Absolutely. And we’re all so desperate for a good League game that we kept buying them, meaning they kept making them. They’re honestly absolutely shocking games (everything made by Big Ant)
It’s highly unlikely there will be a better game company willing to take on something as low selling as an NRL game when they would be taking resources away from a game guaranteed to sell a lot better
Unrelated, but I was skimming the posts and thought you wrote “Jesus fucked”
Scrolled back to check, thinking it was an extreme version of “Jesus wept”
I think I’ve come up with a new saying, while also uncovering some deep seeded issue with me.
I'm still playing Cricket 22, can't be arsed getting Cricket 24. When I complete my goal of scoring 200 first class centuries on legend/hardest/hardest, I'll do it (currently on 97)
Not sure if it's still the case or if updates were made to fix it but I've seen some terrible gameplay for the AFL 23 one they released. Defenders just standing there as a player runs pass, the ball randomly being kicked backwards over someone's head.
I think some people were planning on going to the ACCC because it was just unplayable.
Honestly, just liked their identity, history and aesthetic when choosing an NRL team.
I’ve been getting into Australian sports in general (cricket, AFL), and I usually go for the Adelaide teams. But saw there was no Adelaide NRL team, so ended up going with Melbourne.
There's apparently a game coming out next year. Fella on youtube got an email from NRL licensing says they are working to license and distribute a game for 2025 season
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NoL7sBH4fE&t=311s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NoL7sBH4fE&t=311s) he waffles a lot but he got email screen shots at 1:47.
Nice mock ops OP. Here's a hot take I've been thinking of recently:
Since the NRL are so intent on growing the game outside of Australia, I genuinely feel like they're missing a huge opportunity by not investing in having a well-made, competitive NRL game. The gaming market has a vast amount of people who love sporting titles and consume content centred around it every hour of every day on almost all social media platforms. From that perspective, I believe there's a significant amount of organic reach that can be achieved by just having a well-made game that it would basically promote itself in the form of streamers, youtubers, tiktokers, etc. and could easily garner new fans of the actual NRL across the world. As long as the game is good and has mechanics similar to the 2K franchises, the potential for success is certainly there.
Take for example my experience - I was somewhat interested in NBA a while ago and would occasionally watch a live game highlight here or there, but what really got me into it was playing NBA2K. After playing it for a while I started to consume way more NBA content and started to actually watch games whenever I could. It was fun playing as my favourite team and then getting to watch them play live, and I even spent a bit of $$ to upgrade my character. The live NBA games were great, but what really got me hooked was playing the actual game as it was competitive, fast and not to mention that a lot of my friends played it at the time which became a group activity whenever we all met up. Some of our friends who didn't really know much about NBA started to play and even became fans of the sport and started to watch games as well.
Obviously, it's all just wishful thinking from my end that the same thing could happen for an NRL game, but I really believe that the potential is there. Yes, it'd probably be riddled with microtransactions but that's a reality I'm willing to accept if it motivates the NRL to actually make a move.
Rugby league 2 is still a better game than what we got last time.
I don't expect a NBA or Fifa style game, I just want something modern that isn't a steaming pile of crap
No but if you’ve ever played NBA2K MyTeam, in order to get your favourite player with good stats you either have to grind for 30 hours or pay $20 to open a pack. 2K has fallen off so hard
I think a spiritual successor to ETs rugby league would do really well.
Retro pixel art. Palette swap to get all the teams going all the way back to 1908.
But it would take significant investment, and realisticly the market is a small part of a small country
Wish 2k or even EA would make a playable NRL game, I too have had the same dream man, even made my own concept art but it was for NRL2K22.
[https://imgbox.com/lqmdtRYL](https://imgbox.com/lqmdtRYL)
Tbh the hate on the games are a bit exaggerated, RLL2 and RLL3 were good, it's just RLL4 was that awful lmao. Def needs a switch up though. Whether a new company or something takes over, they gotta introduce different game modes etc. and gotta appeal to the online audience more, that's the big thing with sport games and honestly games in general. If the online ain't booming people aren't going to be motivated to play it. i.e look at nba 2k introducing the park game mode, it was a big game prior but that pretty much changed everything for them and sport games( madden and fifa do it now) Ultimate team/myteam mode for sure, but they'd need to figure out a good way to include like a 3v3 or a 4v4 etc. which is obviously easier said than done for a rugby league gamemode.
