It may be the new year but it’s interesting to look back at 2019 and see which games raked in the most success. For instance, on the PlayStation Store in the United States, Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was the most downloaded title. Europe told a different story – it was Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 5 which was the most downloaded title on the PlayStation Store.

This isn’t too surprising. After all, according to UK physical charts, Grand Theft Auto 5 was the best-selling game of the past decade in the region. Meanwhile, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare crossed $1 billion in worldwide sell-through as of December 2019. What is interesting is to see the differences between both charts.

NBA 2K19 ranked in third place, higher than NBA 2K20 which was at fifth in the US. Red Dead Redemption 2 didn’t figure in the US top ten but it came in at sixth for Europe. One thing is for sure though – Minecraft is fairly popular in both regions as the PS4 Edition ranked in second and third for the US and Europe respectively. Check out the full top tens for both below.

PlayStation Store – Most Downloaded Games of 2019 (US)

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2. Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition
3. NBA 2K19
4. Grand Theft Auto 5
5. NBA 2K20
6. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
7. Madden NFL 20
8. Star Wars Battlefront 2
9. Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
10. Days Gone

PlayStation Store – Most Downloaded Games of 2019 (Europe)

1. Grand Theft Auto 5
2. EA Sports FIFA 20
3. Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
5. Rainbow Six Siege
6. Red Dead Redemption 2
7. The Forest
8. Rocket League
9. EA Sports UFC 3
10. Crash Team Racing

As digital sales and subscription services are on the rise, it’s always interesting to see the increasing disconnect between digital and traditional physical sales. A good example of that is June’s digital sales for the US and EU PlayStation Stores.

The EU one is about what you expect. The much anticipated Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled topped that chart there along with the ever present Grand Theft Auto V and Minecraft. It’s pretty much in line with physical sales that we’re aware of.

But the US store is a different story as the number 1 game of the month was the very unexpected NBA 2K19. Crash had to settle for fifth place there (though GTAV and Minecraft stayed roughly the same). It seems almost random, but there was a mega sale on the game in the US where it was discounted to $2.99. Just goes to show how much something like that can impact digital charts in a way that won’t reflect retail sales. The entire list of both US and EU stores are below.

US PlayStation Store June

1. NBA 2K19
2. Marvel’s Spider-Man
3. Grand Theft Auto V
4. Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition
5. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
6. Detroit: Become Human
7. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
8. DayZ
9. God of War
10. Days Gone

EU PlayStation Store June

1. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
2. Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition
3. Grand Theft Auto V
4. Marvel’s Spider-Man
5. FIFA 19
6. DayZ
7. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
8. The Forest
9. God of War
10. Detroit: Become Human

If you needed any more evidence on just how well the video gaming industry as a whole is doing, no matter how much certain quarters of the video games fanbase may want to get into pointless arguments about who’s “winning” and who’s not, the NPD Group’s newest report is just the thing for you.

In Q3 2018 (I.e., from July to September), customers spent a staggering $9.1 billion on video games in the US. The success is attributed to games such as Fortnite, Madden NFL 19, NBA 2K19, and of course, Spider-Man.

Hardware and accessory sales also saw growth, and according to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella, this increased spending bodes very well for spending on video games come the Holiday quarter this year (which we are right in the middle of right now, as a matter of fact).

“The video game market in the U.S. continues to thrive with compelling gaming content expanding the market, driving higher spending of hardware, accessory, and software,” said Mat Piscatella, games industry analyst at The NPD Group, in a statement sent to GamesBeat. “And with the sales strength of recent releases such as Marvel’s Spider-Man and NBA 2K19, combined with cross-platform titles such as Fortnite, there appears to be no slowing down as we head into the final stretch of the holiday shopping season.”

On the whole, it’s great that, in spite of not too uncommon assertions decrying console gaming, and proclaiming it was at an end, the market seems to be doing just fine now, with three healthy consoles, and a whole lot of great games for everyone to enjoy.

Google Express is like an online retail storefront operated by Google. While it has some good deals a lot of times, you would be excused for not having heard about it before. However, these newest deals that they are offering today should certainly put it on your radar.

Let’s start with the Switch—you can get one for $239 on Google Express. That’s a good, cheap price for it, given that a Switch is typically $300. It also means that you can snag yourself a game on top of the console, for the same price a Switch alone would usually be.

