2K fills the NCAA-sized gap in gaming’s heart for NBA 2K16
Hardcore fans of sports games may have noticed a lack of NCAA video games on store shelves recently. EA’s NCAA Football franchise was once a yearly staple alongside Madden, allowing fans to play as their alma mater.
However, lawsuits over the unpaid status of student-athletes made the games a liability for EA. The NCAA Football series was put on hiatus in 2013, and the topic of college sports in games has been taboo ever since.
2K will be dipping their toes into the controversial waters later this fall when they release NBA 2K16, which will feature ten college teams — Arizona, Arizona State, Georgetown, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan, Texas, UCLA, UConn, Villanova, and Wisconsin.
However, it seems 2K has only licensed the rights to the individual team names and logos from the schools themselves, not the NCAA. That means no NCAA branding, no accurate stats, and absolutely no player likenesses. But for fans of college basketball, it’ll be the first chance to play as these teams since EA cut the cord on its NCAA Basketball series in 2008. NBA 2K16 releases on September 29 for XBox ONE, PlayStation 4, PC, XBox 360, and Playstation 3.
Street Fighter V drops yearly revisions, picks up microtransactions
This weekend, Capcom took the stage at EVO 2015 to discuss Street Fighter V. In addition to debuting a new character — the dreadlocked demon “Necalli” — they announced a curious new solution to a long-standing problem for fighting game fans.
Street Fighter was one of the first franchises to “patch” their game after release. Capcom, the developer, would tinker with each release after the retail launch – adding new characters, balancing existing ones, and making overall improvements. The following year, the new product would hit store shelves.
It’s how Street Fighter II eventually became Super Street Fighter II Turbo: The Ultimate Championship over years of perfection. Recent release Street Fighter IV let players download this content rather than pick up a new disc, but it still required players to pay an extra fee every few years to stay current with the game.
It’s this legacy that makes Street Fighter V‘s new system for downloadable content (DLC) so interesting. All of the post-release content will be delivered digitally, and won’t even require an additional purchase to use. Instead, the game will introduce a dual-currency system, which will be similar to most free-to-play mobile games.
Playing the game will earn you “Fight Money,” which can be saved up to redeem for digital content. Alternatively, the content can be bought with “Zenny,” which costs real cash. It’s still unclear what the conversion rate for “Fight Money” to “Zenny” will be, but for now Street Fighter loyalists can rest easy knowing Hyper Street Fighter V Ultimax: The Penultimate Tournament won’t ever be a reality.
Follow Chris Berg on Twitter @Mushroomer25