2K Sports Thinks NBA Elite 11 “Looks Awful”

Last year both NBA games had their share of issues but 2K Sports and EA Sports engaged in an ugly campaign meant to put down the competition’s product. The back and forth included 2K questioning the first patch for NBA Live 10 and its inclusion of community feedback. EA Sports retaliated with a blog showcasing complaints about NBA 2K10 and all the people who were selling it on Craigslist. It was an embarrassing series of events that ended up making both companies look bad and created the perception they were worried more about the competition than making sure their own products delivered on promises.

Could the bickering for this coming year be starting already? In response to the NBA Elite 11 footage posted late last week 2K Sports representative Ronnie Singh had this to say:

Wow that looks awful. And you were worried.

Both companies have stated that the public bickering between them would cease and full concentration would be on putting out the best products possible. This statement suggests otherwise and that animosity is clearly still present. I don’t think anyone would have expected either side to be talking about the competition publicly after the backlash that came with their actions last year but here we are still in June and it has already taken place.

This is essentially the only major sport that includes competition these days. It’s arguable whether that has led to better products the last few years but there is more hope for just that with EA Sports scrambling by reinventing its franchise and 2K Sports resting comfortably as the leader in the market with Michael Jordan as the NBA 2K11 cover athlete.