Making Sense of the Mike Wang News

by pastapadre
Posted February 2nd, 2010 at 4:00 pm

Both EA Sports and 2K Sports have now presented their spin on the Mike Wang departure from EA and return to 2K. EA states that NBA Live will continue with a sim focus while 2K is attempting to make Live look bad while boosting their own cred. As with most things of this nature the truth likely lies somewhere in between the the extremes being presented.

When Mike Wang left 2K to go to EA he cited reasoning that NBA 2K had hit a ceiling and the game wouldn’t be able to make big improvements from year to year. Now that he’s parted from EA he and a few of his 2K development team members have launched a scathing attack with the goal to discredit NBA Live and the structure of EA Sports. Given that the public animosity is nothing new between these two sides the motivation behind it has to be considered. Still there is surely some truth behind the comments and frustration being communicated.

Ultimately right now this looks like a move made more to bury NBA Live than to improve NBA 2K. Whatever traction Live had gained over the past year and a half has taken a hit because the guy driving those gameplay advancements ditched the series. However he is going to a game where the current gameplay is a perceived strength not a weakness. What NBA 2K has suffered from instead is poor quality control and a terrible online experience.

With references made to EA wanting to change the focus of NBA Live, Wang is insinuating that the game is going away from sim and towards arcade. That may be partially true but it depends on perspective. It is hard to believe that EA would want Live to become an arcade game when they have NBA Jam coming down the pipeline. The NBA restricts and requires certain things of them which is why they had separate licenses for the sim offerings and arcade offerings in the past. So the changes could be more along the lines of a push for accessibility or a feature set that doesn’t mesh with the sim gameplay.

It makes some sense to tweak the direction of NBA Live. With the competitor having the hardcore sim market cornered they have to find a way to differentiate and attract other consumers. That being said they can’t alienate the current fans of the series either which is a risk when any change is made. Poor sales are always going to lead to things being reevaluated. It should come as no surprise that Live would pushing a different angle and that NCAA Basketball would be canceled. Sales drive those decisions.

Thing is the vast majority of gamers will never know about this story and would never care who works on what game. They are going to make purchase decisions the same way they always have. Considerations such as loyalty, comfort, new features, demo, word of mouth, and so on will remain.

I criticized both sides for bickering when 2K started with an attack on Live 10′s patch and then Live responded with a tacky blog highlighting consumer discontent with 2K10. However I have a hard time thinking that EA shouldn’t respond to the comments that have been made. They can’t just sit around and let this all sink in if they truly believe they are being misrepresented.

I’ve said it many times before but this really is a make or break year for the NBA Live franchise. If the sales aren’t encouraging it is at risk of being cut. Regardless of beliefs on which game is better most appreciate that there is competition between the two games which has pushed innovation and improvements. I don’t think anyone would be pleased if the market went from five sim basketball options each year to just one in the matter of three years.

Tags: latest news

Larry

Totally disagree. They all just care about sales first of all. But 2K makes ONE good game and thats NBA. That is all they have. And they still ignored that online was broken and features they advertised were never delivered.
Still Throwing controllers

I refuse to switch my game But if live is canceled I think they asked for it after all these years putting mediocre games out.I was under the impression that my days of extreme frustration with this game were over but live 10 pisses me off more often than ANYTHING I do in my spare time for entertainment.
Rebounding is cheap, defense is either non existing and when there is defense it is cheap too. Let me come up to EA Canada and lend a hand.
The Ladies’ Man

Just like the Ladies’ Man said: “It’s all the fault of the Wang.”
http://twitter.com/deepen03 deepen03

the bottom line is NBA Live has no chance now.. 2k11 will no doubt slaughter it again with the game itself. It doesn’t matter what the reviews say and even if live and 2k11 are reviewed similarly.. The true hardcore fans know what game gives them the most true-to-life experience. And 2k has held that name since NBA 2k1 on dreamcast
Sportsgamer

They did not ignore it. Greg Thomas addressed it and said they found a fix, but that fix is a hard code. So they cant fix current games. You have to wait for future ones i guess.
Flash34Life

