WWE 2K20

[Hellraiser]

On 19/07/2019 at 23:39, apsham said:

Plus to hear more about that whole HCTP tweet and stuff.

I really hope that said tweet doesn't mean that they are doing a HCTP remake. I have no interest in that. What I would like to see is a return to the arcadey roots of the series. Something like an "Old School" mode would be nice so that you don't alienate the players who enjoy the current, slower simulation-heavy style of gameplay.

[Meacon Keaton]

Wasn't there talk of them splitting the IP so that they can make more than just the regular, run of the mill 2k WWE game? 

[Adam]

A game more like those arcadey, fast-paced PS2 era games would be fun, especially if they populated it with classic wrestlers. I've not much interest buying a WWE 2k game now with the same 90 wrestlers that were in last year, only now we also have the Street Profits and Matt Riddle or whoever. Release a WWE Classic with simpler gameplay, a straight-forward Season Mode and play as Guerrero, Bret Hart, Angle, HBK, and all the stars from the 80s/90s/00s? I'd love that.

2 minutes ago, Meacon said:

Wasn't there talk of them splitting the IP so that they can make more than just the regular, run of the mill 2k WWE game? 

I think this quote about HCTP came from the developer discussing that proposed spin-off, yeah.

[Bobfoc]

A HCTP-style season mode would be all I'd need.

I also wonder about having something more tailor-made for the Switch. The 2k18 port was such a disaster that any such plans for 2k19 were abandoned, so a simpler game would be welcome. Something more arcadey could be just the thing.

28 minutes ago, Hellraiser said:

I really hope that said tweet doesn't mean that they are doing a HCTP remake.

A straight remaster, as I've seen some sites suggest,  is surely off the table anyway, what with having to renegotiate rights to all the wrestlers. Apart from anything else, they're not releasing a game in which you can play as Chris Benoit. Something that uses some of the ideas would be fine, though.

[FLiam]

I’d rather see another game in the mould of All-Stars. I thought it was a good starting point for future games but then nothing else came after it. 

Legends of WrestleMania was pretty decent as well.

[Owen]

51 minutes ago, Liam Mk2 said:

I’d rather see another game in the mould of All-Stars. I thought it was a good starting point for future games but then nothing else came after it. 

Legends of WrestleMania was pretty decent as well.

Legends of WrestleMania was fun but the control scheme was unnecessarily messy, I thought. I'd be cool with a new one with a control scheme similar to the control scheme in the 2K games because that's pretty solid.

[Bobfoc]

Unless they're going back to platform-exclusive WWE games akin to the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube era, which makes little sense now, you'd think that any game separate from the 2k series would have to be quite significantly different. A spin-off that uses the 2k control system would feel like a cash-grab that could easily have been DLC for the main game (although 2k isn't exactly a stranger to exploitative business practices). It would surely have to be something that's less of a "serious" simulation and with a gimmick hook that can't be found in the mainline games.

WWE games have a long history of ridiculous game modes that have fallen by the wayside in recent years. Even if they didn't last, there was something endearing about the zaniness of the Mortal Kombat-esque 2D fighter mechanics of Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game, the Wrestlemania XIX mode in which you murdered manual labourers in an attempt to sabotage Wrestlemania and Betrayal's side-scrolling beat-'em-up action that tasked you with finding Stephanie McMahon's kidnapper. In their utter stupidity, those games are much more memorable to me than any WWE game in over ten years, and it's because they have something the main games have lacked for so long: soul.

[BuddyAwesome]

Personally, I want to battle on shipyards and swing from chains hanging in a parking garage again. 

[Hellraiser]

Brawl and Legends were fun games but I don't like the art style of these games. The super bulky "Legend Of Wrestling"-style wrestlers don't really do it for me.

[Gabriel]

Apparently, if 2K does put a group of developers onto a separate game, it's unlikely to be WWE licensed. There were rumors that they may try to license other promotions or individual wrestlers, but that it wouldn't be anything major like AEW or New Japan because of the WWE license they have. I would expect something more like Legends of Wrestling, or maybe they'll do something with a WWE approved group of companies or performers.

It's all moot though. The CHIKARA game is basically what most people who aren't fans of the WWE 2k series are looking for... and if not, Fire Pro World is filling another big void in the market.

