With little to no possibility of an official NFL 2K release from Take-Two themselves, a dedicated team of modders have been reviving select popular titles of the genre’s past. Recently, we spoke with one of the team members by the name of Joe, and we able to get details of the project’s origins, inspirations, and more.
NFL 2K5 Mod Team inspiration, project rival and more
Tells us about yourself and NFL 2K5 Resurrected
I have been playing NFL 2K football since the early days of Dreamcast. I got more involved in creating and editing roster files over the years consuming everything I could learn from the NFL2K OperationSports community. I decided to release NFL2K21 which was based on the stable 1.6 PCSX2 emulator with custom roster, franchise, playbook, vip and other files from RateSports NFL 2K17. The end of February 2021, I was exposed to TopazTK’s texture replacement plugin for PCSX2. In March of 2021, the NFL 2K5 Resurrected Mod was started. We released version 1 of the Mod on July 22, 2021.
Today, we have an insanely talented group of modders with various backgrounds and skill sets that continue to support and improve NFL 2K5. We are the only team to have achieved this for NFL 2K5 and everyone should be really proud of what we have and continue to accomplish with the Resurrected Mod.
- NFL 2K21 Project: https://github.com/lostsoul63b/NFL2K21-Project
- NFL 2K5R Project: https://github.com/lostsoul63b/NFL2K5-Resurrected
- First Person Football: https://youtu.be/qDLtacnQZu8
What made you start this project?
I love the experience that NFL 2K5 gives me every time I play and I wanted to do something that no one else in the community has ever done before by bringing the game into more current times with updated textures to make the game feel like a new experience for everyone in the NFL2K community.
What about the NFL 2K series specifically made them want to reproduce the aesthetics/work on the mod?
I wanted a more current experience, something new and fresh for myself and for the NFL 2K5 community.
Were you inspired by any other game mods or modding projects?
I was really impressed with the Mods that RateSports put out over the years. That team helped the community with rosters files as well as the NFL 2K17 release which included something that no one else in the community had done before. The NFL 2K17 Mod by RateSports is what really inspired me to release the NFL 2K5 Mods. I feel everything released helps make the NFL 2K communities experience more enjoyable.
What has been the response from the community?
Overwhelming, the community has shown a lot of excitement and support for the work that the team is doing.
Do you play Madden or other football video games?
Yes, I play APF2K8, Legend Bowl, Retro Bowl, CFBR, and occasionally Madden D105 College Mod.
How does NFL 2K5R compare to the original?
NFL 2K5R is a complete overhaul of the cosmetics along with some hex edits to the rosters. While the gameplay is the same, when you launch NFL 2K5R, you are getting a more current visual representation of the game.
In what ways do you think NFL 2KR is better than Madden?
It’s not the texture Mod, it’s the core gameplay, replayability, and care that went into NFL 2K5 which Madden is still unable to provide players.
What’s next for NFL 2K5R? Any new additions or improvements coming?
The PCSX2 developers are now including texture replacement natively with their 1.7 build that is in development. The advancements offer a better platform for the Mod with better support for things like jersey textures and overall better shading. Plus, this will ensure that our Mod never runs into an expiration date when new versions of the emulator are released.
We are currently working on an NFL 2K23 iteration that will be based on the 1.7 PCSX2 build. This will be released this summer in preparation for the 2023 NFL season and will include an updated NFL 2023 roster and franchise, plus some really cool new texture enhancements to network broadcasts that RateSports is working on. We have a lot of new ideas and work in progress that we believe the community will be blown away with when our next iteration is released this summer.
Are there any future projects you are working on?
Not at this time.
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