Monday Tip-Off: Server Shutdowns of 2024
We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some reflections on the server shutdowns that have taken place in 2024 – or will soon take place – as it relates to basketball gaming.
As gamers, we all know too well that server shutdowns are inevitable. While it’s unfortunate, it’s also understandable. There comes a point where there simply aren’t enough people still playing a game to justify the cost, time, and energy required to maintain online support. We’re also given a clear heads up in the documentation for games. For example, following a change in policy in the wake of the backlash to the NBA 2K14 server shutdown in 2015, we’ve been able to bank on 27 months of online support for each game in the NBA 2K series thereafter.
Still, even when we know that they’re coming, and can understand the reasons behind them, server shutdowns remain a bummer. Most of us are going to be left with some unfinished business, or just be disappointed that we can’t revisit and continue playing a memorable save in a connected mode. To that end, as of writing, we’ve lost online support for one Triple-A basketball game in 2024, while a second will see its server shutdowns happen very soon. Meanwhile, the closure of another online service was a blow for anyone still playing their Xbox 360. As such, I’m reflecting on those server shutdowns, and how my basketball gaming has been (or will be) impacted by them.
NBA Live 18 Server Shutdown
Let’s begin with the shutdown that has affected me most recently. While it took me by surprise, it actually shouldn’t have. EA announced earlier this year that online support for NBA Live 18 would be ending in November, also making this information readily available on their website. Somehow I overlooked that – or simply forgot – and also didn’t catch the reminder that was posted by Game Rant back in October. Although it wasn’t actually as sudden of a decision as it seemed given my ignorance, the timing was nevertheless unfortunate. Some weeks back, revisiting NBA Live 18 in the hopes of grabbing a specific screenshot ultimately turned into an extended, enthusiastic kick.
Of course, after Dee and I revisited the game in July 2023, succeeding in connecting for a co-op session using Parsec and the Xbox app, it remained on the edge of my rotation. For me, it was a clear highlight of a rough generation for NBA Live, and I’ve enjoyed going back and playing with my squad of 90s Legends in Ultimate Team here and there. Sadly, with the server shutdowns, that’s no longer possible. Furthermore, it’s removed the lone way to play with Legends in NBA Live 18, as their only other appearance in the game is as opponents in the Pro-Am Tour’s Throwback Challenges. It’s a shame, again emphasising the underutilisation of historical content in the series.
With that being said, I can still say that I enjoyed Ultimate Team while it lasted, and that I got my money’s worth out of NBA Live 18; something that I can’t necessarily say about some recent NBA 2K releases! Also, when it’s all said and done, we did get over seven years of online support for NBA Live 18 before these server shutdowns. The game’s documentation didn’t specify a shutdown date beyond the disclaimer that EA may cease online services 30 days after announcing plans to do so. However, for all of NBA Live’s struggles on eighth gen, for those who have enjoyed at least one of the releases, EA has been quite generous with extended online support for all of them.
There’s also good news if you do still enjoy going back and playing NBA Live on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. If you have the last official roster update for a game and you’re careful not to unnecessarily uninstall and reinstall it, you’ll keep that content. Not only that, but Dynasty/Franchise, Rising Star, and even The One, are all still playable offline. Having recently been hooked on the Pro-Am Tour in The One, I was pleasantly surprised to see that that’s still available offline! You can also still earn Reward Points, open crates, and customise your player. Needless to say, after my blunder with NBA Live 16, I’ll be far more careful so as to not lose my face scan!
This demonstrates that it’s absolutely possible to design a career mode that remains accessible following server shutdowns. Also, even though the end of online support means no more live service content, it needn’t mean the end of cosmetic items and customisation. That puts The One ahead of MyCAREER, which lost more and more features once disconnected, until the offline version of the mode was finally removed in NBA 2K20. Yes, it’s a shame that Ultimate Team is gone along with the playable Legends, but I can still revisit The One, the Pro-Am Tour, and Franchise, as well as play exhibition games with the final official roster, or any custom roster that I make.