Arguably the better deal is the one on the Xbox One X—that, plus Red Dead Redemption 2 and NBA 2K19, can be had for just $370 on Google Express right now. To be clear—an Xbox One X alone is usually $500. Red Dead and NBA are $60 each. This is an insane deal, and if you have even the slightest of interest in the system, now’s the time to jump on it.

Sadly, they are only available at this price in the United States, and only for today. So not all of you can get these—but if you can, then I encourage you to do so.

NBA 2K19 released almost a month ago, and it’s definitely an improvement for the series, as probably the best basketball game out there currently. With that being said, it looks like the developers still have some issues to address, because players have been experiencing multiple problems due to a server slowdown. On their part, the devs have stated that they are working on these issues.

Recently, a large patch, v 1.03, was released for the game, bringing about quite a lot of fixes and improvements, but many players reported experiencing issues after the release of this patch. Over on Reddit, a support staff member stated that these problems are not likely to be related to the recent patch, and also listed out some of these problems that players have been experiencing. This includes being unable to join friends, being disconnected from games, being unable to purchase VC, and more. Although these issues were discussed two days ago, it looks like some of these problems were still being faced by some players even as of October 1.On the plus side, the issues have stabilized for some players at least.

This is certainly not a good look for the developers, so hopefully, they address these issues as quickly as possible. NBA 2K19 is currently available for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

The NBA 2K series is without a shadow of doubt the leading basketball franchise in the market right now. However, EA’s NBA Live series is apparently under going some sort of a renaissance. This year’s iteration of the two franchises was a close fight as NBA 2K19 just managed to edge out NBA Live 19 in certain gameplay mechanics. However, the NBA 2K series seems to be following a downward trend whereas the Live series seems to be getting better with each new entry.

This year was close not only in terms of gameplay but also in terms of visual fidelity and overall smoothness in gameplay. To begin with, NBA Live 19 has overall better animations compared to its counterpart. This advantage is not immediately apparent but is pretty noticeable in close-up replays. Players move, jump and react in a more realistic manner in NBA Live 19 compared to NBA 2K 19. This means that the overall gameplay feels quite smooth in NBA Live 19, although just by a bit.

Next up is the character models and NBA 2K19 takes the lead here with noticeable differences. The character models in the 2K series use better skin shaders and are more closely aligned to their real life counterparts. Don’t get us wrong, the character models in NBA Live 19 when viewed in isolation aren’t bad but NBA 2K19 has the advantage here with better sweat and tress effects.

And finally, we compare NPC across both games and although this may be an insignificant element of the game, it does add to the overall atmosphere and presentation. And once again NBA 2K19 takes the charhe here with slightly better models but this is something you would need to zoom in to observe.

So overall, NBA 2K19 takes the lead here but that may be fading in the future as NBA Live 19 is slowly but surely catching up.

If you’re ready, then let’s get started!

TIPS AND TRICKS

Try Different Camera Perspectives

The game’s default camera perspective lets you view the action from the side but if you feel that this doesn’t suit you, you can opt for a different setting. You can go to the settings and try out different camera settings to find the one that you find most comfortable to play with.

Master The New Shot Meter

This game brings a new shot meter which wasn’t there in previous entries in the series. This time around, you will be able to see a meter next to the player and to ge tthe best shot possible, you should let go of the ball when the meter is the highest.

Use Bounce Passes

There are lots of different kinds of passes in the game that will be of use in different situations. However, each of them carries some risks too. The best pass to use early on and which comes with low risk is the bounce pass, so make sure you use it when you need to pass the ball to a nearby player.

Wait For An Opening

Don’t always go for shots if it’s going to  end up with you losing possession for the ball. Sometimes, the best tactic will be to  just pass the ball to nearby teammates and then wait for an opening  so that you can get an easier shot.

Be Careful With The Turbo Button

Don’t always use the Turbo button as it will leave your players exhausted and it also prevents you from making those subtle plays that are needed to score points. Use it only when absolutely necessary and at other times, moving at normal speed is good enough.

Start With A Bad Team

Apart from the great feeling of bringing the underdog team to victory, it’s also great to start with a not-so-great team simply because it will guarantee you a greater amount of play time which will lead to greater pay, and so on.

Indicators Show Whom To Defend Against

On most difficulties, the game will provide visual aides which will show you which player you’re supposed to focus on when playing defense. Pay attention to these indicators to play exactly what’s required of your player’s position in the team.

