News & Updates
  • Looking Ahead to MLB 15 Roster Updates
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    Posted April 8th, 2015 at 8:00 pm 3 Comments »

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    New roster updates are released by SCEA for The Show every Monday over the course of the season. With MLB 15: The Show the roster update to prepare for the new season coincided with the release of the game and there hasn’t been one since given the proximity to Opening Day. The first in-season update is expected on April 13 and that will be an important one. It’s the first opportunity to add any players who made their Major League debuts.

    As an annual reminder, players who have not made a Major League appearance are not members of the MLBPA. They can not be added to the game until they’ve played in a regular season game. Kris Bryant then, as the most anticipated new player for the season, will not officially be in the game until what looks to be the April 20 roster update.

  • NBA 2K15 Week 24 Ratings Changes
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    Posted April 8th, 2015 at 2:00 pm 3 Comments »

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    Though the frequency of NBA 2K15 roster updates has diminished over the months significant changes are still being made. Recently, following the realization that shot percentages had become too high after the latest patch, a global change was made to compensate by reducing the mid-range and three point shooting ratings for every player in the game by eight points.

    Outside of the critical decision to drop the shooting ratings plenty of others have been adjusted through a handful of roster updates since last rounding them up four weeks ago. Check out all the changes from the last month with the spreadsheet here.

  • NBA 2K14 Servers Turned Back On; 2K Promises Longer Server Lifespans
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    Posted April 7th, 2015 at 6:15 pm 5 Comments »

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    2K Sports today reactivated the servers for NBA 2K14 following light being shone on the problems created in their absence. Those who had MyCareer and MyGM saves will now be able to resume playing them.

    The company also declared that from now on servers will remain up for 18-27 months. That will bring them more in line with EA Sports who leaves servers up for at least two years. SCEA becomes is the outlier, with plans to shut down MLB 14 servers in June – just 13 months after release of the game. In that case though the loss of the servers will not disrupt any modes that aren’t specifically geared towards online play.

    The situation with NBA 2K14 was costing the company more in terms of bad PR than money saved by retiring the servers. Many consumers had begun to reconsider their approach to purchasing future 2K products, and spending cash within them, given that they would have essentially had expiration dates attached to them.

  • MLB 15: The Show – Hits and Misses Review
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    Posted April 7th, 2015 at 1:30 pm 23 Comments »

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    MLB 15: The Show might very well be the most complete product in the series’ history. Areas of strength have been improved upon considerably but those that have been deficient in the past for the most part continue to be so. It’s one of the few sports games that can be assessed fairly easily and defined by its clear positives and negatives. That makes it a game that can be either purchased, or passed on, with confidence based on an individual’s interests. Check out the full review of MLB 15: The Show posted to Sporting News today!

  • Rory McIlroy PGA Tour Will Not Have Augusta
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    Posted April 6th, 2015 at 4:30 pm 10 Comments »

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    It’s the week of The Masters and traditionally EA Sports’ latest golf game would be out in time to capitalize on the event. However when the delay was announced for Rory McIlroy PGA Tour, meaning it would be coming later in spring and miss The Masters, it became evident that the product would not feature Augusta. That has been confirmed today – not in any sort of release to media but through a few replies on Twitter. Read more

  • NBA 2K14 Server Shutdown Has Killed Previously Existing Save Files
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    Posted April 6th, 2015 at 12:00 pm 28 Comments »

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    When 2K Sports announced support for the NBA 2K14 servers would cease on March 31 they also reassured consumers that their MyCareer and MyGM files would convert from online saves into offline saves. The only real difference would be changing over from VC (Virtual Currency) to SP (Skill Points). The statement from the company has turned out not to be true.

    People with saves that began online (which would include most everyone) have had their progress halted and the only way to continue playing is by starting over from scratch. Owen Good at Polygon put together a strong piece on this today and includes some utterly insulting excerpts out of emails from 2K’s customer service.

    Not only was the 16 month stretch of server support abnormally short the bigger concern related to the always-online nature of NBA 2K14. Now consumers know, beyond the inability to play the game when the servers had so much trouble in the months after its release, just how much a system such as the one implemented here can affect them.

    The longevity of the title was at risk and sadly those who continued playing the game have been dismissed given that the company wants them to buy 2K15 instead. This should now be a consideration when buying any 2K product in the future. If you want to stick with the game beyond the release of the next one you are likely to get screwed over.

  • The Line Drive for April 5
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    Posted April 5th, 2015 at 2:00 pm 4 Comments »

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    The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.

    ♦Check out this week’s articles written for Sporting News:
         •Complete list of team rankings in MLB 15: The Show
         •OOTP 16 season sim predicts Cubs to win World Series
    ♦How to get rid of the irritating “blocked scenes” notification on PS4 in MLB 15.
    ♦My review of MLB 15: The Show will go up tomorrow on Sporting News.
    ♦EA Sports released a brief video showing Wold Creek in Rory McIlroy PGA Tour.
    ♦New screenshots have been added to the FB album for Rory McIlroy PGA Tour.
    ♦HB Studios released details on the March update that went out for The Golf Club.
    ♦New developer blog has the latest on The Golf Club following its March update.
    ♦The terrific Super Mega Baseball is out now in Europe on PS4/PS3.
    ♦The servers for NBA 2K14 were officially shut down on March 31.
    ♦Details on the latest roster update to go out for NBA Live 15.
    ♦Details have been released on the latest patch for WWE 2K15 on PS4/XB1.
    ♦The first traditional WWE 2K game will release on mobile later this spring.
    ♦More adjustments have been made to the price ranges in FIFA 15 Ultimate Team.

  • How The Legends Are Rated and Utilized in MLB 15: The Show
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    Posted April 4th, 2015 at 1:00 pm 6 Comments »

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    Though the addition of “legends” didn’t really resonate with the community for MLB 15: The Show their presence in the game is at the very least worth exploring. The 30 players, one representing each franchise, are available for use in Diamond Dynasty and Franchise modes.  Read more