!


Sean O’Brien 
Executive Producer, NBA LIVE


Do you think pushing the release of NBA LIVE 17 into early next year will allow for a better game? Let us know in the comments.



NBA LIVE Moves to 2017, Will Focus on Mobile

Steph Curry to Receive Temporary 99 OVR Rating in NBA 2K16

Steph Curry has had one hell of a season this year, breaking a number of records. Now, he’s made history as the first NBA player to be unanimously voted MVP. That’s all 131 votes, and since it’s such a huge landmark for the sport, the people behind NBA 2K16 are going to bump up his overall rating within the game to 99.


If you’re concerned about making him even more formidable of a player than he already is in the game, don’t be. The increase in OVR is only temporary, to celebrate his second consecutive MVP win and the first unanimous MVP win.


As part of the celebration, NBA 2K will also be partnering with Under Armour to allow players to unlock a brand new MVP colorway of the Curry Two within the game, which will be available to all players after the event.


As for the timing? Don’t worry, 2K isn’t just going to spring an immensely overpowered Steph Curry on you. Instead, the roster update will become available starting at 3 PM Pacific on Thursday, May 12. That’s two days from now. The roster update will give Curry the boost for a limited period of 30 hours.


This MVP award for Steph Curry marks his second consecutive win, making him the 11th player to do so. But if you’re curious, he’s only the third point guard to accomplish the feat. Under Armour has also provided a promotional video for the event to commemorate Curry’s success, which you can see embedded up top.


If you’re into collecting shoes, Under Amour will also be re-releasing the Curry One MVP, as well as a new color of the Curry Two MVP.


Are you excited to see Steph Curry’s success on the court translate to the game this week? Let us know in the comments or on social media, and as always, stay tuned to SGO for the latest NBA 2K16 news.



Steph Curry to Receive Temporary 99 OVR Rating in NBA 2K16

Friday, April 22, 2016

NBA 2K16 Roster Update (4-22-16)

The latest NBA 2K16 roster update is here, and that means changes are inbound. This week Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade are headed up, while Blake Griffin, Raymond Felton, and Kemba Walker are moving downwards. You can find a list of the top three players moving this week below.


Moving up:


  • Kawhi Leonard +1 (93)

  • Chris Paul +1 (92)

  • Dwyane Wade +1 (87)

On the way down:


    • Blake Griffin -1 (88)

    • Raymond Felton -1 (85)

    • Kemba Walker -1 (84)

For a more detailed look at the changes this week, check out 2KMTC and get a look at the full list.



NBA 2K16 Roster Update (4-22-16)

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Steph Curry Breaks Real and Virtual Basketball

If you’ve followed NBA basketball at all in the last three years then you know that Steph Curry is essentially lights out from where ever he shoots the ball.


It’s a problem for real players facing him and recently it’s become a problem for developers trying to depict him in video games. 2K Sports might be have the most realistic basketball game on the market with their NBA2K series. They’ve managed to create digital players that react fairly realistically to most in-game situations.


That is, until they tried to account for Steph Curry.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYFrQ4B91XE


NBA2K gameplay director Mike Wang told Forbes, “To be completely honest, we are still looking for ways to better translate his game into NBA 2K. He’s a ‘rule breaker’ when it comes to jump shooting … he becomes a problem in the video game world where we’ve been trying to train our gamers [to know] that certain types of shots should be rewarded versus others.”


Earlier this month, ESPN asked 2K Sports to run simulations with Curry to see how the virtual compared to the real. Flesh and bone Curry won every time.


2K Curry averaged 28.5 ppg over a 50 game simulation versus this season’s curry who is averageing 29.8. Real Curry also had 13 more 30 point games and 5 more 20 point quarters than virtual Curry. The most telling stat was in made 3-pointers. Real Curry is on pace for 388 while 2K Curry “only” hit 293.