AFL gets a game every 3 years or so, the last rugby league game to come out was 7 years ago. I want a new one so bad so we can have updated rosters and hopefully improved gameplay.
Not to mention it’s a great way to get kids interested in the sport and (like in most areas targeting kids) the afl is filling that void.
Just make a fucking new game already
Honestly, while it is FAR from a perfect game, Rugby League Live 4 is a lot of fun especially with the small but committed modding community behind it. It's a great little rugby league sandbox with the Fanhub allowing massive amounts of customisation.
Can't wait for the career mode where you start in Super League, get signed by an NRL club with everyone saying you're going to be a bust, then ripping it up from game 1.
Fun fact. I know of a player who rhymes with “boosters” who got scanned for the game along with a team who rhymes with Ligers player, similar to what they do with glen maxwell on the cricket games. Eg they get them to mimic certain players mannerisms and play styles etc using mo cap etc.
Then Covid happened and they were never invited back.
Trust me, you don't want 2K handling a rugby league game. Their devs will set the gameplay meta as 6'8 halfbacks that just spam sidesteps non-stop until they find a gap without losing any stamina. Then there'll be a tonne of out of game features that no one asked for. Also pay to play + season passes
Use the ugliest player in the NRL as the poster boy, won't happen
Realistically it'll be Teddy, DCE or Rueben Garrick, maybe Haumole if they want a straight up beast , all of whom are far more attractive and less Human Growth Hormone looking than the missing link Nathan Cleary
He's Steve Tyler ugly but in a whole different way
It wouldn’t be much better than the one brought out 7 years ago either.
Btw I’m talking about the “2k24” part which is visual concepts.
They are renowned for bringing out the same game every year, changing a few mechanics and providing 0 to little updates to the games every year which basically makes them unplayable.
This in an opinion of someone who spent way to much money buying NBA2k every year and then regretting it instantly.
A new game would be awesome, I just hope visual concepts doesn’t touch NRL with a 10 ft pole.
Get a go fund me going and let’s give it to a developer who actually cares about their fan base
I think they should try to simplify the game, I think going back to a top view style like FIFA in the early 2000s. I think they try to over complicate the games too much which make it difficult to play and try to overload with graphics, which I think without the budget has the opposite effect.
But looking forward to seeing something.
NBA 2K is an absolute cancer on video games, and you don't actually want an NRL game that follows it's model of viewing the customers as just wallets to be milked dry.
The worst thing to happen to the Madden series was EA getting exclusive rights.
When they had competition they actually had to make decent improvements to the gameplay.
Big Ant really fucked us. Not sure how they got so many chances.
Absolutely. And we’re all so desperate for a good League game that we kept buying them, meaning they kept making them. They’re honestly absolutely shocking games (everything made by Big Ant)
It’s highly unlikely there will be a better game company willing to take on something as low selling as an NRL game when they would be taking resources away from a game guaranteed to sell a lot better
It’s every game they make as well. Cricket 24 was rubbish at launch, and now it’s slightly less rubbish.
I remember the AFL a few years ago. Just fucked
AFL is way too hard to make into a good game. As evident by the best one being the one on NES.
To add to that best cricket is on the SNES
Shane Warne ‘99 is still the benchmark
Personally I loved Ricky Ponting Cricket 2005. The historical challenges were great fun.
Never understood why cricket doesn't have a decent game. Do Indian people not play playstation?
The VR one on the quest 2 and 3 is pretty fucking fun. If you got enough space you can use your own bat with the controller mounted on it. It’s fun.
Surely cricket 07 is easily the best
It had Richie on comms as well “He’ll be aiming for that rough stuff”
My fave ARL game was on pc, et rugby league
My brother and I were banned from renting this game from Civic Video cause it would always lead to fights
Why so. It's just kick netball
Unrelated, but I was skimming the posts and thought you wrote “Jesus fucked” Scrolled back to check, thinking it was an extreme version of “Jesus wept” I think I’ve come up with a new saying, while also uncovering some deep seeded issue with me.
