2K Sports discusses the new opportunities that next-gen consoles offer when upgrading the current-gen version of NBA 2K21.
The NBA 2K games have always been about pace. Basketball frequently has games with scores in triple digits, and gameplay is far more end to end, much faster and much more frenetic than the stop-start nature of America’s two other big sports, baseball and American football. This quickness and basket-to basket-drama has always been something the NBA 2K games have nailed, so as the series prepares to launch on a new console generation – where the biggest selling point is speed – things are looking very exciting indeed. We spoke to executive producer Erick Boenisch and gameplay director Mike Wang from 2K Sports about the unique opportunities next-gen machines offer the basketball sim, and where the game can go from here, now that load times look to be a thing of the past. While both the Xbox Series X and the PS5 come with hundreds of little improvements on their predecessors, it seems like – at least as far as NBA 2K 21 is concerned – these improvements can be split into two clear categories: a faster console, and a better controller. One of the most anticipated improvements next-gen controllers bring is haptic feedback, which has been improved with the Xbox Series X controller and replaces the PS4 controller’s previous rumble feature. Haptic feedback means rather than the whole controller vibrating, actions on screen can make specific parts of the controller react, heightening the sensation for players. According to Wang, the increased haptic feedback of next-gen controllers can make the NBA experience much more immersive, especially when you add in the capabilities of the PS5 DualSense controller. „In the past, we had the old controller rumble for collision,“ Wang tells us. „The haptic feedback offers a different sensation, so you get different levels of feedback depending on how intense the collisions are, which is really cool. “The thing that was even cooler was the DualSense trigger effect on PS5, where it offers resistance based on how hard you pull the trigger, so on that we were able to offer things like fatigue when you try to sprint.