I would like to say that I have been a big time 2k fan since EA decided to make Live 06. That being said, I would say that 2k will always be the king. After this year i decided to try Live 10 and was really impressed. I hope that Mike Wang will come back and handle the issues centered around the paint. I do like how he fixed Live's dunking issues from last year. Hopefully he can do the same for 2k.
Flash34Life

I wouldn't say*

Excuse me
bo

mike wang could be the spy next door its not addin up to me. i hope ea didnt show him everything
http://www.facebook.com/makin.edwards Makin Edwards

Live Fans are what economist refer to as “snob behavior” consumers, they only want the game because nobody wants the game.
lolwat

Nothing's worse than 2K baseball. Get the stick out of your ass.
mma

lolollolololol
go play wind waker bro!
stlaw420

You need to come and join the 2k team buddy and play some reall b-ball….get off that arcady ass game
optimusp76

Its i sad day folks sad day
smokez4dayz

Live is trash. Mike Wang is one smart dude. Take a job at the enemies…see how the tick…get $$$ to keep LIVE second best, then Leave and Go back to your Juggernaut, once EA decides it can't go toe to toe with the best baskeball simulation developers…Pasta, the idea that EA should bash 2K for comments made about their poor business model, is stupid because EA cant bash the truth. Jack of all games, master of Madden, thats EA Sports. MMA is a fad and they are trying to cash in. Mike Wang was the hot dude, they tried to buy him. Come On…EA cant say anything. they have to sit there with the pants on their ankles and take it hard from the back. LIVE10 was mediocre at best. Still the same dunk fest EVERY LIVE HAD EVER BEEN. Three pts shots went in so easy. EASY doesnt Mean Fun, No More than Hard Mean Boring. Mike Wang was right to leave a company that doesnt care about the sports they cover enough to get it right. And who the hell defends big business? The little guys usually get the support…not in pasta's world…
torment21

Really……I mean really….what cant this guy bring to 2k all i know he better be a dam good programmer cause the online on this game make me wanna kill someone i cant never get my crew in a game and then they all jus quit trying after x amount of attempts

online issues should be 2k top priority
t. daley

Pasta: I wouldn't make too much of the Mike Wang departure, with regard to the state of NBA Live. Remember how everybody rode the Ben Brinkman train. Oh Brinkman is on board and 2k will be the best. Brinkman was responsible for all those great EA baseball games.

Well we all know how that train wreck worked out. Same thing with David Ortiz and the whole Madden fiasco. Bottom line is this. Producers come and go and the quality of the game doesn't necessarily go with it. Madden got better with the departure of Ortiz and MLB 2k was still in the crapper. NBA 2k was virtually the same old carbon copy game as previous years and I imagine with Mike Wang back on board nothing much will change. As for NBA Live, they already have all the code for a solid follow up to Live 10. At this point the foundation has already been laid for future NBA Live games to be produced. A different producer isn't going to impact that very much.

Sorry but I think Live will be just fine. As with most EA sports games, they actually improve with each passing year unlike 2k who are content with releasing the same game over and over again.
t. daley

Pasta: I wouldn't make too much of the Mike Wang departure, with regard to the state of NBA Live. Remember how everybody rode the Ben Brinkman train. Oh Brinkman is on board and 2k will be the best. Brinkman was responsible for all those great EA baseball games.

Well we all know how that train wreck worked out. Same thing with David Ortiz and the whole Madden fiasco. Bottom line is this. Producers come and go and the quality of the game doesn't necessarily go with it. Madden got better with the departure of Ortiz and MLB 2k was still in the crapper. NBA 2k was virtually the same old carbon copy game as previous years and I imagine with Mike Wang back on board nothing much will change. As for NBA Live, they already have all the code for a solid follow up to Live 10. At this point the foundation has already been laid for future NBA Live games to be produced. A different producer isn't going to impact that very much.

Sorry but I think Live will be just fine. As with most EA sports games, they actually improve with each passing year unlike 2k who are content with releasing the same game over and over again.
BryanRulez1

yea right NBA live 10 graphics are way better than 2k10 ur dumb i bet u havent even played NBA Live 10 ur just a 2k freak shut up