EA Sports & Tiger Woods Cut Ties: Is This The End Of The Tiger Woods Powerhouse Brand Name???

EA Sports began using legends
like Arnold Palmer to entice those
whose interest in TW had
disintegrated over time.

When you think of sports video games, you immediately think of EA Sports, the producer of some of the most popular video games of all-time. When you think of specific sports games, the conversation almost instantly turns to the Madden franchise. But after that, where does your brain wander? A large majority of sports gamers would probably say Tiger Woods PGA Tour. The partnership between gaming giant EA Sports and golfing legend Tiger Woods has seen incredible success that has resulted in over $770 million worth of games being sold across 14 editions of the game. That run has now come to an end as the two sides have mutually agreed to end their relationship.

            It seems like this is coming at a very interesting time as Tiger Woods has now risen back to the top of the golfing world, and EA Sports should be looking for profitable gaming lines as the NCAA Football brand has been thrown by the wayside. EA Sports is going to continue producing a golf game, but who will be the face of it now? Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, and Rory McIlroy are the three most probably candidates, but the gameplay will be much more important nowadays without TW’s name on the box.

            

Young guns like Rickie Fowler were used like Arnold Palmer
as a buffer zone for those fans who were upset over TW's
recent indiscretions. Fowler, Bradley, and McIlroy will
likely all be in line to help save this brand in the future.

This break-up appeared to be coming on slowly but surely over the past few years as the last two covers depicted young star Rickie Fowler and legend Arnold Palmer instead of the man with his name on the game. While the roughly $6.2 million payday Woods receives from having his name associated with the game will not put him in a financial bind, this break-up does show how much Tiger Woods’ brand has steadily disintegrated over time. Sure, he is still the biggest attraction in the world of golf by a long shot, but the world does not seem to need him as much as they once did. The only sponsors that have stuck with Tiger through it all have been Nike and NetJets, thus depicting that he simply is not the marketing superhero he once was.

            Do not feel too bad for Tiger Woods though people. This week, he was paid over $3 million dollars to play in a tournament in Turkey and hit a golf ball from Asia to Europe, not a bad payday if you ask me. This split represents a new chapter in the lives of both EA Sports and Tiger Woods, as the gaming company focuses more on its next generation gaming and Woods' attempts to step out of the limelight and focus on taking down Jack Nickalus’ record of 18 majors. One thing is certain, the end of an era is upon us, time to take a mulligan and move on. 

The end of an era may be some level of foreshadowing for both Tiger Woods and
EA Sports, stay tuned for those developments. 

Scott Eastment is a former college baseball player and currently writes articles about various MLB, NFL, and sport business topics for Tru School Sports & Baseball Hot Corner. He has his MBA in sport business and in marketing and is an avid extreme skier. Follow him on Twitter @SportsGeek02

NBA 2K14 Gameplay Review

Ever since I've gotten NBA 2K14, I've been unable to stop playing it. It's either because I'm an NBA 2K addict or that it's a good game. I say it's a good game. If you say, "Oh, you're just saying that because you're addict". Well, what I got to say is, "Hi, I'm Harvin and ... I'm an addict and here are some reasons why this game is fun to play:"

The Defense:

• Blocking:

This has to be one of my favourite part's, if not favourite part, of NBA 2K14. The 5 vs 5 experience is just so much better without those dunk animations that were cheese *Chris Smoove voice*. Unlike NBA 2K13, there's hope to stop the player from scoring when they go for a dunk and that has made playing this game so much more fun. 

• Stealing:

The stealing in 2K14 is 10x better than that of 2K13's and that is because the stealing has become more realistic. At first, NBA 2K13's stealing was too easy because you could just jam the steal button without getting a foul called and after the patch, stealing became too hard with getting a foul called almost every time you tried to knock the ball out of the opposing player's hands. However, compared to NBA 2K13, NBA 2K14 has perfected it. It's the perfect balance. 

The Pick and Roll Button Change:

2K made some controversial control changes in NBA 2K14 but this one paid off. It's a simple change, the Pick and Roll button being changed from LB to the B button on XBOX 360 and L2 to the Circle button on PS3. It's a good change because it's so much easier to call a pick and roll and contributes to the flow of the game for you. 

