Should MLB 2K9 Keep The Trading Cards?
by 
Much has been made as to what changes are needed for MLB 2K9 to improve on last years disappointing effort. While we still have no details on what 2K has in store this year, NHL 2K9 probably provides the blueprint of what to expect considering the similar circumstances. Hopefully we will get more insight into MLB 2K9 in early-mid January, though because of the release of MLB Front Office Manager the bulk of the promotion may not come until February.
What I was wondering about right now though is the overall perception of the trading card feature. This is something I was very intrigued by in MLB 2K8 but found it to be frustrating and flawed.
You couldn’t earn many cards in franchise mode because you were playing with just your team and the cards were mainly obtained by playing with a mix of teams. They were too individually based meaning you changed your strategy in attempts to earn them instead of trying to win the games naturally. You could also purchase packs of cards but they were far too “expensive” meaning very few ever were able to take advantage of that. And while a big pull was being able to put together a full team with your cards and even playing with them online, I never came even close to getting that many players and the horrible online experience would’ve ruined it anyway.
What I did like was that they attempted to implement something along the lines of 360 achievements. In theory it would encourage you to play more and reward you for doing so. It was added value that could have really taken off if the game was better and if the card system had been properly implemented and thought out.
So vote in the poll and leave your thoughts in the comments. Are you hoping the trading card feature will be in MLB 2K9? And what improvements would you hope for if it is?
January 5, 2009 at 8:29 am
Any feature should never be taken out of a game…They could tweak them a bit. I would like to see classic style packs of cards. The more points you gain with certain challenges you can get a pack with more cards…I remember that there were Topps packs with 15 cards and Topps packs with 30.
I would also like to see an old fashioned sticker book as well with All-Star players being in foil…Anyone remember those from the early 80's??? They were awesome….
January 5, 2009 at 8:31 am
To add, 2K would also do themselves justice by adding more classic teams, uniforms and stadiums.
Another cool feature would to add team sets. Get the entire team set to unlock several classic teams and uniforms for that team….
January 5, 2009 at 8:31 am
To add, 2K would also do themselves justice by adding more classic teams, uniforms and stadiums.
Another cool feature would to add team card sets. Get the entire team set to unlock several classic teams and uniforms for that team….
January 5, 2009 at 8:41 am
damnn…..I own 2k9 and i didnt even know they had such a feature on the game.
January 5, 2009 at 8:45 am
I like the idea of trading cards, but it would be better to make them a little easier to obtain, and more importantly, a better overall game to play with.
January 5, 2009 at 8:50 am
Somebody please explain something to me…If 2K owns the MLB liscence then how is Sony able to make MLB the Show?
January 5, 2009 at 8:58 am
It's a 3rd party license.
January 5, 2009 at 9:07 am
Right, they're the only 3rd party that can make MLB licensed games. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft would be able to pay the licensing fee for a game if they so chose to do so.
January 5, 2009 at 10:52 am
Excuse my ignorance, but what is stoping Sony from making an NFL game then?
January 6, 2009 at 12:40 pm
I could be wrong; As mentioned the MLB license is a 3rd party license, but the NFL license is an exclusive license, so no one can make an NFL game (1st party or 3rd party) except the holder of the license, which is EA.
January 5, 2009 at 9:14 am
One of the dumbest video game ideas ever, in my opinion. One of my big gripes about today's video games is that a lot of the cool content and features gamers want (classic jerseys, stadiums, etc.) are hidden behind game modes or accomplishments that casual gamers have absolutely no hope in unlocking. I'd much rather pay an extra few dollars for this content in downloads.
January 5, 2009 at 9:19 am
That's an interesting way to look at it. I do get frustrated with things being locked that I know I'll never get in a lot of games, not just sports games. They should have incentive but rewards that don't detract from your experience if you miss out on them while at the same time adding value if you do get to them. Its tough to figure out the right balance.
January 5, 2009 at 11:41 am
I'm guessing the reasoning behind adding features such as the trading cards is so the company has something to publicize when promoting the game. The marketing bosses probably aren't excited about releasing games that simply improve upon the previous year's release, even though that's EXACTLY what most gamers want. Management probably thinks they need two or three new features to hype their product, and I'd guess they have an entire department devoted to only developing new features. The result is that most new features are either glitchy, awkward to use or completely pointless (sometimes all three). .