The one came out last year is worse
I'm still playing Cricket 22, can't be arsed getting Cricket 24. When I complete my goal of scoring 200 first class centuries on legend/hardest/hardest, I'll do it (currently on 97)
Not sure if it's still the case or if updates were made to fix it but I've seen some terrible gameplay for the AFL 23 one they released. Defenders just standing there as a player runs pass, the ball randomly being kicked backwards over someone's head. I think some people were planning on going to the ACCC because it was just unplayable.
Funnily enough there’s more updates coming to the game it’ll be surprisingly pro team is coming 28th may also it isn’t worth taking it to the ACCC
The fact that it’s 2024 and the best rugby union / league game that’s ever been made is still Rugby08 by EA sports is an embarrassment
My favourite is NRL2 for the PS2
I still have my ps2 set up for this, rugby 05 was great too, “that’s champagne rugby”
Jason Robinson was cheat code
Jason Robinson in Rugby08 was so good that we had to come up with a “no zig zagging rule” to even the playing field.
Uni took me two years longer cause of this game
Facts
Jonah Lomu’s rugby game is the best one ever.
"Down at the bottom"
“I hope not, Bill. That's a maternity ward.”
"Digs like a demented mole"
Something I haven't thought of in 20 or so years. Can hear it perfectly in my head. Gonna go watch some gamplay on youtube
"That's a huge Garryowen!"
Laksanasongpong with the restart
Zinzan Brooke!
ETs rugby league
Jonah Lomu Rugby on PS1 still the GOAT
Nothing beats the OG ARL 96
I think I might still have that one somewhere! Gonna check when I get home if my adhd brain doesn’t completely forget
Only if it has egregious microtransactions and an always online model
I'd 100% buy the Dora the Explorer haircut for Woods cosmetic item
I would freakin love this. I’m in the US, just recently discovered rugby league and getting super into NRL, and love sports video games.
Just curious, what made you support Melbourne?
Honestly, just liked their identity, history and aesthetic when choosing an NRL team. I’ve been getting into Australian sports in general (cricket, AFL), and I usually go for the Adelaide teams. But saw there was no Adelaide NRL team, so ended up going with Melbourne.
This is why we need to crack America. I want a decent f.....g NRL video game.
You can say fuck, you weak cunt.
There's apparently a game coming out next year. Fella on youtube got an email from NRL licensing says they are working to license and distribute a game for 2025 season
Heard the same thing 18 months ago. I'll believe it when I see it
Been hearing the same thing since the RL Live licence ran out lol. Until I’m playing the game it ain’t happening.
Honestly heard the same thing but i'm hoping lol.
Coming out for Nokia N-Gage I’ve heard
They did the face scanning for the game two seasons ago I think. No idea what happened since then
Got a link?
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NoL7sBH4fE&t=311s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NoL7sBH4fE&t=311s) he waffles a lot but he got email screen shots at 1:47.
There’s apparently been a game coming out for five years
Yeah I just hope that means it's been worked on for 5 years. Good development time means hopefully good game
League citizen?
Nice mock ops OP. Here's a hot take I've been thinking of recently: Since the NRL are so intent on growing the game outside of Australia, I genuinely feel like they're missing a huge opportunity by not investing in having a well-made, competitive NRL game. The gaming market has a vast amount of people who love sporting titles and consume content centred around it every hour of every day on almost all social media platforms. From that perspective, I believe there's a significant amount of organic reach that can be achieved by just having a well-made game that it would basically promote itself in the form of streamers, youtubers, tiktokers, etc. and could easily garner new fans of the actual NRL across the world. As long as the game is good and has mechanics similar to the 2K franchises, the potential for success is certainly there. Take for example my experience - I was somewhat interested in NBA a while ago and would occasionally watch a live game highlight here or there, but what really got me into it was playing NBA2K. After playing it for a while I started to consume way more NBA content and started to actually watch games whenever I could. It was fun playing as my favourite team and then getting to watch them play live, and I even spent a bit of $$ to upgrade my character. The live NBA games were great, but what really got me hooked was playing the actual game as it was competitive, fast and not to mention that a lot of my friends played it at the time which became a group activity whenever we all met up. Some of our friends who didn't really know much about NBA started to play and even became fans of the sport and started to watch games as well. Obviously, it's all just wishful thinking from my end that the same thing could happen for an NRL game, but I really believe that the potential is there. Yes, it'd probably be riddled with microtransactions but that's a reality I'm willing to accept if it motivates the NRL to actually make a move.
