As the video gaming market continues climbing and going from strength to strength, it feels like some sectors are lagging or have been unable to keep the momentum they had, say, 15 or 20 years ago. Basketball games certainly fit into this category.
Although they’re still popular and command a large audience, they don’t generate the same excitement in the video gaming world as in the 1990s and early 2000s. However, is this just a belief intensified through a prism of nostalgia, or is there any truth to it? Let’s have a look.
The Strength Of Subsidiary Markets
There’s no disputing that the strength of underlying markets can give video games a considerable bump up, especially with a casual gaming audience. Basketball games do feature in eSports tournaments, but the might of other tournaments has eclipsed them, and if you measure up NBA 2K against the likes of Counter-Strike 2, the gap is enormous.Professional video gaming doesn’t just prop up the gaming title. It creates a greater incentive for gamers who want to turn gaming into their full-time job, knowing there’s a more significant potential for a more lucrative career path.
With more eyes and ears paying attention to CS2, it’s also fuelled the growth of underlying gambling markets, leading to more people betting on the competition and, again, causing a spike in interest. Betting on CS2 at Thunderpick mirrors any other traditional betting market; you can bet on the outcome of a tournament, an individual game, or which team will win by a specific number of points.
However, due to the popularity of the CS2 betting market, there are far more options than basketball games. While this isn’t the main factor, it’s one of many reasons why basketball fans believe the video gaming market is not growing at the same rate as other video games. The biggest CS2 tournaments of 2025 are set to sell out arenas, whereas NBA 2K tournaments are merely on the fringes of the multi-billion dollar sector. This lack of visibility is an issue.
A Lack Of Competition
It might sound biased to claim that games from 20 years ago are better, but ask any basketball fan if they preferred the likes of NBA Live 2005 to the current crop of 2K games. It’s hard to differentiate between the last few, and when you’re paying nearly $100 a pop, it can grow tiresome quickly.NBA 2K21 and the unskippable adverts did not go down well in the basketball gaming community. Ultimately, the lack of competition is causing an issue in video gaming—and this isn’t specific to basketball games, either.
Fifteen years ago, when Konami and Pro Evo were battling for dominance in the soccer gaming sector, it fuelled innovation, competitive spirit, and ingenious marketing ideas. However, since Konami lost ground and EA Sports grabbed hold of the sector, their monopoly has resulted in the same issues in basketball games.
One game that is hardly any different to the previous year, but ultimately, because there isn’t really any serious competition for either NBA 2K or FIFA (now known as EA Sports FC) - without this competition, it takes the edge away from the creative angle of the game, and developers take fewer risks. In the short to medium term, the gamer suffers. In the long run, the developer suffers when people eventually stop buying the games.
Overall Popularity Of Basketball
While games like NBA 2K are global releases, the popularity of NBA games stems largely from the American market. When the NBA is in a healthy state, the underlying markets benefit, too.It’s simple economics, really. In the 90s, the NBA was bouncing, and it was one of the most popular domestic US sports. Michael Jordan expanded the brand into an international audience with Space Jam.
The declining number of people watching the NBA in the US does not help the video gaming market. Although a world-class game can surpass any overarching element of the sport’s declining popularity, whether it is football, basketball, or boxing, a high-quality game can bypass it.
However, if a game is loosely thrown together, which many basketball video games over the last decade have been, then the sport’s declining popularity compounds and creates more of a problem, so it is definitely a factor to consider.
Final Thoughts
Many factors have contributed to the belief that basketball video games have peaked. But if we combine the three main points we have looked at today and explore critical ratings of the games, all of which considered the early NBA Street and NBA Live games of the 2000s to be the pinnacle of the genre, we can see how this is a lot more than a coincidence.This trend has been moving in a negative direction for a while. Although some gamers enjoy the NBA 2K games, which are not bad as standalone titles, few argue that they are at their peak. It’s quite the opposite.
This is where it goes beyond opinion, and if the tide doesn’t turn over the next few years, basketball games could achieve the same feat as boxing games, which essentially stopped being made in 2011, except for a dreadful recent attempt called Undisputed. So, it’s certainly something that needs to be addressed.