Driving:

In NBA 2K13, driving was rigged, whether it was coast to coast or from the three-point line. If you had LeBron, you could just hold on the speed bumper and push Left Stick forward and voila, dunk in the lane. The thing that is so great about driving in NBA 2K14 is that you can't do what you did in NBA 2K13 anymore. You'll get bumped and lose control of the ball sometimes, which I hate when it happens to me, but it certainly is better for the game. Polygon.com also says in their NBA 2K14 Review, "you'll get bumped, smothered and stonewalled — and you'll come away without the ball, let alone any points to show for your trouble". They also mention in their Review, that this all adds to the best game experience possible and I couldn't agree more.

LeBron James'... Hairline?:

Yes, for the 1st NBA 2K game ever, 2K Sports got LeBron James' hairline right! Shocked aren't you? Have a look yourself:

However, like any other NBA 2K game, it has its flaws and they are:

The Pro Stick:

The Pro Stick was the most controversial change from NBA 2K14. I hate the fact that you do dribble move and shoot with the same stick, without a modifier. It's so irritating when you accidentally shoot when trying to do dribble moves, especially in the My Career mode. Flashy passes got the modifier and I feel that 2K just did that to make the game seem cooler. Just like how Apple shows off the changes from each iPhone, even though they're so pointless but seem cool to people who can be easily manipulated, like children, 2K did the same thing. Not to discredit fancy passes, I mean they are fun but what are you going to use more? Fancy passes or the stick you use to perform dribbling moves. I hope they can somehow fix this in the next patch.

LeBron James:

Let me elaborate. LeBron James is still the rigged, overpowered player that was in NBA 2K13. I have had first-hand experience with this. Recently, I was playing NBA 2K13 Blacktop with my friend and I had LeBron and others, while he had defensive stalwarts like Andre Igoudala and Dwight Howard on his team. You can guess who won; the team with LeBron. It's not that my friend is a horrible 2K player, he's pretty darn good. It's just that during the whole game, I just used LeBron in isolation's and scored almost every single time. LeBron is a great player, in fact the best player in the NBA, but against a great defensive team like the one he had, he shouldn't of been this good. I hope in future NBA 2K games that LeBron James isn't as OP as he's been over the past couple games. 

Speed:

The most simple issue on this list is the speed in NBA 2K14. What about the speed? You can be playing with a fast player like John Wall and be ahead on the fast break and have a not-so-fast player like LaMarcus Aldridge catch up as if they have the same speed rating. This doesn't happen every single time but happens a lot in the My Career mode. It's an issue NBA 2K players have been begging to get fixed over the past few games, yet this still hasn't been fixed. It's typical of 2K Sports to leave something unfixed.

Alley-Oops:

The one thing I absolutely loved about NBA 2K13 was the alley-oop passing and calling. It was simply tapping the X and A buttons on XBOX 360 and the square and circle buttons on PS3. The alley-oop button combination in 2K13 made it so much easier on the user. In 2K13, 2K had finally perfected the alley-oop button but they changed something that didn't need changing; they pull an Astro (a verb that I created after the Houston Astros lost a no-hitter after pulling Erik Bedard, who had one going, after 7 innings). For NBA 2K14, the button combination is LT and X for XBOX 360 and L2 and X for PS3. It's basically the same as 2K12's, which was the LT and B buttons for XBOX 360 and L2 and circle for PS3. I wish they had kept last year's alley-oop combination but the change isn't that bad that it effects the game so much.

There may be more cons than pros that I listed but the pros were bigger pros than the cons were cons.

NBA 2K14 is as good as it's ever been, but it's not as special as I hoped it to be. I give this game:

Rating: 9.3/10

NHL 14: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Follow me on Twitter @WarraichRoop 

*Note: This article will be focused on game play aspects, not game modes. An article talking about game modes will come out later.*

It's been a little over a month since EA released their annual NHL game and I realize it's a little late to be doing a review. Most people have already decided whether or not they're getting the game. I wanted to give EA a chance to smooth out the game before I reviewed it. So, if you're still on the fence, hopefully this review helps. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get to it.