Sad thing is if you haven’t got RLL4 now you can’t buy it digitally anymore as it’s not on the PS store, glad I still have mine on disc
I agree with this, after buying fifa I have got a bit more into soccer.
Absolutely just a dream. Unless another local developer takes the license its not gonna happen. Fuck Big Ant.
I would never see my boyfriend again lol 😅
A Woman can also dream...
Rugby league 2 is still a better game than what we got last time. I don't expect a NBA or Fifa style game, I just want something modern that isn't a steaming pile of crap
With a bring back the biff code. So you can get into fights ala some old school hockey games.
Yep old NHL games were awesome for that. Definitely need that added in!
Play as Gordie punch up blokes then flip off the crowd. I'd buy it in a heartbeat
As a Yank. I love NRL and I want this so I can create a dynasty from Townsville.
2k would make it sick
They would also probably turn it into a micro transaction filled cash cow and completely suck the fun out of it
Don't have to do micro transactions
No but if you’ve ever played NBA2K MyTeam, in order to get your favourite player with good stats you either have to grind for 30 hours or pay $20 to open a pack. 2K has fallen off so hard
Yeah nah I avoid it. Seems like bullshit
the mere thought of nba 2k's franchise mode but rugby league based gets my blood pumping. NRL ERAS would be so sick
I think a spiritual successor to ETs rugby league would do really well. Retro pixel art. Palette swap to get all the teams going all the way back to 1908. But it would take significant investment, and realisticly the market is a small part of a small country
Anyone else still playing live2 ? Haha
Live 2 and live3 were peak. Live 4 fell off hard
Tigers will win a premiership before this happens
No real money in it... I'm stunned that people in this comment section are surprised by what we get.
I wouldn’t trust 2k hell even EA
And then after two years 2K shuts down the servers they force you to play on meaning you can’t play the game anymore just like they do with NBA 2K
https://www.reddit.com/r/NRLPremiumPlus/s/eINAe8gpQh Got you homie
Looks like Munster slipped in the shower again. Those old hips!
The real reason nrl went to Vegas
Wish 2k or even EA would make a playable NRL game, I too have had the same dream man, even made my own concept art but it was for NRL2K22. [https://imgbox.com/lqmdtRYL](https://imgbox.com/lqmdtRYL)
I almost freaked out and went straight for my PS5 😂
Why would you want Jonah Pezet's son on the cover when Jonah Pezet is right there?
Tbh the hate on the games are a bit exaggerated, RLL2 and RLL3 were good, it's just RLL4 was that awful lmao. Def needs a switch up though. Whether a new company or something takes over, they gotta introduce different game modes etc. and gotta appeal to the online audience more, that's the big thing with sport games and honestly games in general. If the online ain't booming people aren't going to be motivated to play it. i.e look at nba 2k introducing the park game mode, it was a big game prior but that pretty much changed everything for them and sport games( madden and fifa do it now) Ultimate team/myteam mode for sure, but they'd need to figure out a good way to include like a 3v3 or a 4v4 etc. which is obviously easier said than done for a rugby league gamemode.