MyTEAM

To start off myTeam mode, you will have to select a team and once you do and you will get their uniforms, stadium card, and their star player. The first thing  you should do once  you select your team is head over to Freestyle  and you should then practice with your star players. Once you get used to your star players, you should then move to the Single Player tab and then select NBA domination. This will then allow you to go up against different teams and each victory will allow you to gain Virtual Currency (VC). You should also try out some of the other game modes in the Single Player tab, as these will also allow you to earn some VC quickly.

MyCAREER GUIDE

The career mode in this game is the most popular mode, and there are a lot of different things to learn here. If you’re new to the series, this mode may seem very complex, so this section will definitely be useful to you.

The first thing you should do is create a player who is balanced and whose skills suit the position which he has to play. You should then pick a position that best suits your play style and once you do so, you will have to pick the primary and secondary skills for the player. Picking a particular skill will increase or decrease the maximum attribute  cap depending on what skill you picked. Of course, feel free to experiment, but at the same time, you should try and pick those skills that are suitable for a particular position. You should also keep in mind that positions will also affect the caps for attributes. You should also make sure the player has the suitable body type for the position he is going to play in as this will have an impact on his ability as well.

You can find below a list of the different skills to pick for the different positions.

Shooting Guard

• Driving and Finishing
• 3Pt Shooter
• Shot Creating
• Defender

Point Guard

• Passing and Ball Handling
• 3Pt Shooter
• Shot Creating
• Driving and Finishing

Small Forward

• Defender
• 3Pt Shooter
• Driving and Finishing

Center

• Defender
• Rebounder
• Post Scorer

Power Forward

• Driving and Finishing
• Defender
• Rebounder Post Scorer

Getting A Good Teammate Grade

When playing offense, you should focus on hitting the gym and also on getting a good teammate score. Try not to dominate the court, and stick to your  position. This is because messing up can lead to you getting a lower teammate  score. Try and learn the play style of each player and then only take open shots. You should also learn how to play as a part of the team and try to assist your teammates with  screens whenever possible. Another important thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t over-dribble as this will lead to a turnover for sure. When a turnover is caused, you should immediately run  back to defend against the opposing team.

When on defense, the goal is to keep the opposing team from scoring whenever possible. Make use of locking on as this will you to stick to a player. However, don’t always do this because it won’t be useful in some situations. Any good defensive move such as blocking a shot or stealing the  ball will boost your  teammate  grade.

HOW TO REACH LEVEL 99 AND UPGRADE PLAYERS

One of the first things you should focus on once you have a proper team and players is to try and earn Virtual Currency. You can earn the double the amount of VC that you earn by playing exhibition matches on Hall of Fame difficulty.

Focus on improving your players’ relevant attributes and set the match length to 12 minutes so that you will have more time to make an impact on the game. Since you will only be earning XP for Pro difficulty or higher, you will need this extra time. You should focus on earning badges in matches, and performing good plays is what will earn you the badges that you need. Just play according to your position and you will do well enough.

HOW TO UNLOCK BADGES

You will have to first meet certain requirements to unlock a badge and once you do so, you will gain access to some new skills.

Skill Badges

Skill Badges are divided into different categories. Once you first  unlock a badge, they will be set in the bronze tier and you can then work on getting them to a higher tier. You can find below all of the skill badges in the game.

Playmaking Badges

• Flashy Passer: You can unlock this badge by executing 50  flash passes in a season. This badge will improve your  passing to receivers.
• Dimer: You can unlock this bade by getting 300 assists in a season, and getting it will make you an elite passer.
• Pick and Roll Maestro: You can unlock the badge by calling 150 screens in a season. Getting the badge increases accuracy of passes and shooting from screens when going off a pick and roll.
• Anklebreaker: You can unlock this badge by getting  200 Double Move leading to a score in a single season. This badge will make you ankle break an opponent when dribbling.

Inside Scorer Badges

• Putback King: You can unlock this badge by scoring multiple putbacks. Getting it will improve awareness around the ball following an offensive rebound.
• Drop Stepper: You can unlock this badge by performing 30 drop step moves. This will improve your drop step in the post.
• Tear Dropper: You can unlock this badge by getting 50 floaters in a season. This will improve your runners and floaters.
• Pick and Roller: You can unlock this badge by performing 100 pick and rolls in a season. Getting  it will improve awareness during a pick and roll of the roller.
• Dream like up and under: Unlock this badge by attempting 50 up and under shots in a season. Getting the badge will improve this move.
• Relentless Finisher: Unlock this badge by attempting 75 contact layups. Getting the badge will make physical hits on contact shot impact your energy less.