The Good:

EA has done a brilliant job with the skating, hitting, deking and fighting mechanics of NHL 14. The second year of True Performance Skating has not disappointed as the physics-based system does a wonderful job of simulating real life first strides, pivots, and turns. I felt NHL 12 made the skating too easy, while NHL 13 made it too difficult. NHL 14 is the perfect mix of the two and the results are extraordinary.

The next feature that Electronic Arts got right is the hitting. The hits are bigger and better than ever before and I'd be lying if I said they weren't fun. The sheer joy I receive from decking a player isn't healthy, but oh well. I'm also a huge fan of the new feature in which you just skate into a player to hit him (without using the right stick). Although it does make hitting easier, I think it's balanced and just way more comfortable.

Another gameplay feature that I especially like in NHL 14 is the deking. The new one-touch deking system has not disappointed. The dekes are smoother, easier and more comfortable, and there's a larger variety of them. My personal favorite is the toe drag, while skating up the ice with Pavel Datsyuk. There's nothing like it.




















The final aspect of NHL 14 that I enjoy is the new fighting mechanism. EA took a huge risk by completely changing it, but I think it worked out well. The new enforcer engine implements unwritten hockey rules into the game, which is great, and the fighting itself is much improved. Long gone are the days when one could just abuse the right stick to win a fight. Fighting is now much more strategic and realistic with defensive maneuvers such as tugging and blocking being more important. Also, punching is harder as it has to be timed. Counters and well-timed punches do a lot of damage. There are also uppercuts now which is a nice bonus. All in all, fighting has changed a lot since the last NHL, but I believe its taken a step forward.

The Bad:

Although Electronic Arts has done a lot of things right, there are also some things it has messed up on. These include passing and the player ratings. Let's start off with the passing shall we? I can't quite place my finger on it, but there's something off about the passing. The passes don't always go where I want them too and it seems they are constantly overpowered or underpowered regardless of the amount of time I hold the button. I have talked to others about this issue and most of them agree, but they can't quite identify the issue either. Nonetheless, there's something wrong with the passing and hopefully it gets fixed as soon as possible.

The other component of this game that I'm not a huge fan of is the ratings. A lot of them are alright but there are also quite a few that don't make sense at all. Let's start with the picture. Parise (or Parisee as he likes to be called) is a great player, but he is not worthy of an 89 rating. I'm sorry but a player with 38 points in 48 games and a +2 rating last year should not be an 89. Other overrated players include Neal, Gaborik and Girardi. I don't know what EA Sports were thinking when they came up with some of these ratings, but they clearly weren't thinking straight.

The Ugly:

There are two features in this game that make me want to pull my hair out and have almost ruined this game for me. They are the goal scoring and the goalies. These two are closely related to one another and extremely frustrating. The way one scores goals in this game is not right. Cross-crease passing plays, one-timers and shots with screens in front rarely work. Want to know the best way to score a goal? It's simple. Just take slapshots... from anywhere. I've been waiting since day 1 for EA to fix this issue but they haven't. All one has to do is take a slapshot from anywhere, no screen or aiming required and it has a better chance of going in than a cross-crease play. Want to know the other way of scoring goals? Pass the puck to the goalie. You heard me, pass it. The amount of times someone has scored on me like this is unreal. Once, someone passed it to my goalie, who had the puck for ten seconds before it squeaked in. I swear EA has designed this goal-scoring system just to irritate me. 

This next point goes hand-in-hand with my last one. The goalies in this game are all on steroids. It doesn't matter if they are rated a 90 or a 55. I've even gotten multiple shutouts with 50 overall goalies in HUT. The goalies in this game are insane. They'll stop one-timers, become superman and make the cross-crease saves and battle through screens to get a piece of the puck. It's like they're all on god mode. But, the minute someone takes a slapshot or passes the puck to them, they'll allow a goal. Why EA? Why? I'm still waiting for an update to fix these two issues. If Electronic Arts comes through, the game will be almost perfect.

