Server Issues Wreaking Havoc With NBA 2K15

It’s a familiar story – server outages on release and in the days following for an NBA 2K game. What shifted dramatically last year with 2K14 was the impact server outages would have on consumers. It was for all intents and purposes an always-online game and that meant when the servers were down so was the ability to continue to play just about every mode in the game. It wasn’t just online play or MyTeam but MyCareer and MyGM that would go down with it due to the Virtual Currency implementation.

2K Sports seemed to reverse course to an extent in NBA 2K15 in regards to the extreme nature of VC and with it even introduced an offline-only MyLeague mode. Unfortunately server-related VC ties are still there for MyCareer and MyGM and issues are have already greatly affected consumers in a number of ways.

The server has been up and down since release and even crashed completely for a lengthy period last night. People have struggled to play any basic online games or MyPark games (which has its own share of unique issues), start MyTeam, or continue MyCareer or MyGM progress. In fact that server outage appeared to wipe out MyPlayers and everything along with them including VC and face scans. Given that you can’t even purchase VC right now you have to know that 2K is scrambling as they’re losing money in the process.

My personal experience includes a single online head-to-head game (played surprisingly well besides some input lag), a single game in MyPark (before having to close the 2K15 app after getting locked in the “Got Next” spot with no other way out and others that never started up), and a lot of MyCareer but faced with issues in spending VC to upgrade attributes and other times the inability to even get in and continue due to the server being down completely.

So server outages with NBA 2K15 are nearly as damaging as 2K14 except for those who isolate themselves to MyLeague. Hopefully things get ironed out quickly and for good because there are no excuses for a franchise of this magnitude. It’s one thing to have day one problems (while consumer frustration is still warranted) but to let them linger for weeks or longer – as was the case with 2K14 which had major problems well into January – that is when it becomes completely unacceptable and negates any reasonable consideration for technical struggles.

Other issues right now include install problems that leave people in the dark not knowing why they’re stuck playing a Spurs-Heat demo, the face scanning not working properly or at all for many people, and pre-order bonus codes for digital purchases not being sent out.