Rebounding Badge

Hustle Rebounder: Unlock this badge by getting 70 offensive and 250 defensive rebounds. Getting the badge increases aggressiveness to get rebounds.

Outside Scorer Badges

• Limitless Range: Unlock this badge by hitting 50 long range shots from before the hash mark. This improves deep three percentage.
• Corner Specialist: You can unlock this badge by getting 25 3Pt shots in a single season. Improves 3 point shooting from the corner.
• Catch and Shoot: Catch and shoot 100 times successfully in a single season to unlock this badge.
• Difficult Shots: Unlock this badge by getting 100-200 pull and hop shots that are contested. Getting this badge will improve tough shots off dribble percentage.
• Tireless Scorer: Unlock this badge by  making 200 shot attempts  when the energy bar is red. This will improve how effective you are when a high amount of energy is spent.
• Deep Range Deadeye: When the ball is contested, hit 100 deep range shots to get this badge. This will improve deep range shot percentage.
• Pick and Popper: Unlock this badge by scoring 200 times as the pick and pop man. This will improve pick and pop receiving capacity.

Atheleticism Badges

• Brick Wall: Unlock this badge by executing 100 screens in a season. Getting the badge improves your chance to set an effective screen.
• Lot city finisher: Unlock the badge by performing 15 successful lobs in a single season. This will improve your accuracy with an alley-oop.
• One man fast break: Unlock this badge by scoring 100 times on a fast break in a single season. This will make you better when performing a fast break.
• Bruiser: This badge will cause your player’s physicality to drain the energy of the opponent.
• Posterizer: You can unlock this badge by making 15 contact dunks in a single season. Getting the badge caused you to dunk  at a higher rate over defenders.

Defense Badges

• Rim Protector:  Increases defensive awareness when around the rim.
• Charge Card: You can unlock this badge by taking seven charges. This will make you more effective at taking charges.
• Pick Pocket: Unlock this badge by causing a loose ball 50 times. This improves your ability to steal the ball from the ball handler.
• Chase down Artist: This badge improves your ability to transition when defending and to stop fast breaks.
• Pick Dodger: This badge is unlocked by using turbo to get around screens. The badge will improve your ability to get through screens.
• Defensive Stopper: Unlock this badge by landing multiple good shot defense along with good transition defense and stop fast break. This increases the effectiveness of offensive skills during a defensive matchup.

Personality Badges

You can find below all of the personality badges that can be earned in the game.

• Wildcard: It is possible for the player to be vastly inconsistent.
• Alpha Dog: Unlock the badge by being the team’s highest rated player. This will improve overall leadership.
• Hardened: Unlock this badge by getting an average of 80 percent of team’s overall minutes over 20 straight games. The badge ensures you don’t lose much skill when injured/fatigued.
• Keep it Real: This makes the player handle criticism well and makes him realistic about his goals.
• Low Ego: The player will be more like to value team success over that of the self.
• Unpredictable: The player will perform unpredictable movements.
• Spark Plug: Unlock the badge by averaging at least 7 PPG over six games. This badge will make the player more likely to be better when coming off the bench.
• Championship DNA: Unlock  this badge by winning a championship. Makes you play better in playoffs, and respond better to double teams.
• Reserved: The player does not get along well with teammates.
• Enforcer: Unlock this badge by making 10 hard and non-flagrant fouls in a single season. This improves your physicality.
• Microwave: Unlock the badge by making  a player hot for 7 straight games. This makes your player heat up faster than other players.
• Laid Back: The player is more laid back in both  his personality and game plan.
• All time Great:  The player is working towards becoming an all time great in NBA.
• Friendly: The player is liked by his teammates.
• Floor General: Unlock this badge by averaging  5 assists per  game for 30 games. Improves performance of entire team when you are on the court.
• Clutch Performer: Greater chance to improve in big games.
• Defensive Anchor: Unlock this badge by raising defender discipline to 18 and playing 30 games. This badge helps to improve teammates’ awareness and defensive skill.
• Expressive: The player displays a wide range of emotions  during celebrations.
• Legendary Work Ethic: The player works the hardest.
• Pat my back: The player feels pride when he  is supported by his teammates and coach.