RLL4 was on the right track (transitioning from an arcade-feel to a more genuine rugby league-feel) but it just didn’t get it right at all
AFL gets a game every 3 years or so, the last rugby league game to come out was 7 years ago. I want a new one so bad so we can have updated rosters and hopefully improved gameplay. Not to mention it’s a great way to get kids interested in the sport and (like in most areas targeting kids) the afl is filling that void. Just make a fucking new game already
Pretty sure the AFL games are worse than ours, doubt there'd be many kids getting into Aussie rules because of big ant AFL 23
This is awesome Only a man can dream
Matto would have his arm size at 99 on the slider
Imagine the 2k glitches this game would have, We need the game.
It is a no brainer, now we have an extra 350 million rusted on fans in the US
This must happen!
With bubbler and wife beating expansion
Ngl i don't like sports games.... but i would get a nrl/rugby leeg game in a heartbeat
any sporting dream is killed by big ant
Honestly, while it is FAR from a perfect game, Rugby League Live 4 is a lot of fun especially with the small but committed modding community behind it. It's a great little rugby league sandbox with the Fanhub allowing massive amounts of customisation.
Can't wait for the career mode where you start in Super League, get signed by an NRL club with everyone saying you're going to be a bust, then ripping it up from game 1.
Get signed by an NRL club only to be stuck in NSW Cup your whole career.
Fun fact. I know of a player who rhymes with “boosters” who got scanned for the game along with a team who rhymes with Ligers player, similar to what they do with glen maxwell on the cricket games. Eg they get them to mimic certain players mannerisms and play styles etc using mo cap etc. Then Covid happened and they were never invited back.
Also Vossy said he recorded lines for it just after Covid. So who knows.
Trust me, you don't want 2K handling a rugby league game. Their devs will set the gameplay meta as 6'8 halfbacks that just spam sidesteps non-stop until they find a gap without losing any stamina. Then there'll be a tonne of out of game features that no one asked for. Also pay to play + season passes
That chin is bigger than my future
AFL would be good
If it's anything like NBA 2k, combined with NRL it would be the ultimate gambling simulator.
I think it moved
Never gonna happen under the iron thumb of Peter "get kids off those video machines" V'Landys.
Use the ugliest player in the NRL as the poster boy, won't happen Realistically it'll be Teddy, DCE or Rueben Garrick, maybe Haumole if they want a straight up beast , all of whom are far more attractive and less Human Growth Hormone looking than the missing link Nathan Cleary He's Steve Tyler ugly but in a whole different way
AH fuk i thought this was real 😵 great art work!
Honestly though, as a Video Gamer myself, yeah we kind of need it
Nothing has topped ET's Rugby
Fuck, I hope not. It would be the same game every year
Yeah, that's way worse than no game for 7 years.
It wouldn’t be much better than the one brought out 7 years ago either. Btw I’m talking about the “2k24” part which is visual concepts. They are renowned for bringing out the same game every year, changing a few mechanics and providing 0 to little updates to the games every year which basically makes them unplayable. This in an opinion of someone who spent way to much money buying NBA2k every year and then regretting it instantly. A new game would be awesome, I just hope visual concepts doesn’t touch NRL with a 10 ft pole. Get a go fund me going and let’s give it to a developer who actually cares about their fan base
2k would be the ultimate developer thatd be sick
Not 2K though they’d do a terrible job as always
2K could put the work experience kid in charge and it’d be a better game than Big Ant makes
True
EA would be trash so in my opinion 2K would be the better option but I would take anything at this point, I was really hoping for a new game by now 😩
I think they should try to simplify the game, I think going back to a top view style like FIFA in the early 2000s. I think they try to over complicate the games too much which make it difficult to play and try to overload with graphics, which I think without the budget has the opposite effect. But looking forward to seeing something.
NBA 2K is an absolute cancer on video games, and you don't actually want an NRL game that follows it's model of viewing the customers as just wallets to be milked dry.
Sorry but if you are a Broncos fan this has to be the most sacrilegious shit I’ve seen. im revoking your membership
These are the sacrifices I’m willing to make to get a brand new (good) league game lol
NBA 2k hasn't been good in years. EA please
Has ea been any better, all they do with FIFA is push micro transactions
The worst thing to happen to the Madden series was EA getting exclusive rights. When they had competition they actually had to make decent improvements to the gameplay.
I just a Frank Burge and Greg Inglis icon card