NBA 2K9 Online Play Update
by 
2K Sports stated earlier today that they have implemented improvements that should be reflected in online performance. Reaction so far is mixed with some reports of increased success in playing standard head-to-head games but others still experiencing freezing issues or difficulty starting a game. The 5 on 5 Team-Up mode is not expected to see significant improvement due to whatever was done as the severe lag and disconnects are still prevalent.
Other topics of concern such as the wrong rosters being used, no flex scheduling in leagues, and the removal of the 2K cam have yet to be addressed. The removal of ranked lobbies was done on purpose and they won’t be returning. There is apparently a patch in the works but the details of what will be included is not being communicated at this time. Given that they are still working on it that would put it at least 2-3 weeks out from being realized.
This evening I was unable to start a standard head-to-head game as I continually received the “refer to FAQ” message. My attempt at a Team-Up game went through the same “refer to FAQ” for the first few attempts before getting into one that had unplayable lag. Pretty disappointing that it has been well over a week and the online play for 2K9 is still in shambles. But again while 2K did not bother to fix the terrible online experiences with MLB 2K8 and their other recent releases it does appear that they are working diligently to do so with NBA 2K9. There have more incentive than ever to do so with the promotion of The Other Season (reverse fantasy league), Team 2K, and the advertising of the Team-Up mode.
How is everyone faring in attempts at online games? Leave your thoughts in the comments. Also continue on for a look at the current typical Team-Up experience.
October 17, 2008 at 11:35 am
1st speak 4 ur self cuz I haven’t nearly as MUCH trouble as ya’ll seem 2 gettin On-Line
also @ Kellin ur post STILL doesn’t dis prove wut BlackFlagz was talkin bout as far as I can see AIN’T NO VIDZ of EA problems just text
which was his point
October 17, 2008 at 11:40 am
[quote comment="42502"][quote comment="42500"]I’m sick of hearing about online problems. People act like online is the only way you can play a game. People make it seem like 2K9 is a horrible game because of the online problems. The game is great to me. I play offline & I can’t stop playing it. People shouldn’t expect so much out of online & you wouldn’t get disappointed.[/quote]
No one is staying the game is bad. Like Pasta said if it was bad then no one would even care how online was. But just because you may not enjoy online play it is a big part of the game for many people. How would you feel if Association was completely broke and someone told you who cares, learn to play online.[/quote]
I hear what your saying but it seems like every sports game that comes out has online issues (except NHL09). So I just expect it & I don’t act like the entire game is garbage because there’s online lag.
October 17, 2008 at 12:01 pm
[quote comment="42472"]u guys r all crazy my nba live online didn’t work 4 like an hour total and ea has 4 times the traffic on there servers than 2k, 2k’s problem is in the resources department becuz they r broke, yeah the game is buggy but most bugs can be fixed through patches, they tried to do to much that apparently there budget for this game can’t handle. that’s y ubisoft and ea were trying to help[ those idiots out but they r trying to stand on feet they don't have, i give there sports division another year b4 they call it quits or there devs go to other companies becuz this is ridiculous for a game to be out in 2008 and have these kind of online issues it's just retarded. they should have just fixed the one on one play 1st and then patched the team play on later like ea did with live last year. becuz the online play on 2k has always seemed somewhat unstable since the move to next gen,. but that's just my opinion.[/quote]
EA & Ubisoft were’t trying to help 2K, they were trying to monopolize as usual. Also, I doubt that 2Ksports will fold next year being that 2K9 is the top selling b ball game this year.
October 17, 2008 at 12:02 pm
weren’t
October 17, 2008 at 12:34 pm
[quote comment="42524"]1st speak 4 ur self cuz I haven’t nearly as MUCH trouble as ya’ll seem 2 gettin On-Line
also @ Kellin ur post STILL doesn’t dis prove wut BlackFlagz was talkin bout as far as I can see AIN’T NO VIDZ of EA problems just text
which was his point[/quote]
So what about the videos, each online issue received ample coverage, just like this 2k problem. Pasta even said “Needless to say this is one of the most frustrating developments I’ve ever experienced when it comes to sports gaming” about the NCAA online dynasty issue. But like I said in my post, EA fixed those issues expressed in Pasta’s article and by listening to all the post 2K has yet to fix these problems. I see no reason for BlackFlagz to call foul about 2K when Pasta wrote several articles about the NCAA online dynasty issue. BlackFlagz should his frustrations toward the 2K development team and its servers.
