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ESPN NFL 2K5 Rushes Into Bug Issues
Thanks to GameSpot for its article discussing issues with the online modes of Sega's PS2/Xbox title ESPN NFL 2005, as "a server update will be released on Friday 'to address the login and roster problems some of you are experiencing.' The problems affect both the PlayStation and Xbox versions of the game." Amidst messageboard rumblings of "AI issues", the high-rated, budget-priced title also seems to have a separate problem with the Xbox Live version, as it's advised if you're "having difficulties getting another user to accept your challenge or if you are not receiving challenges once you've created a match, [to] power down your Xbox and restart" - the developers, apparently wrestling with the previously mentioned Xbox Live "LSP (Live Server Protocol)", are planning to fix this problem by August 6th.
I thought console games didn't have any bugs?
Although it is fortunate that the problem can be fixed on the server end.
I know serious bugs occur with PC games. As the code becomes more complex, so the risk of bugginess increases. PC games can be patched easily however.
Console games are beginning to come close to PC games in terms of complexity, with the next generation of consoles around the corner now, so what will happen when a serious bug is found in a console game, that can't be fixed on the server side?
I am government man, come from the government. The government has sent me. -- G.I.R.
this game is only 20 bux and has every bit of top notch playability, gfx, depth as just about any game I've played. It's not that this is some really nice "sports" game. This is just a flat out good game period.
People who are otherwise non-gamers tend to love them, along with racing games.
There's a reason annual updates to the same old NFL and NBA games sell well year after year - the unwashed masses. Me, I wouldn't care if sports gaming were a niche instead of mainstream, I'd still hate them.
And so, one of the best things about colsoles -- inability to update on the fly, necessitating stronger quality control before release -- falls to the wayside. Bluh.
Does anyone like snotty gamers anyway?
Do you know what is really going on in the world? (Beyond your bedroom door?)
In the console world (and the article is referring to console games) game sales in 2003 were broken down like this:
action (27.1%)
sports (17.6 %)
racing (15.7%)
role-playing games (8.7%)
fighting games (6.9%)
family entertainment (4.7%)
shooter games (4.6%)
Contrary to what you might guess by reading Slashdot, the world is not full of RPG playing geeks drooling over the latest mmorpg. Two of the most maligned genres (sports and racing) make up 33% of sales. That's a lot of games- and a lot of people. PC game sales are only about 1/3 of console game sales (and falling).
I just had 5 people come over to my house last night, and we played games for a while. Did they ask to play Morrowind? Or Zelda? Or KotOR? No...we played Basketball, Tennis and Golf.
Those games work in a social environment- there were guys and girls, some with experience on the games, some without. But we all had fun playing, and everyone liked the games. (I will go on record saying that Top Spin is one of the best party games ever).
It's fine that you like RPGs, and maybe you think they are the best things ever. But please realize that a large part of the world disagrees with you.
No reason to lie.
I'm having a lot of trouble deciding whether patching console games is a good thing. In fact, I'm sure it totally depends on the developer. Case in point:
Ex. 1) Ninja Gaiden Hurricane Pack. This is awesome. New stuff that makes an already great game better. Some armchair critics will say that this stuff (especially the camera) should have been in the game in the first place. The fact is, even if Team Ninja never released this patch then Ninja Gaiden would still be one of the best games on Xbox.
Ex. 2) NFL 2k5. Bugs that interfere with normal usage are unacceptable. I don't want to get home from EB and find out that my new game crashes if I try to enter the second level with a crossbow equipped. This would be a step closer to PC gaming, of which I want no part of. Except for Doom 3.
I'm on top of my game like I'm standin' on Xbox.
I'm a gamer. I play RPGs, my fav game of all time is System Shock 2, and I absolutely love football games (only on the console, though). Just because I'm a nerd and a gamer doesn't mean I don't/can't love football.
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
My disappointment with the online components of previous Sega games led me not to purchase NFL 2K5 and wait for Madden.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
i thought developers weren't allowed to update their games, to at least garner some quality control...
Guess now Thief 3 and this game are down the road of patches : What's next ?
And 90% of RPGers play on pc's not consoles. Probably because all the RPG's are on the PC. There is a reason DAOC alone typically has over 100,000 players (between the servers) on at a given moment.
Also aside from the occasional expansion, MMORPGers are paying monthly fees, not buying boxsets.