FAST AND EASY VIRTUAL CURRENCY (VC)

Note: Please use the following cheats at your own discretion. Using cheats online or offline may lead to an immediate ban. GamingBolt or its staff members are not responsible for any problems arising due to their use.

You can use the videos below to make use of a glitch and quickly earn Virtual Currency – VC. However, it’s likely that the developers will quickly patch the glitch, so make sure you use it as soon as possible.

ACHIEVEMENTS/TROPHIES GUIDE

Makin’ Adjustments: Make an on-the-fly defensive coaching adjustment during a game.

The rest is History: Win a ‘Player Control’ game using a Historic player.

Take Over: Activate your MyPLAYER’s Takeover meter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9hA8PwA4yQ

Draft, Schmaft: Win the Rookie of the Year award in MyCAREER.

Badge of Extreme Honor: Level up a badge to Gold in MyCAREER.

Perfection: Win all 10 games of ‘Greatest of All-Time’ in Play Now Online.

Capped out: Max out all of your badges in MyCAREER.

Rat-A-Tat-Tat: Get a tattoo from the Tattoo Shop in MyCAREER.

I Spy Spalding: Find the Spalding IQ equipment in the team practice facility in MyCAREER.

My House, My Rules: Win a game of Strikeout in your MyCOURT in MyCAREER.

A Little Something Extra: Complete a Daily Bonus in MyCAREER.

Marathon Man: Run 26.2 miles in the Neighborhood in MyCAREER.

Unleash Chaos: Have two consecutive breakout games in the NBA in MyCAREER.

Ride it where I like it: Ride a Bike in the Neighborhood in MyCAREER.

Rattle On: Play a game in the Cages in the Neighborhood in MyCAREER.

Two Bits: Get a haircut from the Barber Shop in MyCAREER.

Gimme a Boost: Purchase a skill boost at the Newsstand in MyCAREER.

Inception: Play a game of NBA 2K19 against a friend in your MyCOURT.

Get your feet wet: Complete a Jordan Rec Center game.

Served Cold: Beat Andrew in the Summer League in MyGM. (Secret)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkpHmvq0sJM

We the People: Join or Own a Crew.

Tex, we have a problem: The media caught wind of the leaked information in MyGM. (Secret)

A new beginning: Completed the story, unlocked the best ending and became part owner with Tex in MyGM. (Secret)

Drop it!: Earn a Token in Triple Threat Online in MyTEAM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HfxcveSkh0

Undefeated: Go undefeated in Unlimited in MyTEAM.

More loot: User your Tokens to acquire a player in MyTEAM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HfxcveSkh0

Thrill by association: Create or join a MyLEAGUE Online league.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50Qb6VGre-A

Never tell me the odds: Acquire a Numbered Player in MyTEAM.

Infinity: Collect one of each Gem Color Player Card in MyTEAM.

G.O.A.T: Reach G.O.A.T. Collector Level in MyTEAM.

Double Trouble: Play a game with two players who form a duo in MyTEAM.

More Work?: Complete 3 Daily Trials in a single day in MyTEAM.

Great kid, Don’t get cocky: Defeat a division in Triple Threat in MyTEAM.

My precious: Acquire a Signature Player in MyTEAM.

Puts the fly in on-the-fly: Modify a team using the Lineup menu in MyLEAGUE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws7kL9ETtfs

We need some stinking badges: Use the Mentor / Mentee system to help a player learn a badge in MyLEAGUE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHdeUxRx_bU

No ‘I’ in Team: Join or Own a 2K Pro-Am Team.

On the rise: Win as a member of a Pro-Level or higher 2K Pro-Am team

Didn’t mean no harm, George: The leak was ousted before the scouting report was revealed in MyGM. (Secret)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHs1hTfBb64

Money, whenever you need it: Tested out the jerseys with the street ballers in MyGM. (Secret)

The 5 D’s: Win a round of Dodgeball in the Neighborhood in MyCAREER.

Grindin’ Away: Achieve an overall rating of 90 in MyCAREER.

You been working out?: Use every piece of gym equipment in MyCAREER.

You do know Jack: Correctly answer a trivia question in the Neighborhood in MyCAREER.

Badge of Honor: Earn a badge in MyCAREER.

My Every Day Player: Become a starter in the NBA in MyCAREER.