I'm really hoping that 2K does follow through with something though, and that it isn't WWE licensed. When they're motivated, they do really good work, and I'd love to be able to pick something up of theirs in the next couple of years. I might still grab WWE 2k20 at some point, if I find it somewhere for cheap and pre-owned. I just really don't want any of my money going into Vince McMahon's pockets anymore.

[apsham]

It wasn't 2K who said they wanted to do a non-WWE project - it was Yukes.

[Gabriel]

7 minutes ago, apsham said:

It wasn't 2K who said they wanted to do a non-WWE project - it was Yukes.

That is correct. Thanks for pointing that out.

The HCTP remake comments, I think are being taken out of context, as I believe that they were using it as an example of what they want to get back to. The season mode in that game is probably tied for my favorite with No Mercy... and I believe that the season mode, and the playability of HCTP is what they are referring to, as opposed to a full on remake.

[Adam]

Did they ever state that it would be "non-WWE"? I can't find anything saying that, just that it won't be related to the current WWE 2K series.

I agree that they're not just going to remake HCTP, the tweet was implying that this new project would be inspired by elements of it which seems reasonable, and pretty exciting.

[Gabriel]

2 minutes ago, Adam said:

Did they ever state that it would be "non-WWE"? I can't find anything saying that, just that it won't be related to the current WWE 2K series.

I agree that they're not just going to remake HCTP, the tweet was implying that this new project would be inspired by elements of it which seems reasonable, and pretty exciting.

Someone high ranking in Yukes made a comment about how it could be another WWE game, but that it could also not be, depending on what they come up with. Which leads me to believe that they are allowing this team to just be focused on making a good game. Once they have the skeleton of the game in place, it wouldn't shock me if they went to WWE with it and asked what they thought, but it sounds like Yukes just wants to do it regardless of whether or not it has any connection to WWE or any other real life promotion.

It all stemmed from a general unhappiness with how the developmental cycle for the 2K series and the partnership with WWE restricts them in regards to what they can do, and how they felt like they weren't giving the customers their money's worth because of the obstacles in place for an annual game that not only has a very quick time-table, but also the handcuffing of their creativity because there are specific things WWE will and won't allow... some things that have to be in the games even when the development team thinks that fans would prefer it without... etc.

[The Buscher]

I remember when the 2k partnership was announced in 2013.  I knew the game coming out that year wouldn't be much different because it was already in production, but I figured within a year or two the series would transform into something completely different.

Nope.  All this time later it's pretty much the same game.

[Owen]

I'm not sure how much change could be expected, but I feel like the main thing going into the 2K partnership was the graphical upgrade (although that was for sure helped by the upgrade in console generations). The gameplay itself isn't too different, aside from maybe some changes in AI, but then I don't really know what they should or could do to make it that different in terms of a positive change, tbh. They added a stronger career mode in this year's game as well as bringing back Showcase Mode.

I think 2K19's entry was quite a solid entry into the series compared to what we've seen previously, and there have been marked improvements when we compare that game to 2K14 or whatever... just maybe it took too long to get some of them. But then, games that are in constant production and are yearly releases are never going to change that much year from year, which is a shame but it's absolutely something that they can get away with because people are dedicated and so many buy each year's game. 2K17 and 2K18 weren't... really that good, but I think 2K19 had a lot more in terms of QoL improvements and I've definitely spent more time playing it than I've played the last few instalments, too.

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

I have to imagine 2K is trying to figure out how to make money off the online mode of a WWE game. Perhaps something similar to the mobile Super Card game. 

[Paton]

2 minutes ago, Ms. Canadian Destroyer said:

I have to imagine 2K is trying to figure out how to make money off the online mode of a WWE game. Perhaps something similar to the mobile Super Card game. 

Something similar to Ultimate Team on FIFA?

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

16 minutes ago, Paton said:

Something similar to Ultimate Team on FIFA?

Yeah, I just don't know exactly how to translate it to a WWE game. With FIFA or NBA or whatever, you're building a team to play against other online teams. Might be a bit harder to figure out how to "compete" with other online players with WWE 2K. 

A GM mode where you compete against other GMs could be fun. 

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

Can they do 10 in a ring yet? An online Survivor Series mode where you build the best team could be pretty sweet.