MLB 2K6 freezing bug drives ballers batty
Just released MLB 2K6 is batting .000 with angry baseball fans due to a freezing bug that literally strikes you out of game. Already tagged by reviewers as an uninspired port of the Xbox version with minor graphical improvements, the title is now being grand slammed in the 2KSports forums for product testing that failed to cover the plate. Here's a typical post minus the expletives:
I mean not to be rude, but I paid hard-earned Money for this game ($60) and not to mention the system ($400) just to have it freeze-up. In my version of the freeze happens after striking someone out. It doesn't happen after every strike-out, but when it does my screen goes all black and the only way to get a picture back on my screen is to completely restart my system.
Perhaps aware that opening the season with a broken game isn't the best way pitch your newly exclusive Major League Baseball license, 2KSports has issued an official response with the usual mumbled apology and promise of a fix.
Folks, we've been Charlie hustled. This problem was not mentioned in any of the reviews that I read. Now we're supposed to sit on the bench and wait for a patch. According to one forum poster, the issue is related to the 360 hard drive and can be worked around by using a memory card. But people paid $60 to hit home runs, not half-assed hardware solutions. (He also says the same bug was present in NBA and NHL 2K6).
I loved MLB 2K5 like Barry Bonds loves shrunken nads, but so far 2KSport's Xbox 360 efforts have been one of the console's most disappointing foul balls. No company is more guilty of slapping some polygon paint on a port, rushing it out the door, and calling it next-gen. Now that their quality control has swung and missed, it may be time to send this developer back to the minors until they figure out what we demand out of a next-gen sports game, particularly an exclusive license. Three games, three strikes.
On the plus side, freezing time may be the only way to keep the Phillies from sucking this year.
[Thanks JB]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Cage @ Apr 13th 2006 8:07PM
This is why diehard sports gamers like myself always depend on EA. Its too bad they have exclusive rights. Never liked 2K...its all graphics.
Richard Lawler @ Apr 13th 2006 8:42PM
That guy on the 2ksports forums can't spell to save his life or use caps lock tough, lol.
and I haven't had any such freezing problem with NBA 2K6. MLB definitely has an issue, but if it had been present in NBA and NHL don't you think we would have heard about it by now?
nojok3 @ Apr 13th 2006 9:49PM
There were issues with NBA 2k6, NHL 2k6 and College Hoops 2k6 if you played in both games. College Hoops requires you to delete all of your NBA 2k6 saves (many had to reformat hard drive) just in order to play online. People are tired with 2ksports. NHL 2k6, NBA 2k6, College Hoops, MLB and Oblivion are all made by 2ksports and are the only ones with glitches for the 360.
The freezing isn't after strikeouts, but after almost every inning. Because of lack of help from the actual company, the community has been trying out our own testing.
Its insulting, like they never even tried to test the game. The game also was designed to be played on an HDTV, and is nearly unreadable at the standard 4/3 (it has the widescreen black bars across it). To read most of the small text, you need to go widescreen to read some of the stuff, and that stretches the screen. Its the worst baseball game I have ever played
Dirk Dorkelson @ Apr 14th 2006 3:09AM
I can't believe this crap game is the only MLB game available for the 360. I'm a huge baseball fan (baseball games are the only sports games I'll play, though I've been tempted to pick up FN). I have owned older 2K (2004) and MVP (2005) versions for the Xbox. I'd just look each year to see which one got better reviews/sounded best suited to my style of play and pick it up. This year, however, thanks to MLB's boneheaded licensing move and M/soft's failure to produce a first-party title, there's only one game on the market for my favorite sport.
But rather than reward mediocrity by caving in and buying it, I won't be picking up a baseball game this year, which really makes me angry as a consumer.
Hopefully M/soft will produce a decent first party title for 2007 and 2K sports will actually make a game that doesn't look like a port of the PS2/Xbox version and feature crappy fielding controls and software coding issues.
Dirk Dorkelson @ Apr 14th 2006 3:14AM
Wait, Oblvion isn't made by 2K sports. It's not even made by 2K. It's made by Bethesda. 2K is the publisher. Also, I've played it about 30 hours and haven't run into much in the way of a glitch yet. Certainly not anything that sounds like it's on the level of the sports glitches you're talking about.
mietha CAG @ Apr 14th 2006 3:51AM
"Three games. Three strikes"? This is the fourth 2k 360 traditional sports game (NBA, MLB, College Hoops, and NHL). I've only played NBA so far, and quite enjoyed it, and I don't even really like basketball. I thought it was a well put together, great looking, great playing complete package. Unlike the cluster**** POS that is NBA live. It seems though that each 2k game is worse than the last and the achievements are for sure getting worse. I was looking forward to this game, now I won't even consider playing it until a patch is released, if one ever is.
SlyEcho @ Apr 14th 2006 4:29AM
Oblivion does have bugs. Mine hangs sometimes in loading screens after having played it for some time.
Some people have found memory leaks in the PC version, so that might have something to do with it. I hope they patch it soon...