“We’re going to have to invest even more time in future iterations to really let Steph be Steph in future versions of NBA 2K,” said Wang.


Our suggestion? Perhaps institute a Madden-esque stat similar to Spectacular Catch and have it attached to Curry’s shooting accuracy.



Steph Curry Breaks Real and Virtual Basketball

Thursday, February 18, 2016

NBA 2K16 Tips and Tricks: Unstoppable Offense With Sixers Motion

Today I am going go over the Sixer’s Motion Offense. In basic terms, Sixers motion gets the Small Forward, Point or Shooting Guard (basically either of the 2 who didn’t bring the ball up) an open look in the corner by running him baseline in hopes of outrunning or losing his defender in the traffic.


The offense also takes advantage of teams with a good shooting or low post big and it’s at its best when the team has both. The rare player who possesses both skills (Cousins, Davis, and Love) gives you a lot more flexibility on what type of big you pair with them.


TO SET UP THE OFFENSE


You can begin the offense from either wing spot or at the top of the key at the 3 point line.

And the structure will always have a guy in the corner, a big on the low block, another big at the top of the free throw line and the other guard or forward on the opposite wing of the ball

handler (which makes this very hard to zone against because of the overload to 1 side of the

court).


TO START THE OFFENSE


Now the offense only starts when the big at the top of the free throw line receives the ball. He’s the quarterback of the offense and is responsible for delivering accurate passes to the shooters.


PLAY DESIGN


The main actions once the big receives the ball are:


  1. The guy in the corner running to the opposite baseline looks for an open three

2. The initial ball handler setting a down screen for the big who can pop out all the way

out to the 3pt line. So if your big can only shoot mid-range, you want to pass it to him

quicker than waiting for him to run all the way out. Also having guys like Melo or Kevin

Durant at the 4 spot, while running this action gives the opposing big an impossible task.


IF THE DEFENSE CLOSES OUT ON THE SHOOTERS


If you’re looking to pass to the guy running baseline and he can’t lose his defender, wait

for him to gather himself and move to the wing before passing it to him. Now your

teammates will adjust to the ball handlers’ position and set up the offense again. You

have now restarted the play and have 3 options to go with the ball due to your location.


1. A pass down low to a big man and once he catches it the 2 wings will space out

giving him room to operate


2. I like to pass to the corner and manually call for a sideline pick n roll or pick n pop

with the big man


3. Passing it to the big at the Top of the circle to start the offense again only with a

different player running baseline the other way now.


If you’re looking to pass to the big receiving the down screen and the defense closes out

on him, he also has 3 possible scenarios. Only his options are more dependent on what

the AI does.


1. Because the guy who sets the screen for the big is at most a Small forward he

sometimes flairs out to the corner if the big doesn’t shoot. If that happens I Pass it to

him and run another sideline pick and roll


2. A series of screens can occur. The guy who screened for the big will throw another

screen to open a teammate for a corner three and if the defender also covers that, a

3rd screen will develop to free a guy at the top of the 3 point line.


3. If the 2nd and 3rd screens don’t trigger pass to the big at the top of the free throw

circle and back to the wing to setup the offense again then right back to the big to

start it.


ADJUSTMENTS


A twist I like to add is a manual pick and roll or fade with the big, instead of passing him the ball to start the offense. It keeps your opponent on their toes as to whether to try and intercept the initial pass by backing up or be alert as to not get screens by the big that’s behind him. Also takes advantage of guys who play off ball defense to try and intercept the sideline passes because he thinks the ball handler isn’t a threat.


Aditionally, if you notice the weaker of your shooters is expected to receive the baseline catch and shoot, you just move to the other side and winger at the top of the key will now be the guy receiving the screen .It’s the same for the big men, moving side to side changes who receives the down screen and who parks at the free throw line to initiate the offense.



