2K Sports has acted quickly to restore full functionality of NBA 2K14’s servers, as well as extending support overall.
As 2K has cleared up, older save data for NBA 2K14 was not really deleted when the game went online, but rendered inaccessible. The way the game worked, it required online check-ins to access that old data.
2K now pledges that NBA 2K games will receive 18 to 27 month support from release, in response to fan feedback. Prior to this, devs had been starting to cut down the time they had online support for these games, as each passing title gave devs more servers to deal with.
Of course, even if that is true, it does not take into account the needs of fans, some of whom are unable to buy a new NBA 2K game year after year. The whole ordeal brought back concerns about games becoming increasingly dependent on the online servers they use for multiplayer, as access to save data is not necessarily something that should be dependent on accessing those servers.
2K Sports did not make any mention of eliminating online check ins post support, but given their quick turnaround, it is something fans can make happen if the demand is there.
How long should AAA game companies keep online support for their games going? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.