Steve Austin being on the cover of WWE 2K16 is a perfect example of the series’ problems

If the announcement of Steve Austin being on the cover of WWE 2K16 is any indicator, the series seems to be heading for yet another rough year. With developmental focus yet again split between the previous generation of consoles and the newest, I can see no reason to be optimistic that 2K can correct course and fix the glut of problems and errors held over from last year.

But they could have gone with plan B and showcased the future of the business and the next big thing instead of pleading with their own shadow, and that’s the bottom line.

[iSuperSaiyanGod]

they've lost all their talent . id rather have stone cold than kevin owens or neville . either way i won't be picking this up lol . sad because these games use to be fun lol

[scark92]

I used to be mad into the games! They were fantastic, especially with friends, played many of the games and I am sad to see it going to waste!

I like seeing Steve Austin on there because I am not into the entertainment nowadays and he is the epitome of entertainment of WWE xD but even that cover looks like the previous games smh..

[InactiveUser]

WWE is garbage. Wtf have they done with Kane?

http://www.wwe.com/inside/k...

They never should have taken off his mask. Kane could have been a recurring character with different people playing him. I guess they still could throw the mask on someone else, but still.. his current form is ridiculous.

I don't watch at all and haven't for over a decade. I just checked the roster due to this article and I see "Kane's Hawaii vacation photos". He wears a suit now?

As far as I've seen, wrestling ratings are like 1/4 or less than they were in the mid-late 90s. Very few of the current roster look like they would have lasted in that era. It's obvious why they would want Stone Cold on there or other mid-late 90s wrestlers, since that's where the bulk of the fanbase remembers as the good times, where wrestling peaked in name recognition, mic work, etc.

There's just no Hogan, Flair, Savage, Sting, Luger, Hart, Michaels, Nash, Hall, Giant, Harlem Heat, Goldberg, Stone Cold, Rock, Mankind, Undertaker, Kane, HHH, etc. these days (not counting the listed guys still active, but well past their prime). Every Monday & Thursday felt like a pay-per-view back then. The level of character presence and name recognition was insane.

[curtis92]

In-ring wise, there's more talent right now than at any given point in wrestling history. Talent is there in spades. The writing, on the other hand... not so much. There's a problem with structure in wrestling today. Too many rematches, oversaturation and the loss of serious competition to keep things on edge.

They don't HAVE to try anymore. But the few times a year they do... it's still amazing. But back in the attitude era, they were trying every week. Which is why it was so crazy fun.

[iSuperSaiyanGod]

Wrong lol . Comparing these currents to the 2000s? Mankind , kurt angle , the undertaker , Eddie gurero , Rey mysterio , edge , Christian , the hardy boys , Dudley boys , the rock . I mean I could go on . If you going to compare star power these new dudes just don't have it . Besides roman reigns , they don't have a someone who's going to be able to take Cenas place once he retire .

[scark92]

"WHAT!?"

[curtis92]

Yep. It's a millennial thing. We can't get over our own childhood and just keep living off nostalgia. Even NBA 2k16 is getting a Jordan cover. This will be the ultimate "back in my day" generation. And I'm already sick of it.

[cogniveritas]

I still think past generations go harder about "back in out day, this was the real _______".

But for the modern generation it's just easy for the past to stick around since Youtube, Facebook, Memes & the internet won't let anything fade away quite as gracefully because it feels just like yesterday and is accessible to share just like it was yesterday.

[curtis92]

That's very true. But it's still stunting the growth of anything present and future because we can't stop living in the past.

[Castle333]

Because things back in the day were better, theres no way around it. Stick to lil wayne and angry birds you 15 year old estrogen filled hipster.

I also wish jordan was on every cover of every nba game ever made. He's the G.O.A.T, i rather have him than queen james or kevin durant or derrick rose. Hell my Spurs never get a cover for a game even after winning the title last year. But durant who lost 2 years in a row in the play offs gets to be on the cover for 2k15, really?

[curtis92]

Dude I was 14 when i watched Austin win the title for the first time at mania 14. I can accept -- faults and all-- the current product and still find enjoyment from it. It's closed-minded people like you that can't move on. If you think that makes me a 15 year old then I'm afraid based on your comments you're a rung away from 60, my friend. What's happening with NXT right now is special. Maybe you don't like it, but it's something kids nowadays will look back on in 15 years with high regards.

[Castle333]

Couldnt careless about modern day wrestling. Its boring cheesy and predictable. NXT has good matches thoug, but Raw and Smackdown are a joke. Austin on the cover is done so people that grew up watching good wrestling get compelled to buy the game, thats it. Or you prefer Dolph zigglet on the cover? hahahahhaa.

[TheDreamCorridor]

Screw the haters, Stone Cold Steve Austin is the man and is a good choice as the cover.

Austin is rumored for a comeback and it only makes sense.

[NarooN]

Austin has said time & time again that he's not gonna make a "comeback". He said he might consider one more big match, but that's it.

[2pacalypsenow]

Stone cold is the reason the wwe won the Monday night wars , he deserves it since he hasn't been on a cover since 1998s Wwf warzone

[jackwei22]

Stone Cold Merchandise sales and popularity, The Rock PPV buy rates and filling up arenas breaking records he holds until this very day and WWF even in the bad days had better PPVs than WCW.

