NBA Playgrounds 2 Will Now Be Published By 2K Games, Adding Some "NBA 2K Flair"

"Internet download and microSD card required."

I LOVE NBA 2K, but I liked that these games came out at different times of the year. I own NBA 2K18 on Switch and was planning on buying NBA Playgrounds 2 back in May, but if it's comes out in the fall with 2K19 I'm pretty sure I won't be buying both

@leo13 totally relevant point.

Nba2k18 is one of the best games on the switch for me. Nba2k19 my most anticipated release on switch for the rest of this year, will keep one eye on this now too.

I like that there's still a place for ridiculous two-on-two basket. NBA Jam and NBA Hangtime were games I enjoyed a lot back in the 90s.

@Pod dont forget barkleys shut up n jam!

"2k Flair" roughly translates to "microtransactions."

As long as they keep the core gameplay in place, don't make microtranstactions necessary (just cosmetic stuff would be ok) and add more content that 2k has the rights too (mostly more players that have deals like 2k), it can still be worth buying.

I'm also worried to price will suddenly skyrocket from $20 to $40 or more.

What a terrible name.

Still not interested. The first game was ok but just didnt like the gameplay like I thought I would.

Will it still be terrible?
That the real question.
If the gameplay matched the visuals, Nba playgrounds would be a good game, but it doesn't.
The shooting/dunking is so unintuitive they had to add a meter, and even with it there is no sense of flow in offense, you just stare at the meter as you shoot.
Defense is even worse as pressing the button to steal the ball often does nothing. There is no visual, nothing!

The game looks good, but plays terribly.
I wish it played anything like Jam, I loved that game!
2K18 is a fantastic game as well, so maybe 2K can fix the mess that is Nba Playgrounds!

@__Ret55
I never played that, but I keep hearing about it.

Thoughts: Hmm, interesting, I wonder what this means for the game by and large.

Initial Thoughts From Picture: SHAWN KEMP?!?!?! I'M IN!

By flair you mean microtransactions? Guess I'll skip it

Where's the antitrust department? Now 2k sports holds a monopoly of NBA basketball games on consoles...

Juegaco!!!

As a huge basketball fan who longs for an updated NBA Street Vol 2, I was sorely disappointed in the first Playgrounds. It looked and sounded great but was a pain in the gameplay department. Hopefully they have improved upon it extensively!

@techdude Sounds like the perfect opportunity for Nintendo and Square Enix to bring back Mario Hoops 3-on-3!

Interesting... the original game never convinced me enough to buy, looked a bit 'janky'. Hopefully the sequel will have smoother looking gameplay.

@Curlybobs then there are people like me who not like arcade sports games and not sports sims. And I am only but more excited because this just means that more $$ went into making a already decent 1st game into an awesome 2nd one, hopefully. All I can think is nba jam 1 vs nba jam 2 TE.

This should mean some of the missing legends get added as 2k has license for some.

Jordan
Kobe

Both should join... plenty more TBH

No micro transactions though please

@leo13 Expect this to mean one or both games don’t meet sales expectations and thus no future instalments on the Switch

Given how bad 2K games tend to launch badly and then get fixed a month or 2 later, this won't be a day one purchase for me.
The first game was just ok. This game will require a lot more content and game modes to get me interested.

@ZiggyZane I loved the first one. Unlocked all the players on both Xbox and switch (without DLC unlock)

Was a great game. Turn off the shoot meter and it’s golden.

Can’t wait for this.

I liked the first game but it had some flaws. Hopefully they make it more pick up and play. I like playing online and against ai, but it's impossible to play new people because it takes awhile to get the timing down. Dunking especially should be a lot easier to do.

How players are unlocked needs changed too it feels to free to play with long random unlocks and for me that really hurt the game.

Why didn't they just named it 'Chibi NBA'?

@blockfight
Im not sure when you bought the first game,but without 2k it was like that too. They kept promising updates and not delivering. it took forever on the switch. So definitely a wait and see from me.

@MyNameIsRandy Agreed. I bought the original not long after launch and it was poor. That combined with 2K's history launching games is not a good recipe.

"Some exciting things brewing" being bought out by a conglomerate that will shill every last pennie out of any customers that want to buy this game.

Well could be worse. EA could of bought it and then they'd now be all out of jobs.

Meh I rather stick with NBA Jam on my old Super NES and Genesis.

Just bought the first one recently. Great little game with a lot of content.

So now 2K is working on it? I am assuming that now means that it will have serious issues that will need to be patched for about 6 months.

The first one was terrible. So I’ll pass

Great now we can buy 2 season passes and have loot boxes coming out the wazzu now that 2K have it.

Micro-transactions incoming.

As someone who purchased NBA Playgrounds day 1... Let's all just go play NBA Jam instead.

Take Two usually does good stuff. I’m optimistic.

"Added flair" = "Unnecessary microtransactions"

My friend has NBA Playgrounds.....and never plays it.

2K, huh? So is it going to be a 1GB cartridge and an 18GB download from the eshop?

Also, if that's a screenshot from the game then the art design is terrible. The backgrounds are too busy, and the player models are hard to pick out against the visual noise.

With 2K Games involved, that's enough reason to avoid this game and series like the plague. With "NBA 2K flair", they mean a barely functional day 1 version with lots of bugs.

Nintendo shouldn't have allowed that company near the Switch, after the state of WWE 2k8 and NHL.

@NiaBladerunner
So it'll be just like the first game then? Don't forget how that one came to Switch incomplete, only getting "completed" with a special edition months later. At least they gave us early adopters Shaq Fu to compensate...

You know, one of the few things I actually liked about the original Playgrounds was the fact that it had a progression system based on your own progression through the game, leveling up to get more players and improve them with the coins you earned. Well, goodbye to all that. Get ready to pay, pay, pay.

@leo13 Understandable. Maybe their banking on two different audiences supporting each one. I mean, I know plenty of people back in the day who wouldn't have touched a Madden or NBA Live, but would definitely play NBA Jam or Blitz

They're just doing to it to match EA and their 2 football game franchises, Madden & Mutant Football League.

@techdude there's also NBA Live

Nope. Don’t card if 2K are involved. First game barely warranted the $20 I spent on it. I’m not super picky about games. If it’s fun, I can forgive all sorts of other issues but this just wasn’t a fun game. They won’t get any more of my $

If they include their bullcrap VC (virtual currency) I'm out.

Hmmm... did it need 2K's "footprint"?

@DarkSim01 yeah, it's sad that the excuse for these microtransactions used to be in order to subsidize game development costs in place of price hikes, but now they do both with no shame.