Locked In: Earn a Call-Up after winning a ‘Player Control’ game in Play Now Online

My All-Star: Be named an NBA All-Star in MyCAREER.

Puttin’ in work: Complete a full-team practice in MyCAREER.

Green Light: Get 5 Green Release makes in a single game.

The best example of this forward momentum can be seen in this year’s vastly revised MyCareer mode. This story-driven campaign puts you in the shoes of a fairly stubborn but relatable main character looking to make it big. The story clocks in at an underwhelming 5-7 hours, but it boasts a nice collection of RPG-esque choices that help you craft a personalized journey. Not all of these choices seem to actually change anything major in the long-term, but they never feel superfluous or meaningless to your character’s story.

"For those seeking that casual approach with some of the management built in, MyGM continues to be hit or miss depending entirely on your preferences for the mode."

You can spend real money on progression, but I never felt like the game was punishing me for not doing so. There’s more to do now than ever, so currency flows in quickly. This is made even easier thanks to an unquestionably superior neighborhood that feels laid out more efficiently compared to last year’s vague and inconvenient design. Praise be to 2K Games for not making us walk around for ages searching out the courts this go-around. This better progression system and more refined navigation round out a stellar presentation.

And presentation is really what MyCareer is all about. What works best about the mode is simply its attention to detail. A Gatorade rep visited me and knocked me down a few pegs, but I spent the majority of the meeting admiring the level of care given to his dialogue, voice acting, and mannerisms. He didn’t feel like a generic NPC – he came across as a real person. This isn’t an isolated example either, with both voice acting and character design being impeccable around the board.

Of course, MyCareer is only one piece of the 2K19 experience, but it feels like its strongest among the core pillars. MyLeague is always a wonderful starting point for those seeking to really delve into the micromanagement of a full-fledged basketball franchise and all the customization that comes with it, but I definitely lean more towards more accessible modes like 2K19’s fun Blacktop mode. It’s a street mode with multiple pairing options, and I really enjoyed some one-on-ones using beloved NBA icons. It’s not the game’s best mode, but it helps give casual players something new to kick back with.

For those seeking that casual approach with some of the management built in, MyGM continues to be hit or miss depending entirely on your preferences for the mode. The story option is a bunch of text boxes about as much fun to read through as an instruction book on an industrial floor buffer. I opted to mess around with the mode that foregoes any type of narrative and found that a bit more tolerable, but it’s still just a little too much trouble for my taste.

"It takes a downright obnoxious amount of time to earn in-game currency for card packs, and these extreme type of pay-to-win microtransactions have no place in a full-priced game."

Unfortunately, this year’s entry delves ever deeper into a microtransaction hell of card collecting with MyTeam. The prices for these virtual items are offensively high with some packs reaching over $20. I didn’t actually invest in any of this on principle, but I spent enough time investigating to understand the aggravating pay-to-win concepts at work. Attempting to take on anyone with a more advanced deck would likely place you at a significant disadvantage; one that I’m simply not willing to contend with or give in to when other modes are devoid of such ridiculous elements. It takes a downright obnoxious amount of time to earn in-game currency for card packs, and these extreme type of pay-to-win microtransactions have no place in a full-priced game.

Beyond this, however, 2K19 continues to impress with its expected gameplay enhancements. A new Takeover mechanic makes its way into this year’s game, giving players the opportunity to play well and use that momentum to raise their attributes within distinct categories. It’s an extremely interesting gameplay element unlike anything I’ve seen in modern sports games that made me think more carefully about my choices to ensure I didn’t adversely affect myself with poor performance, as bad playing can hurt those same attributes.

AI sees a notable change this year as well, with opponent defense getting a welcomed buff. While I’m no basketball veteran, I typically had little trouble outsmarting the games fairly often in the past, yet I certainly found it harder than usual to push towards the hoop in 2K19.

Additionally, button spam won’t fly anymore. 2K Games is really pushing its affection for realism this year and forcing players to manually control defense moves that were previous less hands-on. I found it irritating at first, but after an hour or two with the game, I was more engrossed in each engagement because of it. With a nice boost to accuracy and seemingly tighter controls this year as well, everything about the on-court experience feels drastically improved.

"Commentary has always been something 2K19 does really well compared to its competition, and this year isn’t any different. The real star here is the intricately-designed interviews and pre-game shows that lend a credibility to the entire on-court experience unlike any other game in the genre."