David Hinkle @ Apr 14th 2006 9:00AM
It's hard being a fan of the losingest franchise in sports history. :(
ChiefMagua @ Apr 14th 2006 9:19AM
I own NBA2K6 and NHL2K6 and have experienced no "freezes" on either of them. However, until I reformatted the HDD on my 360 I could not finish an inning in MLB2K6 without a "freeze". After the reformat the game plays without problems and INMHO is quite fun to play.
Pixelantes Anonymous @ Apr 14th 2006 9:53AM
This problem is NOT limited to just MLB 2K6. The 360 version of NHL 2K6 is suffering from the same type of freezing problems and 2K Sports has not addressed the problem at all. There's no explanation, there're no patches, it's as if they buried their heads in the sand and are pretending there are no bugs.
The XBox version of WPT 2K6 has a long-standing bug with saving money on open table games, causing players regularly to lose all their winnings. Meanwhile when you lose your money, WPT 2K6 is always saving your total money correctly. This bug was patched once already, but it didn't fix the problem. 2K Sports, yet again, has failed to address the problem in any way after they released the first patch.
The real story here is 2K Sports' total lack of user support regarding serious problems with several of their titles. If you get a chance to write a followup story, ask 2K Sports what the f*** are they doing in regards to the problems with their other games. They've completely ignored all user complaints.
I'm sick and tired of paying to QA their products. It's getting completely ridiculous this year.
jexter @ Apr 14th 2006 10:17AM
Do what I did. Take the game back and exchange it for a new copy. Then take that sealed copy somewhere else and return it for something else like GRAW or Tomb Raider, this game is a piece of crap. I rather enjoyed the 3 games a made it through, but had to try 10 times to play those 3. Bull $%it
Ken @ Apr 14th 2006 10:40AM
CAG, I was so enamored with my baseball metaphors I forgot about College Hoops 2K6. No matter. It's the same deal: a direct port that's not worthy of the next-gen. The bugs are just icing on the crap cake.
There better be some massive improvements in the 2007 sports line-up (EA included) or I might go outside and play real sports instead of spending a bunch of money on their games.
Clayj @ Apr 14th 2006 11:17AM
#11 (jexter), many places you buy games from will now open, in the store, new product when you exchange old, defective product. Best Buy does this, for example. They do it specifically to stop what you proposed: To prevent you from returning the new product there, or anywhere else.
My advice: Just return the product to the store and tell them, "It's defective, they're ALL defective, I want a different product or my money back."
I traded in my NHL 2K6 a while back... my only 2K Sports product, and from what I've been reading, it was my LAST 2K Sports product. Say what you will about EA Sports, but their games look much nicer and they don't crash.
Jason @ Apr 14th 2006 12:18PM
Sounds like this developer is inept. Publishing a clearly faulty product with no support.
I def won't be buying a game from this company. My advice.. don't buy let them go bust.
MakD @ Apr 14th 2006 1:17PM
2k Sports sucks, their graphics are horrible, and their games are buggy (although that can be said for almost every 360 game out right now). College Hoops played fine for 2 weeks now it works fine up until the tipoff and wont ever fuckin tipoff, fuck 2k sports, im never buying a game from them, i got mlb 2k6 comin in the mail from gamefly because its the only freakin babseball game out to play and i love baseball, but i definitely will not be buyin it
Dirk Dorkelson @ Apr 14th 2006 3:05PM
#1, EA sports is lousy, too. Have you ever tried to play their titles online and not gotten frustrated by the constant cheating that goes on? I think I played MVP 2005 about eight times online, and four of those times were marred by my opponent constantly putting his modem on standby during pitches. Then, when you'd tell them to knock it off, they'd start accusing you of putting your modem on standby (even though all the hangups seemed to happen when I was batting.) You'd try complaining to EA, but the problem never got fixed. Only once did I actually get a win because my opponent was cheating.
And 2K's basketball games have generally always been better than EA. (Although I've decided after owning both companies' games that I'm just not a basketball video game person.)
Yeah, EA makes Madden, which I guess is cool if you like football, but their other products aren't that much better than 2K. And their online gaming quality control is horrendous.
DeddyL? @ Apr 14th 2006 3:30PM
I bet 2k will do nothing to fix this. They have no user support at all. F em. I used to dig their games but they pissed me off way too much.
jexter @ Apr 14th 2006 4:45PM
#13 Clayj - Wow, never seen them do that, smart on there part i guess. For what it's worth, it was Best Buy that i returned it to, go a new one (they did not open it on the spot) and returned it to Wal-Mart (the place all returns are 'good to go').
I told the manager that they are ALL defective and if i were to take this home it will not work and i'll be back for another copy....she just sort of looked at me and said "Well I guess your out of luck".
adam bernardo @ Apr 24th 2006 12:26PM
After reading all this negative stuff about 2K Sports and MLB2K6 I can appreciate that serious gamers are looking for a level of performance that is just not there yet.
Our expectations are high and we are often teased by the possibilities of what could and/or should be.
In spite if the issues surrounding MLB2K6, it is the best baseball game made to date, and it still needs work, especially the 360 version.
The closest game to sports perfection is EA's Madden, which has 17 plus years of evolution behind it. As refined as it is, EA is still nothing special when it comes to making other sports titles.
The gaming industry has come a long way and continues to improve, but each next generation step is a work in progress and unfortunately the gamer is forced to play a role in that process.