NBA 2K16 Tips and Tricks: Unstoppable Offense With Sixers Motion

Thursday, January 7, 2016

NBA LIVE 16 Roster Update 1/7/16

The first NBA LIVE 16 roster update of 2016 is here, and that means a few changes. You can find the rundown from EA Sports below.


Going Up:


  1. Draymond Green: OVR 88 (+5) – Steph Curry isn’t the only MVP candidate on the Warriors’ roster. Green has been sensational.

  2. CJ McCollum: OVR 80 (+3) – It has been a breakout year for McCollum. He’s continuing to impress.

  3. Jimmy Butler: OVR 89 (+2) – It’s no secret that Chicago is now Butler’s team. He’s been on fire as of late.

  4. Rajon Rondo: OVR 84 (+2) – Rondo’s career resurgence continues in Sacramento.

  5. Larry Nance Jr.: OVR 73 (+2) – Nance has been fun to watch, especially when he imitates his father and breaks out an athletic dunk.

On the way down:


In a Slump


  1. Zach Randolph: OVR 80 (-2) – Randolph has lost his starting role due to his ineffective play. Hopefully his new role off the bench brings life to the Grizzlies.

  2. Al Jefferson: OVR 83 (-2) – Jefferson was slumping and then injured his knee. He’ll be back in the lineup in 6 weeks.

  3. Chandler Parsons: OVR 81 (-1) – Parsons has been underachieving so far this year for Dallas.

  4. Damian Lillard: OVR 87 (-1) – Lillard has been battling injuries, but recently rejoined the Blazers’ lineup. He’ll find his true form again soon enough.

  5. Steph Curry: OVR 95 (-1) – Curry has been playing phenomenal this year, but these past few weeks he fizzled out a little bit.

What do you think of the changes? Let us know in the comments.



NBA LIVE 16 Roster Update 1/7/16

Sunday, December 6, 2015

NBA LIVE 16 Roster Update (12/3/15)

The latest NBA LIVE 16 Roster Update is here. As usual, that means some changes are in store. We’ve got the rundown for you below courtesy of EA Sports, for a complete look at the update, check out the website.


Going Up:


  • Kristaps Porzingis, PF, New York Knicks – OVR 82 (+2) – Porzingis is quickly becoming a fan favorite in New York and it’s easy to see why. He’s been playing like a seasoned vet.

  • Hassan Whiteside, C, Miami Heat – OVR 84 (+2) – He’s averaging a double-double and nearly FIVE blocks per game.

  • Andre Drummond, C, Detroit Pistons – OVR 92 (+1) – Drummond keeps having an all-star caliber season, averaging 18 points and 17 rebounds per game.

  • Karl-Anthony Towns, PF, Minnesota Timberwolves – OVR 86 (+1)  – Towns is continuing to show the league why he was such a sure-thing at No. 1 overall.

  • CJ McCollum, SG, Portland Trail Blazers – OVR 75 (+1) – He’s having a breakout season starring alongside Damian Lillard in Portland.

On the way down:


  • Kobe Bryant, SF, Los Angeles Lakers – OVR 85 (-3) – This year is the farewell tour for Kobe.

  • LaMarcus Aldridge, PF, San Antonio Spurs – OVR 90 (-3) – LMA is having a down week and isn’t as productive in his new role with the Spurs. He’ll find his way.

  • Klay Thompson (OVR 88) -3 – Thompson has fizzled out a bit, but that’s partly due to the emergence of Cheat Code Curry.

  • Marc Gasol, C, Memphis Grizzlies – OVR 89 (-2) – Things are turning around for the Grizzles and hopefully Gasol will stuff the stat sheet more.

  • DeMar Derozan, SG, Toronto Raptors – OVR 84 (-2) – His shooting has been off percentage-wise.

  • Ty Lawson, PG, Atlanta Hawks – OVR 82 (-2) – Lawson has been simply ineffective in Houston.

What do you think of the update? Let us know in the comments below.



NBA LIVE 16 Roster Update (12/3/15)