P.S. I played 2K basketball online last year and loved it, I was even ranked in the top 100 on the PS3 so to me online is a big part of my gaming, so until they get this fixed, they wont see a dime of my money.
October 17, 2008 at 12:40 pm
LOL 2K9 is soooo much better than NBA LIVE in my opinion but for some of us the online features were some of the things we were looking forward to the most. I think the video pasta showed accurately portrays the experience you get from playing and it really sucks. I honestly regret that I didn’t at least wait until 2K9 had worked out the kinks to this game before I purchased it. And pasta can’t and won’t sway any of you from wanting to play this game it is your own sucky online experience that will do it as it has me tempted to buy NBA LIVE just so I can play 5 on 5 online. I think in terms of gameplay 2k9 is better but unfortunately i didn’t get the game to only be able to use some of its features and since NBA Live has everything working and we are going into our second full week with only slight improvements it makes you want to defect to Live.
October 17, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I guess people don’t listen to logic or in this case read, Pasta is about as unbiased as i have seen with Live and 2K, i have both most of my friends have 2k, out of all of us which is 5 we have completely played 3 games online, no matter how you cut it that sucks, Overall 2k is what i prefer but the online experience Live is better by leaps and bounds, both had issues on release but Live fixed theirs, some of us are older or cant get together because of work and life, thats why were so upset about with online not working, your complaining about Pasta being biased is really irrelevant to the issue but just to humor you people provided links to provided otherwise but no videos? SO WHAT !!! You won’t find a Madden fan who didn’t know of the issues it had which Pasta highlighted, no offense to you Black or Sdot but its a little trivial, the fact is online is as broken as Shaq’s Freethrow shot and needs to be solved
October 17, 2008 at 1:01 pm
@ Kellin ur STILL missin da point readin sumthinis 1 thing
seein sumthin wit ur OWN EYES has more of an IMPACT
ex: itz 1 thing 2 turn to SportsCenter & see Breakin News kobe drops 81 itz another thing if U were actually watchin da game while he was doin it
or
itz 1 thing 2 read about 100 people die from A.I.D.S every day itz another thing 2 watch it kill sum1 U kno (now dis an extreme comparison granted) but I think u get da point
October 17, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Nobody sayin 2k is a bad game but fact is online it sucks. No it wont take away from part of the experience but online is not looking good for 2k period. And I find it funny how some of you guys on here get so defensive when there is anything negative said about 2k an then turn around and call somebody a EA Fanboy.
October 17, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Nobody call’d any1 a FanBoy da term is “FANBOT” created by yours TRULY made famous by Pasta lol
October 17, 2008 at 1:08 pm
The Term is fanboy get it straight, we are talking bout gaming terms not words made up by you.
October 17, 2008 at 1:10 pm
IF YOUR NOT LAST, YOUR FIRST!
o wate>_>
October 17, 2008 at 1:13 pm
@ scdb ok where did sum1 call sum1 a FanBoy
i’m curious ???
October 17, 2008 at 1:20 pm
“For EA Fanboys talking crap about 2k, wasn’t Madden HORRIBLY BAD, online and off, when released? Game crashing, freezing, inacurate field dimensions, robo qb, running past the los and passing. 2k is an incredible offline game as it stands, but the online is garbage so far. I have played one 5-on-5 game, and that was extremely laggy. All other times, the servers are down. Now, what is the point of having Living Rosters if I can’t connect to the servers to get them? This game is muh less disapointing to me than Madden was, it is still an incredibly fun game to play, especially with 3 other people in the living room.”
October 17, 2008 at 1:21 pm
was that good enough
October 17, 2008 at 1:23 pm
dat was pretty good
nice find guess I skipp’d ova dat post
October 17, 2008 at 1:28 pm
No the point is not the video (which I can’t watch because I at work) the fact that 2K online sucks. You can watch it or you can read it but after you’re done, it still sucks.
October 17, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Ummm….sdot???? What are you trying to say? I can not understand your “dis” and dat” and deez”
October 17, 2008 at 1:34 pm
NO it SUX 4 sum like I & others hav stated NOT every1 is havin da same level of difficulty
I hav YET 2 play a game dat lagged as BAD as da 1 pasta show’d fact it is I haven’t play’d a game dat really had a lag issue itz either I play & deerz NO lag or too many users join & da game & it doesn’t start so it backz me out 2 da main menu
October 17, 2008 at 1:36 pm
You’re better off skipping over anything he tries to type. Just another failed and tired internet persona.