I like sports games. I like them a lot, and I don't consider myself to be an idiot.
Regrettably, there seems to be this elitist and narrow-minded opinion among many in the "gamer" (I despise that word) community that FPS and RTS games are the pinnacle of gaming's evolution, and that all other genres are somehow beneath them. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Virtually all popular sports are amazingly complex blends of strategy and skill. An astonishing level of depth exists in games like football. I'd go so far as to say that the level of intelligence and forethought required to coach a football team (electronic or otherwise) far outstrips the marginally functional level of brain activity required to build up a Zerg army and send it rushing towards your opponent, who is most likely doing the exact same thing. Even seemingly simplistic games like baseball have evolved very strong strategic components. (Look at some of the work that SABR has done.)
So, in summation, you're an idiot who has no idea what he's talking about, and, most likely, IHBT. Ah well...
Ummmm, not even close. Consoles have a very strong presence in the RPG market, and console RPG's most likely outsell PC RPG's several times over.
Can anyone tell me what AI issues are being talked about? The only thing I've noticed so far is a defensive lineman able to run right by an offensive lineman about once a game for a sack when he should have been blocked. The commentary is a bit screwy every now and then but that isn't AI related really.
Well, I think you are wrong again.
From the same article I referenced earlier, here is the breakdown for PC games:
strategy (27.1%)
children's entertainment (14.5%)
shooters (13.5%)
family entertainment (9.5%)
role-playing (8.7%)
sports titles (5.8%)
racing (4.4%)
adventure (3.9%)
simulation (3.5%)
So, role-playing on a PC (which is about 1/3 of console market) being 9% equals about 3% of the console market.
Really- I am not trying to tell you that RPGs suck, but I do want to put the facts out there that YES a lot of people do play sports games.
No reason to lie.
They had league problems last night. As in it took forever to download the leagues and usually it'd just time out and say it was incapable of getting the leagues.
I really with they'd let you play Franchise mode onilne. Where 2 players are able to have their own teams inside a Franchise like on Madden 2004.
Its a good game though, I've already played like 10+ games in 4 days.
-- Alex
I've only noticed 1 quirky bug, when the other team challenged a play during the challenge the play clock ran out. The play was overturned on the challenge and on top of that I got nailed with a delay of game; that shouldn't happen.
Development houses, video game distributors, and stores that sell video games (not the salesmen so much as the upper management) all love snotty gamers as long as they have money.
There are so many issues with this years 2k5 that the ESPN forums are crawling with bug reports and angry gamers. Never have I seen such dissatisfaction with a console game of any type...
The developer, Visual Concepts, refuses to acknowledge many of the reports and has only acted now out fear and liability.
More disheartening is the fact that almost all the online reviews for the game made no mention of the bug filled mess that is online play. NFL 2k5 recieved almost perfect rankings from most of the magazines I read, leading me to beleive that most review sites do little, if any homework on the games they review.
Also, no mention was ever made of the features removed from the game that were present in last years version. Chat capability and the ability to change playbooks have been REMOVED from this years game, yet the developers chose to add useless features for marketing and hype that detracted from 2k4's flawless gameplay.
This is clearly the last year for the ESPN videogames. It's unfortunate, but they don't have the resources to compete with EA. They can't even playtest their games.
"Smokey, this isn't Nam, there are rules." -Walter
"Currently, users must reset their Xbox if they initiate or receive four or more challenges if they wish to send or receive game invites."
That's not a bug in your game; that's merely a feature of using a Microsoft platform.
was a sports game, too. Wikipedia's NPD North American video game sales chart. 1. Madden NFL 2004, Electronic Arts, PS2 In addition, the first half of 2004 video games sales are mostly sports video games. 1. Fight Night 2004, Electronic Arts, PS2 2. NBA Ballers, Midway, PS2 3. Fight Night 2004, Electronic Arts, Xbox 4. MVP Baseball 2004, Electronic Arts, PS2 People actually do care about sports game in North America. Just like soccer/"football" games like WInning Eleven is really popular in Europe and Asia.
in the instruction book for the ps2 version of nfl 2k5, it says that you can add your own music. after searching high and low through the game, i can't find that feature anywhere.
does anybody know the reasoning behind this or are they just making us ps2 hdd owners feel bad about our purchase?