If I had any major complaint, however, it’d be leveraged at 2K19’s online multiplayer. I often experienced total lockups where I lost control for a while, and on at least two occasions I was kicked from the game entirely. Even worse, there’s a noticeable input lag that frequently caused me to fumble my timing in some truly tense moments where I was finally mounting my comeback against (admittedly better) online players. The polish that’s been added to the gameplay and AI feel somewhat undermined by this quirk when playing online, which is a real shame considering that’s where the bulk of some truly challenging gameplay comes from.

Commentary has always been something 2K19 does really well compared to its competition, and this year isn’t any different. The real star here is the intricately-designed interviews and pre-game shows that lend a credibility to the entire on-court experience unlike any other game in the genre. Each match-up feels wholly unique, and while commentary is obviously recycled, it’s spruced up with enough naturally-delivered bits of trivia and detailed play-by-play to never make me annoyed by it. 2K has injected a true love of the sport into every ounce of their audio design.

This love isn’t as well translated to visual fidelity, however. Character models and faces are forever plagued by an awkward and same-y design that does a poor job of differentiating individual players. The courts and crowd aesthetics are modeled well enough though, and I certainly never felt appalled by anything on the screen. If anything, the below-average models are so overshadowed by the exceptional moment-to-moment gameplay that they become entirely secondary. I’d love to see 2K put a little more effort into the visuals next year, but there’s nothing here that overtly offends the eyes.

2K Games seems intent on ensuring that they only press forward and never settle for “good enough”. Because of that dedication to quality, 2K19 is still the reigning champ and comes strong with the best single player experience in basketball.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox One.

Though sales dropped by 42 percent from its first week, Insomniac’s Spider-Man continues to sell incredibly well in the UK per the latest Gfk Chart-Track data. You’ll recall that the open world title based on the beloved Marvel property became the fastest selling title in the region when it debuted on September 7th for PS4.

What’s interesting is how well Spider-Man is performing despite both Shadow of the Tomb Raider and NBA 2K19 recently releasing. As per GamesIndustry.biz, Shadow of the Tomb Raider physical sales are down 70 percent compared to Tomb Raider (2013). However, overall sales are 25 percent higher than Rise of the Tomb Raider, perhaps in part due to the multi-platform release this time around.

NBA 2K19 saw roughly similar sales to NBA 2K18, with the majority of sales (65 percent) happening on PS4. Xbox One saw 33 percent of sales, while Nintendo Switch accounted for just 2 percent. The remainder of the top ten for the week included Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Grand Theft Auto 5, F1 2019, The Elder Scrolls Online, LEGO The Incredibles, and Super Mario Odyssey.

Microtransactions in full priced AAA games have come under fire as of late; it’s bad enough that they’re present in any full priced product to begin with at all, but egregious implementation that relies on almost abusive monetization practices, such as in Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and NBA 2K, has caught flak especially over the last year or so.

Star Wars: Battlefront 2 course corrected in terms of microtransactions, and EA has, at least for now, adopted a docile, conciliatory attitude in public regarding them. Not 2K, however. Speaking to Trusted Reviews, Rob Jones, senior producer on the game, defended the implementation of the in-game currency VC, saying that microtransactions are an “unfortunate reality” in today’s gaming landscape.

“VC is an unfortunate reality of modern gaming,” he said. “Every game, at some point, in some way has currency and they’re trying to get additional revenue from each player that plays the game. You know, the question has to be when does it feel like it’s a straight money grab versus when does it feel like it’s value added, right?

“We know nowadays that most people don’t have the patience to work their way to the top. They just wanna be there right away. So, you know, we look at it as, oh it’s an opportunity for us to allow you to skip the grind, but then if the grind is too long, like some people felt last year, they’re gonna sit there and they’re gonna go ‘well, you knew the grind was too long to begin with.”

2K, I’m going to be real with you here for a minute, okay? If you’ve designed “the grind” in your game such that players have to pay you to not play your game, maybe, just maybe, you’ve gone wrong somewhere with how you’ve approached designing your game. Just some food for thought. Consider this free advice, I won’t lock it away behind a made up currency like VC.

It’s especially a shame, because the actual core game in NBA 2K is great- it’s just with these microtransactions that they fumble. As the success of single player games have shown us, however, no, it is not necessary for a game to have microtransactions in today’s day and age for it to do well.

NBA 2K19 launches for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on September 11.