October 17, 2008 at 1:37 pm
@ marc a. buster
if U can’t undastan wut “DIS” or “DAT” means I can’t help U wit dat
& I don’t use da word “DEEZ” I use D’s or DEERZ if U see a post of mine containin da word DEEZ it was a TYPO
October 17, 2008 at 1:38 pm
@ crosby see U were succesful on JUMPIN on my TIP pleez quit
October 17, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I get the “refer to FAQ” a lot; however, after a couple of times (2 to 5 min), it starts the game.
Game experience is solid; game lags once or twice every 3 games with something saying “waiting for opponent” but then continuing.
October 17, 2008 at 7:34 pm
[quote comment="42522"]Caps on means your yelling, just in case you didn’t know.
Pasta is as fair as humanly possible IMHO. What do you guys want him to do?
Relax!!!
2k9 is great offline and horrible online. I’ve tried to play online about 10 times but I’ve gotten in 2 games so far. Overall my experience has been above average with the online experience bringing that grade down from an excellent.[/quote]
I DONT GIVE A DAMN BOUT MY CAPS BEIN ON or OFF( SEE HOW I TURNED THEM OFF AND BACK ON) DA POINT IM MAKEIN IS THAT YOU BITCHES DNT KNO I VIDEO QUALITY VIDEO GM WEN YOU SEE ONE!
October 17, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Nba 2k9 has obvious online issues. No argue. Madden 09 has them too, 2 months after its release. This happens in computer business.
BUT 2 things are different, how negative Pastapadre is about these issues of 2k9, and his ignorance about the problems of Madden 09. Just check the football section.
Another thing is the attitude of the producers, 2k is trying to fix the problem, exchange the servers, and the online 1vs1 exhibitions games are playable now. It took 2 months for EA to fix the bugs with a second patch…
October 18, 2008 at 8:28 am
i freakin played one game out of 20 and it was nothing like lives online they better fix this soon or there going to lose alot of fans
October 18, 2008 at 10:42 am
sum might leave but dey will come back
October 18, 2008 at 10:08 pm
That lag looks horrible. Did you try the workaround where you keep the headset turned off until tip off?
October 19, 2008 at 8:25 am
I didn’t even have a headset plugged in. No idea about the others involved. I’m not sure that supposed workaround does any good regardless.
October 19, 2008 at 12:01 pm
BLACKFLAGZ…shut your mouth you fiend…is 2k9 paying you to review their game????? stfu your probably like 16 getting mad at other peoples opinion. your gay and you need to get a life!!
October 19, 2008 at 4:56 pm
BLACKFAGG YOU ARE A BITCH YOU NEED TO GET BANNED YOU FUCKING DICKFACE.
October 19, 2008 at 4:57 pm
PLEASE DONT DELETE MY COMMENT
October 22, 2008 at 4:48 am
Hey i was wondering if anyone knows if there is anything i can do to be able to play games online. i can play everything fine except 2k. i can’t even start a match. i can start a team play but then im just shooting around doin nothing, no one else can get in there. ive tried at least 100 times i reckon. is the game that shit for online or could there be something wrong with my settings. any help would be much appreciated cos i’m about to throw my control through my screen in 35-45 seconds. Cheers
October 25, 2008 at 10:03 am
can u play ranked games on 2k9 against friends if so how
October 28, 2008 at 11:32 pm
don’t waste your money. i got so fed up with 2k9 that i returned it. wait until they have a patch, then buy the game used…
October 31, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Been sitting here for about 15 mins getting “refer to faq” while trying to play ranked team-up.. I haven’t tried to get online since the day I got the game and had issues then, but put them off as just typical launch time glitches.. Glad to see it’s not just me… I’m a 2k diehard in basketball, and this shit is really taking away from how much I can enjoy the game.. I won’t make the switch back to Live as that hasn’t been my thing since I was a kid, but this is a major sticking point… To keep shelling out $65 a few times a month or whatever the case may be and getting a game that seems like is full of bugs and glitches a lot of the time is becoming inexcusable. I always envisioned that when games and the internet combined we would get better games.. (or atleast patches at a tidy pace) not more problems and more things to complain about. As of the end of typing this I still haven’t been able to connect to a game.. Atleast I my ADD has kicked in and I no longer want to play. /rant
November 6, 2008 at 5:18 pm
man 2k sucks cant play non of my friends it stupid
November 7, 2008 at 3:08 pm
i have a question if someone could help me when i play on line and i create a match for some reason there is a player 3 and no one is using it and is causing major drama cause im getting eight second violation.
December 2, 2008 at 11:17 am
It keeps telling me 2 disable firewall, and i do but doesnt help