Xbox 360 Store & Marketplace Closure
If you fire up an Xbox 360 these days, the dashboard will look rather different. The Store tab is no longer available as Microsoft shut it down back in July, taking a library of digital releases and DLC with it. If you were hoping that you could still make those purchases through the Marketplace website, you’re out of luck there too, as it was also closed. It’s hardly surprising or unreasonable after all this time and a majority of the userbase now on Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One, and it follows in the footsteps of Sony limiting access to the PlayStation Store on earlier consoles. All the same, it marks the end of an era, as well as access to several games that hadn’t been delisted.
Mind you, it wasn’t all doom and gloom as Microsoft prepared to sunset the Store and Marketplace for Xbox 360. Although a ton of games and content were set to disappear forever, it was also announced that there would be some massive discounts across the entire breadth of the Xbox 360’s digital library. We’re talking bargain bin prices for a number of major Triple-A releases! Sure, they were generally over a decade old with minimal or no online support, but if you were still playing your 360 occasionally and never checked them out before – or perhaps long since sold or traded in your physical copies of them – you could get a bunch of great releases without even spending $50.
A majority of the basketball video games that were released digitally had long since been delisted, but surprisingly, one digital exclusive remained in the store until the very end: NCAA Basketball 09: March Madness Edition. The game is more or less the same as the disc version, though it only includes the 64 teams from the 2009 NCAA tournament with updated ratings, and had free DLC that immediately added the authentic brackets. However, given the prices that college basketball games often fetch on eBay and the second-hand market in general, being able to grab a condensed digital version of NCAA Basketball 09 for less than $2 USD was an absolute steal!
Now, I do own the disc version of NCAA Basketball 09 for PlayStation 3, so the March Madness Edition wasn’t an essential purchase for me. Of course, when has that ever stopped a collector? I saw it as an opportunity to get a version of the game on Xbox 360, which wouldn’t normally be possible as the series was exclusive to North America. Unlike the PS3, the 360 wasn’t region-free without being modded, putting the kibosh on importing. Regional restrictions also applied to the digital release, but there’s always been workarounds to buy games from other countries’ stores, and play them without any problems. For less than $2 USD, I knew I at least had to try to get it.
Sadly, it was a fruitless endeavour. Believe me, I tried every workaround that I could find online, but none of them succeeded. There were glimmers of hope, a sign that the transaction would go through, but I kept running into the same error message. It’s possible that I left it too late, trying to grab it on the last day as Microsoft was in the process of completing the shutdown. Whatever the case, I missed out, but hopefully others were able to take advantage of that offer and other discounts. Incidentally, the Store and Marketplace are gone, as are the servers for most games, but a few NBA 2K titles can actually still be played head-to-head if you’re an Xbox Live Gold subscriber.
The Impending NBA 2K23 Server Shutdown
Come December 31st, online support will end for NBA 2K23. The game has already been delisted from digital storefronts as of November 30th, ahead of its sunset. This is in line with the 27 months of support that I previously mentioned, so anyone who’s aware of the established policy saw this coming long before it was announced. I’ll admit that as it stands, I won’t be too affected by this particular shutdown. I wasn’t a big fan of NBA 2K23 and thus didn’t end up playing it very much. I’m not going to lose a stacked MyTEAM squad or maxed-out MyPLAYER, so it’s fairly easy for me to let the game and its online features go. I don’t feel like I have unfinished business.
Nevertheless, I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a small twinge of disappointment here. I certainly sympathise with anyone still playing and enjoying NBA 2K23, who will lose access to Play Now Online, MyCAREER, MyTEAM, and the image uploading functionality for re-branding in MyNBA Eras and MyLEAGUE. I may not have loved NBA 2K23, but others did, and it’s a shame that their fun will now come to an end if it relies on server-side content. As for me, I’m going to miss having the option of going back and playing those modes. If I want to cover NBA 2K23 MyCAREER in a future retrospective, I’ll need to put in time with it over the next few weeks, while I still can.
To that point, this is a general reminder to wrap up any business in NBA 2K23 before the server shutdown takes place on December 31st. If you’re after that last Trophy or Achievement, if there’s a challenge you want to beat in MyTEAM or some cards you want to play with, if you need to finish a season or make it to the Hall of Fame in MyCAREER, or whatever, do it quickly! Likewise, if you’re a content creator and you want to make sure you have screenshots and footage of modes and features that will disappear along with the servers, don’t delay. I’ve made that mad rush on December 31st, and while it’s been fruitful, I’ve also felt like I could’ve captured more media.