[Revengeance]

Don't forget WWF Attitude lol

[jackwei22]

I think he is referring to that this is the first time since WWF Warzone that Austin has been the only wrestler on the front cover case as in WWF Attitude you have other wrestlers in the background if you look closely.

[Revengeance]

Yeah I know. But at the time he was still the face of the WWF

[NerdStalker]

You can almost guarantee this game will be a identical clone to the previous year game and the one before that and that; ect. last year game was one of the worst, they went backwards not forwards, sure there was some nice graphics in the entrance, but the game played so slow and was full of glitches. They made the reversal system so stupid, they should go back to the 2003 here comes the pain system of reversals one for countering strikes and one for grapples, that way we wont see every darn move reversed for 10 minutes solid. The game is almost unplayable and the kickout system sucks, the submission system was better when it was button bashing to escape, they have almost took the fun out these games and they used to be so fun, such ashame i'd fire the entire team who makes these games, must be the laziest developers in the industry they would shame any ea update.

[showtimefolks]

This is where the 2k team confuses me, on one hand they make a great NBA game but they did suck at making MLB games. I was hoping that 2k would treat this like it's NBA game and it would get the proper development and features

I haven't picked a wwe game for few years, so if they want people like me buy these again than make them excellent

Or or or or please just give us

No mercy HD
day of reckoning 1 and 2 HD
smack down here comes the pain HD
smack down shut your mouth HD
WCW vs nwo HD

I am tired of crappy wwe games. Give us a proper career mode where we decide when to retire, start with nxt and make out way up.

[DualWielding]

They should have had Chris Benoit on the cover

[DafunkyRebel]

Lol you went there, killed it, and then went back

[EyePawd]

What? All he did was mention his favorite wrestler, [STEVIE RICHARDS].

Nothing to see here.

[MASTER_RAIDEN]

Stone Cold being on the cover is the only reason id feel pressured to buy this garbage game.

Wrestling games used to be so great man.

[optimus]

Really?? You actually feel pressure to buy depending on who's on a cover? Are you 12?... The cover is just a picture that doesn't really reflect how the game is inside...he wasn't on the cover last year but he was in the game, did you not buy it because he was not on the cover?...damn shame.

I bought it last year after a brief hiatus (last game i bought was wwe 13)...i enjoyed it for what it was. Once i got done with the story mode i didn't have much incentives to play. I hope they add more to keep me playing outside of dlc cause i don't buy those.

[TXIDarkAvenger]

Maybe not to buy it but at least look into it.

The only reason I clicked on this article was because it mentions Steve Austin. I don't watch wrestling or play any of the games anymore. And this is exactly what there trying to do with this cover, reel in more people.

If they put a current star on the cover, most people wouldn't know who that is and be less likely to buy.

[MASTER_RAIDEN]

thats a pretty overzealous reaction to a rather small point i was making. what i mean is that having stone cold on the cover is a positive for me because he is my favorite wrestler. Having him on the cover gives me hope that hes an integral part of the game. it also reminds me of the period in which i loved to watch wrestling and played wrestling games. an image of stone cold on a wrestling game makes me feel positive about that game in the same way that a lot of red marks on an exam might make someone feel like they did bad. the red marks themselves dont necessarily mean anything, but your subconscious gives it a negative connotation regardless.

[optimus]

@darkAvenger... I won't deny that a cover helps sell a product but in a roster type game such as this and sports games in general your expectations should not be any different than previous iterations of that game; provided the developer hasn't released any detailed information on that game. Take the latest 2k covers of their nba games for example. They have 3 of the biggest stars from last season sharing the cover, BUT they also are releasing a "limited edition" michael jordan cover of the same game...does it mean michael will have a big role in the game? Not likely. At least nothing different than what the regular game has...you remember stone cold but most of the kids that started watching AFTER he left don't. Having a current wrestler would still sell the same because they are "current". Whether it's hunter, cena, big show, kane, even cesaro...look at cmpunk, he was on the cover a few times and he left the company on his last one and it still sold well.

@masterRaiden.... I know there are some exceptions to the rule (when it prominently says it on the box) but with these wwe games a cover is usually just that, a cover and nothing more. Last year cena was on the cover but there was a storyline centered around cmpunk as well as hunter/shawn rivalry...and in wwe13 cmpunk was the cover but there was also a stone cold storyline inside....

I know what you mean about incentives since i bought wwe superstars cause i knew the ultimate warrior would be in it but i would have bought it regardless cause that was also more of an arcade style game which appealed to me...

As someone who still follows wrestling and wrestling news, (although not in the last couple of months) i'm willing to bet they gave stone cold the cover as an incentive for HIM to do one more match at next year's wrestlemania since they have been trying to negotiate a suitable deal with him for quite sometime and he's turned them down. They have also promoted his podcast recently but this cover is them showing a sign of good faith to get him back in the ring at all costs...

The game isn't due for a few months with no details yet on what stories or modes will be included but it would not surprise me if it wasn't that much different then last year's. Given the cover was just released, not sure how much stone cold stuff they could put in it if it's almost done...not counting dlc crap.

[MadMax]

Macho Man needs to be on that cover already! RIP to the all time great legend!

[Monster_Tard]

These games used to be fun, now it's just another annual sport simulator game where they just update the graphics and roster ever year, no more fun arcade like wrestling games anymore. =[

[MasterofMagnetism]

Oh Hell Yeah.

Thought it was going to be Brock but Austin is awesome choice. Really hoping that this game will be better than the crap they released last year.