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Some form of NBA Playgrounds has gone out for free on PS4
It came as a complete surprise this morning when the PlayStation 4 store page for NBA Playgrounds went live with the ability to download what would appear to be the full game and for free. NBA Playgrounds is supposed to be $20 when it releases on Tuesday, May 9 for PS4, XB1, PC, and Switch. It wouldn’t be the first time though that a game had been accidentally pushed live with the licenses being revoked later once the error was corrected.
At this point it remains unclear whether the download is actually their beta gone wide instead of the full game as is listed. Developer Saber Interactive has not yet provided any comment on the matter. Exhibition and Tournaments modes are inaccessible. Otherwise there is no indication that it is anything other than the full game and it would be unusual for a demo/beta to go out without any prior announcement and on a Friday at that.
[Update] The store page has been taken down, so it would seem that the release was done in error. Those who downloaded it earlier can still access the game however.
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17 NBA teams will have 2K eSports franchises when league debuts in 2018
The NBA and publisher 2K Sports announced an eSports initiative back in February that will involve the league teaming up with the NBA 2K video game in the competitive gaming space. NBA teams will have their own NBA 2K franchises, made up of 5 players using their MyPlayers, as they go through a league-like regular season and postseason structure. 17 teams will be ready to go for the inaugural NBA 2K eLeague season in 2018. Read more
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New player Program has been added to MLB 17 Diamond Dynasty
The third player Program rolled out today in MLB The Show 17 Diamond Dynasty. Doug Drabek joins Chipper Jones and Chris Archer with their own dedicated Program requiring set goals of wins, statistical achievements, and player collections to be to be reached. Program card packs, XP and tickets are earned by completing each step along the way.
As with the other Programs playing online games are required to take it to 100% completion, which eliminates those who prefer only to play the CPU or would rather avoid The Show’s poor online experience from reaping the final reward.
The Missions in the Program involve getting 15 wins with Breakout players in online games, getting a CG w/11 Ks with a Breakout pitcher vs CPU, collecting 3 saves and 3 holds with Pirates pitchers in Conquest, 75 pitcher strikeouts with Breakout players in Ranked Season games, and collecting both 25 Pirates players and 15 Breakout players.
Completing all those Missions will result in earning an 86 Overall Breakout Doug Drabek. It’s probably not worth the time and effort of going directly after this version of Drabek, but some benefits from the Program will be picked up over time even when not. There are already Hardware (92 Overall) and Rookie (75 Overall) versions of Drabek available in the mode. The former is given out for completing the Pirates collection.
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NBA Playgrounds gameplay footage
The new arcade-style game NBA Playgrounds is only a matter of days away from releasing and independent developer Saber Interactive has now released a video offering the first official extended look at non-beta gameplay. NBA Playgrounds is a 2-on-2 game, played outdoors but more in the mold of NBA Jam than NBA Street, that has both offline and online play with individuals from the roster acquired through the opening of card packs.
NBA Playgrounds will release as a $20 digital download for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC on May 9. Details on gameplay elements were revealed earlier. The game includes over 100 current players (though inexplicably missing a few big names) and 44 legends from the past. Check out the full roster here.
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Details on third patch for MLB The Show 17
The third patch for MLB The Show 17 has gone live today. Earlier updates to the game delivered some improvements to gameplay plus a few online and uniform fixes. This latest patch does some more for gameplay along with implementing a variety of miscellaneous fixes. The most notable changes include addressing the CPU pulling pitchers too early in Quick Count games and an adjustment to the success rate of bunting against the shift. Read more
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Press Row Podcast: April News Roundup
Spring is typically a fairly barren season as far as sports game releases go but it’s seeing a resurgence this year. Several new games and expansions are slated for the weeks ahead. Host Bryan Wiedey and Rich Grisham discuss the latest news on them in this episode of the Press Row Podcast, including Forza Horizon 3’s Hot Wheels expansion, the upcoming slate for Nintendo Switch, announcement of a new “Crash Mode” game from the Burnout creators and The Golf Club 2’s release date being made official. Additionally feature details have been leaked for NHL 18 in advance of the expected usual reveal at EA Play in June.
Check out the podcast through iTunes for iOS, on Android with the Stitcher app, or with Pocket Casts on iOS, Android, and Windows. The show can also now be found on the recently launched Google Play Music for podcasts. Subscribe and review to help support the show! You can also listen with the streaming player below.
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The Line Drive for April 30
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦Make sure to get your free $20 in VC and card pack for NBA 2K17 through Amazon.
♦Rookies selected in the first round have been added to Madden NFL 17 Ultimate Team.
♦Beta footage of NBA Playgrounds with extended gameplay has leaked out.
♦Yet another change has been made to shooting in NBA 2K17.
♦Buddy Bell is the latest Diamond Dynasty card reviewed from MLB The Show 17.
♦Marshawn Lynch is back – when he retired he was rated 93 Overall in Madden.
♦Mobile F2P version of NASCAR Heat (iOS – Android) has just released.
♦This week’s Press Row Podcast is out with a full news roundup for April.
♦New character trailer for Helix has been released from the upcoming ARMS.
♦First trailer is out for Infinite Minigolf coming to consoles this spring.
♦The first official gameplay trailer for DiRT 4 has gone out.
♦A new DLC pack will be out for $12 on May 3 for the snowboarding game Steep.
♦New features have been announced for this year’s Pro Cycling Manager PC game.
♦The Kickstarter for Touchdown: Armor League won’t be reaching its goal.
♦New trailer celebrates the addition of Porche to Gran Turismo.
♦The digital version of Rocket League is on sale for $12 on PS4 with PS Plus. -
MLB The Show 17 gets first player ratings changes with second roster update of season
The second roster update for MLB The Show 17 went out today and it’s an especially significant one as it delivers the first player ratings changes this year. Some impressive moves have been made by the likes of James Paxton, Bryce Harper, and Freddie Freeman.
Paxton is up 5 points to 85 Overall taking him from Silver to Gold. The big lefty ace of the Mariners staff is 3-0 with a 1.39 ERA, .84 WHIP, and 39 stikeouts. In 4 of his 5 starts he’s gone 6+ innings with no earned runs. Paxton received +11 to K/9, +6 BB/9, +3 H/9, +2 Stamina.
Harper was already classified as a Diamond but he’s cemented his place there by moving up 4 points to 94 Overall. He’s batting .418 with .823 SLG, 8 HR and 25 RBI on the season. Harper went up in all contact and power categories along with Vision.
Freeman is now a member of the Diamond club having moved up from the Gold tier by earning 4 points to 92 Overall. He’s batting .380 with 7 HR on the season. Freeman was upgraded across all contact and power categories, Vision, and Discipline.
Given the remarkable start to his MLB return, Eric Thames being added into The Show has been highly anticipated and he’s finally made it officially to the roster with this update. He was given an 82 Overall rating, making him a Silver, with an 80 in both Power hitting categories. Thames is hitting .380 on the season and leads the league in home runs with 11.
Other notable ratings movers in this week’s update include Mookie Betts (+1 to 94), Craig Kimbrel (+2 to 88), Carlos Carrasco (+2 to 87), Raisel Iglesias (+3 to 85), Chris Devenski (+8 to 84), Brad Brach (+4 to 84), Cesar Hernandez (+3 to 84), Rougned Odor (-2 to 82), Carlos Gonzalez (-2 to 82), Ivan Nova (+5 to 82), Jason Vargas (+5 to 80), Devon Travis (-3 to 80), Mitch Haniger (+9 to 76), and Aaron Judge (+8 to 76).
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