Conclusion:

 There are a lot of things EA got right with NHL 14 such as the skating, hitting, deking and fighting. But, there are also many things they screwed up on like the passing, ratings, goal-scoring and the goalies. The game is already really fun, as it is, but if EA fixed these issues it would be amazing and nearly flawless. I really hope they do as the goal-scoring and goalies, in particular are very frustrating. Overall I'd give this game an 8/10 and a B. If you're a hardcore NHL, I'd recommend you buy it. If you're a casual gamer, but believe the pros outweigh the cons, then snatch it up. As for me, I'll continue waiting for EA Sports to fix these issues.

Follow me on Twitter @WarraichRoop

NBA Live 14 (Trailer)

The NBA 2K franchise has took over the market as the king of basketball video games with the absence of the NBA Live franchise. Now with new systems such as the Xbox 1 and Playstation 4 coming out EA sports is looking at the re launch of the game as a rebirth and it couldn't come at a better time.

Since NBA 2K11 as far as improving gameplay, 2K sports hasn't done its best and the game has progressed at all so with the Live franchise back it will provide some much needed competition and as we all know competition breeds inovation. If NBA Live 14 has smoother ball handling and passing controls then 2K then it will be a better game in my eyes. Check out the Trailer featuring Kyrie Irving.

Lebron James Plays DJ For NBA 2K14 Soundtrack

Lebron James is the biggest thing in basketball, NBA 2K is the biggest thing in sports gaming. Put the 2 together and it makes for one the most anticipated releases in basketball video gaming history. Lebron is the cover athlete and in the prime of his career coming off back to back titles, this is his very 1^st video game cover. Not only is he just some cover boy but the Akron native was actually the 1^st player that chose the songs for the games soundtrack. James when asked about picking songs for the soundtrack expressed the following “2K is letting me take control of some important elements in NBA 2K14, including this year’s soundtrack, I love that I’m the first NBA 2K cover athlete to choose the soundtrack.” So just how did LBJ do selecting songs for NBA 2K14?? I'll let you be the judge.

Big Krit, “Cool 2 be Southern”
Cris Cab, “Paradise (On Earth)”
Coldplay, “Lost!”
Daft Punk (feat. Pharrell Williams), “Get Lucky”
Drake, “Started From The Bottom”
Eminem, “Not Afraid”
Fly Union, “Long Run”
Gorillaz, “Clint Eastwood”
Imagine Dragons, “Radioactive”
Jada Kiss (feat. Ayanna Irish), “Can’t Stop Me”
Jay-Z, “The Ruler’s Back”
John Legend (feat. Rick Ross), “Who Do We Think We Are”
Kanye West, “All Of The Lights”
Kendrick Lamar, “Now Or Never”
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (feat. Ray Dalton), “Can’t Hold Us”
Nas (feat. Puff Daddy), “Hate Me Now”
Phil Collins, “In The Air Tonight”
Robin Thicke (feat. Pharrell), “Blurred Lines”
The Black Keys, “Elevator”
The Black Keys, “Howlin For You”

So first order of business when addressing Lebron's selections are that he actually does listen to Imagine Dragons, he kept shooting basketballs to it in the Dr.Dre Beats commercial so I got curious so at least that has been answered. All in all I think he did a great job of picking songs that are true to his personality but that also appeal to all fans there is something for everybody on here. Hip Hop fans, pop fans, alternative fans and just fans of music in general all have something they can enjoy on the soundtrack. For me personally I'm a big fan of guys like Kendrick Lamar, Jadakiss, Big Krit so songs like “Now or Never” and “ You Can't Stop Me” really jump out at me. Coldplay, Cris Cab and Robin Thicke are going to appeal to a lot of people because they have a huge fan base. One song that really jumps out reading that play list is Phil Collins-In the air tonight. That’s not really the kind of song you would expect in a normal basketball game but NBA 2K is far from normal. So the songs on here are upbeat, some are hype and others just put you in that mind frame as if you were about to take the floor for shoot around on the hardwood.

I have always loved the NBA 2K franchise and have lots of memories playing it amongst my friends so looking forward to another great game. Can't wait for further developments of the game to come out but this is a great first step.

Well done Lebron!!

NBA 2K...Fortune Teller???

