September 5, 2008 – 12:00 pm
Last night I had a chance to discuss all things 2K Sports’ NHL 2K9 with the game’s Producer, Ben Bishop, as well as the Online Producer, Jay Iwahashi. We talked about the changes made since 2K8, new control schemes, Wii features, and new online modes.
To start with, the game development has moved from Kush Games to 2K Sports in-house studio Visual Concepts. Almost everything started fresh, so you’ll notice tons of changes in the gameplay, AI, and presentation. With Visual Concepts handling the development, the NHL team was able to to work closely with the NBA team to get a lot of cool changes in the game’s presentation. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will be running at a crisp 60 frames per second in offline and online modes.
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August 8, 2008 – 10:00 am
MLB Power Pros 2008 is the follow up to last years MLB Power Pros from 2K Sports and we had a chance to put a lot of time into the game. Do not let the fact that these super cute versions of ball players do not have noses or mouths fool you into thinking that this is a dumb down baseball game, in fact quite the opposite in some respects it can be too complicated.
Power Pros is a huge franchise in Japan and over the last few years it has slowly made it’s way to the North American market. The bobble head style characters in conjunction with the cartoon style graphics make it very easy for any age gamer to become interested in this game, but the intricate nature of the game makes it a huge challenge to master.
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Loot Ninja recently had the opportunity to discuss the upcoming 2K Sports title, MLB Power Pros 2008 with Robert Nelson the Producer of the game.
Power Pros is developed by 2K Sports and released on PS2 and Wii for the second year in a row in North America, but for the first time on Nintendo DS. MLB Power Pros uses MLB licenses for all stadiums and players and is a huge success in Japan.
Rob Nelson calls it “Blend of sim baseball, but has a look and design acceptable to new players.” Power Pros 2008 tries hard to be mixed for casual and hardcore gamers so that no one is left out.
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Today I spent a bit of time on a conference call with Matthew Seymour, Executive Producer on 2K Sports’ upcoming boxing title, Don King Presents: Prizefighter. The first bit of the call discussed the game, then it turned into a confusing rant from the mouths of Don King and Larry Holmes. I spent half the time laughing because I had no idea what they were saying and what was going on.
Anyway, let’s get to the game. There is plenty of competition in the boxing arena with the Fight Night series, but Prizefighter looks to stand out by offering a huge, dramatic experience in the career mode. In a move never been done before, 2K is telling your story through a sports documentary centered around your character. In what should take about 15 hours to complete, real video will discuss your character’s career from the perspective of Don King, cut men, girlfriends, etc. Sounds terrific to me.
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In a developer call earlier today, Matthew Seymour, Executive Producer of Don King Presents Prizefighter took a little rip at EA Sports and their upcoming arcade-style boxing game, FaceBreaker. When asked about his feelings on the competition, Seymour had this to say:
FaceBreaker isn’t a boxing game.
Yeah, I can’t imagine EA will take this one lightly. Seymour says FaceBreaker is more of a Street Fighter type of game hybrid and that 2K takes the integrity of the sport seriously.
We’re trying to get in touch with EA for a response, but haven’t heard anything back yet. We’ll keep you posted. Check out our full coverage of the conference call later today.
Don King is one of a kind and now you can be more like him by visiting HypeKingdom.Com. Not only can you get info and screenshots for the upcoming Prizefighter game, you can also generate nicknames, view hype boards, make up official Don King hype and look up the Complete Guide to King’s English. A guide to his own version of English, enthralling!
May 28, 2008 - 2K Sports today announced it has partnered with the king of boxing and the godfather of hype, Don King, to launch HypeKingdom.com in support of the highly anticipated boxing video game, Don King Presents: Prizefighter. Fans can now enroll in the University of Hype to learn the art of larger-than-life self-promotion, while getting new insight into the man behind the mania.
“To be the king, you’ve got to know the king, and HypeKingdom.com provides what you need to know to follow in my footsteps,” said Don King. “You’ll also be witness to the spectacular promotionalization of 2K Sports’ Don King Presents: Prizefighter, the most exhilarating boxing title the world has ever seen!”
At HypeKingdom.com, fans can experience the thrill of being the king through the following features:
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I got to spend a little bit of time today talking with Anthony DeLuca, the Producer for 2K Sports upcoming Top Spin 3. We discussed a lot of topics surrounding the game’s development and upcoming release.
In the eyes of the development team, tennis games were starting to become static and they wanted a more fluid gameplay to complement playing tennis is real life. Top Spin 3 does this as it more realistically portrays what you are doing on screen with the inputs you give on the controller. New methods of control with the right analog stick have been implemented to give a more fluid feel to the game. For the Wii, how hard you swing and the angle of the Wii remote determines your shot type and speed, which is pretty cool.
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2K sent over word that they’re working on some patches for MLB 2K8 for a few issues. Mainly, the framerate issues are being fixed on the Xbox 360. But that’s not the only console with stuttering issues. The PS3 version is about the same in terms of the slowdown in the field.
When asked about a patch to address these issues on the PS3, a representative for 2K had this to say:
At this time, these are the only updates 2K Sports is working on for MLB 2K8 for these issues.
So 2K has no plans at this time to fix the framerate on the PS3. Yet again, PS3 users getting the shaft. Sad. Very sad.
Looks like 2K has heard the cries of the pissed off baseball fans out there. Does this seem like deju-vu to anyone else? It seems like each of the past 3 years, 2K has had to backtrack on their MLB game for a major issue right after release. Speaking to 1up, a spokesperson from 2K had this to say:
“It has come our attention that there are a few technical issues within Major League Baseball 2K8 that may effect gameplay enjoyment for some players. 2K Sports is currently working on several downloadable updates that will correct these issues for both the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 console versions. Specifically, the Xbox 360 update will alleviate reported concerns with the framerate to greatly improve the in-game playability, while a patch for both the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 will correct an error in Franchise mode when playing as the San Diego Padres and attempting to move players to and from their minor league rosters. These updates are currently undergoing technical review, and will be available to download shortly, free of charge.”
Wait, so they’re only fixing the framerate issues on the Xbox 360? I guess PS3 owners are getting screwed here. From what I understand, the framerate is pretty bad on both versions of the game. Either way, I’m sticking to playing MLB 08 The Show. Maybe next year, 2K. Maybe next year.
February 26, 2008 – 2:00 pm
The DS is left out on a lot with console ports of sports games. 2K Sports is looking to rectify that with Major League Baseball 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars for the Nintendo DS.
Adding to the addictive gameplay experience, players will also have the ability to obtain special “power ups” to complete incredible batting, pitching, and fielding performances. Players can force their opponents to chase after the “chicken ball” that runs away from fielders once it’s on the ground, or confuse them with a “crazy ball” that takes an unpredictable flight path. Pitchers can throw amazing new pitches such as a “super splitter” that splits the ball into two pieces to confuse the batter or a “fireball” that screams over the plate at rocket speeds while engulfed in flames. Fielders can join in the power up fun with the “brick wall” that causes a wall to instantly rise out of the ground to stop the ball in its tracks or the “super jump” that allows them to jump incredibly high toward the ball in flight.
The game sounds like a mix between the full MLB 2K8 and The Bigs. Could work really well on the handheld. It’s set to ship in April, so charge up your DS batteries from playing too much Professor Layton.
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