January 5, 2009 at 9:51 am
I knew when Brinkman was most exicted about this "feature" that MLB 2K8 was in a lot of trouble, and I wasn't wrong. I think all they did was work on the card thing and at the same time manage to zap all the good parts of 2K7 out of the game and call it 2K8. I'm glad they fired all of them, they don't deserve to be a part of baseball game making team anymore.
January 5, 2009 at 9:59 am
My top things i want for 2k9
1. an updated franchise. whcih probably wont happen because FOM is the franchise game.
2. Career mode like a road to the show. id REALLY enjoy that. this is the best sport for a career mode.
3.no online lag nuff said
January 6, 2009 at 8:17 am
I would like to see the entire engine get scrapped. The game played so much more slowly than The Show it was ridiculous. And I am not even mentioning the brutal frame rate…
January 5, 2009 at 10:12 am
What would be great is if 2K would stop worrying about this junk. Stop focusing on trading cards, and creating a front office game which got slammed, and changing the pitching controls…AND JUST PUT OUT A QUALITY BASEBALL GAME FOR XBOX 360 OWNERS!!! I was two 15-14 games away last year from buying a Playsation 3 just for MLB: The Show. They are horrible at making a good, realistic baseball game and I'm sure that the same thing will happen again this year. They will focus on some minor detail that about 2% of the buyers care about the game will be crap again. Say what you want about EA Sports, but in my mind they demolish 2K and it's a shame they can't try a baseball game out.
January 5, 2009 at 10:27 am
True that SLEN and Ryan.. all we need is a nice realistic game. Just please do as the leader (MLB The Show) does. I honestly have no idea how they thought this card thing was an awesome idea. Im not going to only do "Play Now" games all the time just to get some useless cards that i dont need.
How about updating something everyone plays? Online, and franchise modes. Or maybe, just maybe make a new mode that almost every sports game is starting to go on. Superstar Mode. Come up with pretty much the same thing as the Show, just call it something else. Its ridiculous how bad this company has been at making what the customers have wanted.
Hopefully VC drastically improves the game. But remember, it is being made by 2K. And Typical 2K tells me they won't do anything with MLB 2K9 but the same ole' same ole'. Maybe if the throw in another useless bobble head, everyone should be happy with 2K9. Right?
January 5, 2009 at 10:45 am
There really is no use for them. I just want a good solid baseball game. And 2K8 could have been so much better if they concentrated more on the important features instead of the trading cards.
January 5, 2009 at 10:47 am
First and foremost, make sure it's a quality game and doesn't suck. Then, if you want to throw in the trading cards, why not.
January 5, 2009 at 10:48 am
Actually I thought the IDEA of creating an Online Team with Trading Cards was pretty cool, it reminded me in a way of APF Football (which I liked). There were flaws in the implementation, but unlike Pasta I didn't find it that hard to earn cards or put a team together. Of course, the online play was so abysmal that there was no point and then 2K reneged on releasing anymore packs (that they had already announced) There's no reason base gameplan AND new features should be mutually exclusive – anyway, given this is their 1st shot I have pretty low expectations for what the new team can get done ….
January 6, 2009 at 3:33 am
I liked the idea but I agree with Pasta that it was way too difficult to achieve most of the cards. The cards should be easier to unlock. For example, if you get three hits with a player in a game you unlock a card; the next time you get three hits with a player you unlock a different card. That way you can accumulate them if you are playing franchise mode, online or simply exhibition games
January 6, 2009 at 5:22 am
put all the unlockables in the game from the start.
January 7, 2009 at 5:36 am
Absolutely need to keep them. That was the only thing that kept me playing 2k8 over MLB 08 The Show.
I freakin loved this feature. If MLB 09 the Show had cards, I'll probably never play 2k9 at all.
January 6, 2009 at 8:15 am
RIght
January 7, 2009 at 7:38 am
You gay faggots at 2k sports cant keep us down for too long. MVP baseball I asure will come out sometime during this generation.