Sony Strengthens eSports Drive by Making PS5 Official Console of NBA 2K League

@Arugula Exactly what I thought. I understand what they're doing, and it seems smart, but that's absolutely not what I care about.

As eSports become massive events, this is a smart move. Having the Playstation brand associated with competitive play could give them an edge with a certain audience.

@Arugula @Olmaz Took the words right out of my mouth. Financially, these are good moves. I get it. But these are not the kind of deals that reflect why I've been with PlayStation for so many years.

I suppose this means NBA2K22 will be $70 on PS5 and included with Gamepass on Xbox on release day. 😁

More of the Jim Ryan effect. 🙄

@RBMango Yeah, I’ve been here for the Uncharted’s, TLoU’s, The Resistance series, The Motorstorm series, HZD, The God of War series, Days Gone etc. I don’t give a crap about esports.

Cool!.... Soooooooo, can I buy one yet?

Again just like buying EVO, this is just a vanity purchase that serves nothing to PlayStation owners. All this does is marginally increase PS brand awareness which to me seems like such a low priority when there's far more pressing issues that need to be addressed.

@rjejr Oof. Too soon. Hahaha!!!

@rjejr I'm willing to bet Microsoft wants to make XGP the one-stop shop for all sports games in the future. They have the resources to do it.

Cool I guess, esport seems a good place for sony to invest.

@truerbluer This is absolutely playing into the new strategy of turning PlayStation into a global brand. It will be financially successful, but any sense of niche or quirkiness that's defined PlayStation over the years will be slowly scrubbed away.

Microsoft is buying entire publishers and studios and eyeing apps like Discord, all of which they can and will lock down to their platform.

Meanwhile Sony is investing in fighting game tournaments and eSports leagues where the games being played are and will remain multiplatform anyway! So how exactly does this benefit PS owners?

@truerbluer
But you realise that MS is one of the wealthiest companies on the planet right? Very few companies could go toe to toe financially, and none that are seriously in the gaming market. If you want Sony to compete financially then you are delusional. They have to play smart and make the most of what they have by creating something different (VR)

@thefourfoldroot I get that but all of Microsoft's purchases benefit their ecosystem and owners with added features and exclusives only for their platform, how does investing in eSports leagues and tournaments benefit PlayStation users in any way?

I'm not saying Sony needs to do exactly as Microsoft and buy big established companies; they clearly don't have the money for that. But they should at least take a grassroots approach to build new internal studios and poach talent just like Microsoft's The Initiative did when they started up.

@RBMango "XGP the one-stop shop for all sports games"

Yearly sports games - Show, Madden, FIFA, NBA, maybe NHL and WWE - do lend themselves well to the rental subscription format w/ new games every year. If companies are willing to rent their games rather than sell them, well those are the games to do it with. I don't think they have a lot of trade-in value anyway.

@B_Lindz Your words say "too soon", but your avatar says "good on ya,. mate". 😎

@truerbluer
But they always have developed studios, along with strategic acquisitions. I care nothing for esports, but if it makes Sony games division more profitable through increased marketing and such then that can only be good for PlayStation users surely?

Great marketing move Sony! keep them coming!

The one thing I might be sad to see go now Sony has control of EVO is probably Smash

Smash was always one of two or three games I'd ALWAYS tune into EVO to see. Competitive Smash in general is so exhilirating to watch and the only other fighting games that come even close to that kind of spectacle imo are the ArcSys stuff

My problem with eSports and sports in general is that the fun is sapped out of it as it appears it is all about money and winning and no one likes to lose. If I play multiplayer games, which isn't often, I don't care if I lose and am happy just running around getting blown to pieces. My K/D is terrible but I don't care. I am not competitive at all. If you ever see me online, make sure you aren't on my team unless you also don't mind losing.

It’s crazy to see so many say they don’t care about these things yet they’re so upset over them. Like, if you’re a PS player because of Uncharted, God Of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn, etc. and you’re still getting all of those then why are you all so upset about the things you supposedly care nothing about?

I'm interested to see if they can make a psvr2 title become esport. Players who's athleticism and physicality could do a lot for casual viewers who just see events as people just playing games.

I've just bought pga tour 2k21 for £16.49, so if they do an esport tourney for that, I'm in!

@truerbluer totally agree. They should be buying smaller established studios and build them into AAA over time. I.e Ember Labs, Young Horses, Hello Games, housemarque

Yes!Yes!Yes!

I´m gonna buy a PS5 and spend money on PSN because PS5 is the official console of NBA 2K League not because it has studios pumping out games.