As far as the NBA 2K23 PC modding scene is concerned, it’s nowhere near as active as it used to be. Annual releases have always encouraged gamers and modders to move on to the newest game, even going back to the heyday of NBA Live modding. Nowadays however, it seems that there’s a mass migration to the latest title as soon as it’s released. There’s nothing wrong with niches within the modding community of course, and I’m all for continuing to play and mod the games you enjoy the most. To that end, I’ll remind everyone that roster files can be distributed the “old-fashioned way” on PC – along with any required art packs – so servers aren’t required for mods.
It’s impossible to say without sounding like an old head stuck in the past, but it’s really unfortunate that games do feel so disposable now. The sheer amount of live service content makes it inevitable, though that also demonstrates how modern games are so reliant on post-release updates, in my opinion to a fault. Once again though, the fact that NBA Live 18’s online support lasted so long, and that The One was designed to be playable offline – even a file that was created when the servers were up – is proof that the level of obsolescence in NBA 2K’s MyCAREER isn’t a technical necessity. It’s the way that it is though, so one more time: make sure to conclude your business!
Server Shutdowns in 2025
What will 2025 bring as far as server shutdowns? Well, one that we can be sure of – barring a drastic and unlikely change in policy – is that come December, we’ll see the sunset of online support for NBA 2K24. NBA 2K18 – of all games – had its support extended through to January 2020 instead of shutting down in December as planned, so there is a precedent for a few extra weeks of connectivity. I wouldn’t count on it though, so while there is still twelve months to find closure with NBA 2K24, you might find that it flies by rather quickly; especially with other games to play, which for many of us will most likely include NBA 2K26 beginning in September 2025.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with NBA Live 19. As you may have noticed, although there are no new LIVE Events being pushed through on a regular schedule, there’s a permanent selection of them that are set to expire in over 800 days at time of writing. On the surface, this suggests at least a few more years of online support for NBA Live 19, but I wouldn’t take that as guaranteed. It depends on the amount of activity in the game, EA’s willingness to foster goodwill, and quite probably, their interest in continuing the series outside of NBA Live Mobile. I hesitate to make a solid prediction, but a server shutdown in 2025 or 2026 wouldn’t surprise me at all.
Another game to potentially keep an eye on is NBA 2K Playgrounds 2. Its servers are still online, long after the 27 months that games under the 2K banner are guaranteed. At this point, both Saber Interactive and Take-Two appear to have moved on from the game, with no indication of further content besides the randomised daily challenges, nor word of a new sequel. Judging by the official Facebook group and subreddit, most gamers have left it behind as well, which may lead to Saber or 2K pulling the plug on the servers sooner rather than later. Hopefully they keep them up a while longer as it appears that there’s still a small group of dedicated fans, but again, keep an eye on it.
With any luck, whatever systems are still operational that allow head-to-head play in select Xbox 360 versions of NBA 2K won’t be shut down. Unfortunately, the chances of full online support and the opportunity to download long-lost roster updates are – as the saying goes – slim to none, and slim just left town. As I’ve said before, I’m all for EA and 2K reactivating servers for old games once or twice a year, say for a week or so, in order for retro gamers to grab old updates, revisit modes for another chance to collect Trophies and Achievements, and play online for old time’s sake. Realistically though, there’s little incentive for them to do this, even if it would foster goodwill.
Again, server shutdowns are an inevitable part of gaming, and have been for years. It’s unfortunate, especially when we can’t replace them with unofficial servers such as the PS Rewired project. At least with NBA 2K and NBA Live, we generally have an idea of how long they’ll be supported for, and advanced warning when online support is drawing to a close. It remains to be seen whether we’ll lose the servers for any games aside from NBA 2K24 in 2025, but as I said, keep an eye on NBA Live 19 and NBA 2K Playgrounds 2. And, as a final reminder, we’ve only got a few weeks of support left for NBA 2K23. If there’s anything you need or want to do, then now’s the time!
The post Monday Tip-Off: Server Shutdowns of 2024 appeared first on NLSC.