There has been a lot made of what will happen next off season in the NBA when Carmelo Anthony and most notably Lebron James go on the free agent market. Lebron even coming off of back to back championships with the Miami Heat can still opt out of his contract and become a free agent. Destinations like New York and Cleveland are possible but LA?? It doesn’t make sense for Lebron to go there but if its possible then it just might happen. We all know Lebron has proven himself to be diss loyal in the past so anything is possible.

Now I am no believer of good or bad omens but NBA 2K is known as “The most realistic basketball simulation on the market” and depending on your perspective then 2K Sports is the bearer of good news or bad news as it pertains to Lebron James (See Photo Below)

Lebron James Gets Cover on NBA 2K14 (Reaction)

So Thursday night as I firmly plopped my behind on my couch in anticipation for the NBA Finals I nonchalantly went on Facebook because you know I got a page to admin and maintain. So as I'm scrolling down my news feed I came across some disturbing news. The picture you see above this paragraph made me eat my heart out. It pictured the basketball player I hate more then anything pictured on something I love dearly. Of course I am speaking about Lebron James being featured on the cover of NBA 2K14.

Not going to lie that caught me off guard but I had a game to watch so I didn't care for now. The Spurs took game 1 92-88 due in large part to some great execution down the stretch from the team and a big time shot by Tony Parker.

After the game ended and I had gotten over the fact that LBJ would be on the cover of 2K but it got even worse. I did some research on some of the new features in the game and I got even more pissed. Apparently they are having a new game mode this year which features Lebron called “Path to greatness”. ARE YOU SERIOUS?!! This guy is a phenomenal talent and the biggest thing in basketball from a marketing standpoint but to have all this already is premature his story is still being written. In other words he isn't Michael Jordan.

2K picked the perfect time to put him on the cover though his popularity is at an all-time high and they're are less people like myself who despise the guy so they will sell really high especially with this being his 1^st ever video game cover. They have something called the “Lebron Pack” where you can buy the game for more money and get exclusive features such as Lebron James in blacktop mode and his signature skill. So 2k is going to max out his rating most likely, make him unbeatable and basically make him immortal, well being the cocky 2K player I am fearful of nobody I responded by saying this on Twitter to Lebron Fans who play 2K and 2K Sports.

 guys are goin to give Lebron all these signature skills and max out his rating but he is still getting crossed up by Kemba Walker #TrustMe
— Brendan Taylor (@ThatboyBTaylor) June 7, 2013

Btw hit that follow button if you have a twitter and I'll follow back!

Dreams Come true for NBA 2K Fans

Over the last several years the NBA 2K series has dominated sports gaming and it looks like they took another step in doing so several days ago when they announced that the the 1992 “Dream Team” will be in NBA 2K13. It will have every player on that team except Scottie Pippen due to copyright reasons. As a fan who has been playing NBA 2k for years this is a HUGE day for me having the chance to play with the dream team. I know its just a game but boy I can’t wait to settle this WACK debate people keep having with me saying that the current USA men could beat the “Dream Team”. I know basketball has evolved into a more up tempo game based on athletiscm rather then fundamentals and half court sets. I Can’t wait to just throw down the ball in the post to guys like David Robinson and Karl Malone and just go to work on the wannabe “Dream Team”. The opportunity to settle this debate on the sticks is a great one and I really believe  NBA 2K does a great job of making the games as authentic as possible from the uniforms, to hardwood and just overall game presentation. The one thing they did best last year in NBA 2K12 and will continue too do in this years installment of 2K  is bridging the generational gaps between basketball fans. What I mean is kids who are my age didn’t get too see Oscar Robertson or Jerry west play get too learn about them and literally fell how great they were through the game play. With them Putting the Dream team in the game the younger generation will get to see how great that team was through game play. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, John Stockton the list of hall of famers go on and it the matchups up and down the court will be intriguing. Magic vs. Cris Paul or Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan just too name a few., Whenever people decide to pickup the sticks and play as the 2 gold medal teams it should be entertaining and it will definitely spark debates not end them. So if you dunk on Clyde Drexler With Lebron James and Start Taunting your uncle you know its about to be an exciting 4 quarters. NBA 2K13 Having the Dream Team is a celebration of basketball and should be an improvement over last year. All I know is October 2nd cant come quick enough for me.