Power Pros Forum

Sports games so far on the next-gen have been average at best, with games like NBA 2K and The Show releasing solid games yearly. However, take a look at the other games, Madden, NHL, FIFA, NBA Live, and you'll see that they've not lived up to the next-gen standards. All four of these games are released by EA. Noticing a trend? NHL 15 was the worst sports game I've ever played on next-gen consoles. The one game mode that each of these games pushes is Ultimate Team. In my opinion, UT is killing sports games. It's just another way for EA and other companies to get money. It's impossible to have a decent team without either playing tons of games or paying real money. I don't get what the buzz is about Ultimate Team. I've never gotten into it, and I never will. Also because of this, devs push aside other modes like Franchise and Career Mode. I mean, no games even have a Create-A-Team feature anymore! This is why I will only be buying NBA 2K16 and MLB 16: The Show, since they focus on other modes besides MyTeam and Diamond Dynasty. FIFA 16 is a maybe for me, since they have women's teams, but I will not be buying Madden, NHL, or NBA Live until EA adds what is needed to their games.

Yeah I skipped Madden 15 just because I was so depressed by the quality. I have NBA 2K15 for the Xbox One and I enjoy it throughly (but I can't get the show! GRRRRRRRRRRR!)

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Xbox gamers don't even have a legitimate baseball game (RBI doesn't count)

I'm pretty much moving away from sports games gradually at this point, NHL 15 on PS3/360 was the same as NHL 14 with some small tweaks, while NHL 15 on PS4/the other console had major gameplay changes but removed most of the modes to use those changes in. MLB 15 I disliked the changes announced before release, and decided to get the PS3 version to save some money, but the game was so awful I literally played one game and never touched it again. And because of the devaluation of the currency these days these games are seeming more expensive every year. I might actually skip NHL 16 this year, and unless The Show makes a massive overhaul in the right direction this time, MLB 16 won't even tempt me.

I think NBA 2k is on the right track, because they listen to what their audience wants. They know that the most popular mode of their game is MyCareer, and so they made a ridiculous jump in 2k15 by adding the RPG elements, and somehow topped that by bringing in Spike Lee for 2k16 and adding HS and college play to the mode. They also heard the demand for a "Crew" game mode to return, and listened by introducing the Pro-Am this year. Hats off to 2k, I think they do a great job.

I've played a few exhibition games of The Show, thought it was fun. Didn't have any major gripes with it.

Are we just gonna ignore the fact that cooldude is back?

And brewers I completely agree with what you're saying about NBA 2k. Pretty much the only sports game I get actively hyped for.

2K actually tries to make a good product, and as mentioned before they listen to the community. If only they had better servers...

Let's not talk about how they didn't try to make MLB 2K a good product...

This is also true.

And I know it wouldn't have made any sense business wise, but they didn't bring Power Pros back too.

"Video games are meant to be just one thing. Fun. Fun for everyone!" - Satoru Iwata. Sports game devs need to live by this quote. Hell, so many people want a boring, super realistic sim, and that's fine, but you don't have to suck all the fun elements out of the game. That's why I still play Power Pros, because it's fun.

These terms are not mutually exclusive