Well, WWE 2K20 is about four months away and in the words of Luke Harper, you know what that means.
In this instance, anyway, it means dozens upon dozens of features, all over the web, detailing with new features need to be including in that year's latest WWE 2K title. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. They're fun to write about, you guys seem to like reading them, and even the developers themselves have said they appreciate them, as it helps them decide what they should and shouldn't include in future editions.
However, there's one thing most of these articles have in common - the majority of suggestions in them are always so... so... reasonable.
"Bring back GM mode" or "add more WWE legends" or "improve the backstage fighting segments" all things offered every year and are all, more or less, probably feasible. They may even be things 2K and Yuke's have considered - they may even be included in the upcoming WWE 2K20 (we don't have the slightest idea, to be honest. That's because these are features that are completely reasonable and perfectly within the realm of possibility.
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But, where's the fun in that?
So, with that in mind, we'd like to present to you five ideas we have for WWE 2K20 and beyond that we want to see that are completely unrealistic and unreasonable - and not just because the game comes out in October and adding any new feature now would be like asking a baby to disassemble a nuclear warhead - it's not going to be done and you're not going to like the results if they try.
Just so we're not being completely useless, we're also including an actually reasonable suggestion to go along with each one. It might not be feasible to include it in this year's edition - if it's not already going in - but it's something to think about for upcoming years.
#5 Voice acting for all WWE Superstars for
everything
When the WWE 2K series began including the 'Promo Mode" - where players could control an in-ring interview segment - fans might have been let down that it was almost entirely text-based.
Which, of course it, was: WWE 2K17 itself had 137 Superstars on the roster, even before the DLC wrestlers were added, getting each and everyone of those to record every possible line of dialogue - assuming that Superstar was even available (or even alive) to do - was a dizzying prospect at best. Not to mention the amount of storage space needed to do that would probably exceed the rest of the game in its entirety.
And that's not even taking into account the Create-A-Wrestler creations.
But, you know what? We're tired of your excuses, 2K Games and Yuke's! Not only do we want every WWE Superstar to voice his or her own line a dialogue, but we want individual recordings so that every wrestler refers to every other wrestler by name, with different variations for nicknames and insults!
Oh and, of course, this will need to be done in every language the game is released in.
See what we mean by "unreasonable"? Although, there's probably someone on Twitter sincerely asking for this right now.
The more reasonable version: This, of course, is impossible. However, it would be nice to see a little more voice acting from people in the game that aren't part of the commentary team. Obviously, the MyCareer mode has this covered, but the inclusion of it in WWE Universe mode - even if it's just here and there - would go a long way towards immersion.
#4 Real-Time John Cena Battle Rap Generator
Along the lines of the previous entry, we also want to see this concept taken even further. We want John Cena to return to his Doctor of Thuganomic persona (complete with a heel turn, of course) and create insulting freestyle raps about every character in the game - including ones made in the Create-A-Wrestler mode.
Obviously, it'll have to be voiced by the man himself - none of this sound-alike (in the loosest sense of the word) nonsense from WWE 2K19 - it has to be the John Cena speaking every word. Yuke's may have to create a virtual John Cena A.I. to put in the game, as John himself might be too busy right now filming Fast and Furious 17 or whatever and won't have time. They'll just have to make sure the A.I. doesn't become sentient and decide to launch all the nuclear missiles in the world to make sure that we truly can't "see him".
The more reasonable version: It actually would be cool to have more "throw-back" versions of Superstars available. Not that 2K hasn't been giving us this in the past - they've actually been really great about it. But, we're always up for even more.
#3 Create-A-Show that creates an actual virtual wrestling company
The WWE 2K games - and, actually, wrestling video games in general - have always set the standard for gaming creation modes. Games like Skyrim, and other RPGs with character creation modes, using elements that were first introduced in wrestling games released back in the days of the original PlayStation. Since then, it's not unusual to read positive remarks about a wrestling game's creation suite in an otherwise negative review.
As the years go by, these creation modes have gotten more and more ambitious, giving players the opportunity to not only create a Superstar, but their own moves, ring entrances, title belts and more. If you can imagine it, you've probably been able to create it in a wrestling game at least once. But, we think that's not nearly ambitious enough for us. Not even close.
We want a mode that not only allows us to create a wrestling TV show, but an entire wrestling company. We'll create the wrestlers, the sets, the belts, the theme songs, everything. Then, we want to be able to create actual merchandise and sell it online and hold PPV events that people will pay real money to watch. All of this hosted on 2K servers, of course!
What's unreasonable about that?
The more reasonable version: Nearly everything, actually. But, to be fair, the foundations are there for players to actually start their own "promotion" - or an 'e-fed", as we used to call it back in my day (I'm old, you guys). Obviously, not to the lengths that I so dramatically laid out above, but a way where players can design events and have other players participate it in.
Players are already creating these types of shows on YouTube already, and with the popularity of both those and esports in general, it would make sense for 2K to maybe try and capitalize on this - essentially making it even easier for players to promote their game for them.
Oh, also, I'd really like to be able to Create-A-PPV. I mean, not literally. Just a card of matches outside of Universe Mode, one after the other, rather than having to go through the menu and set up each match after the last one finishes. Now, that is what I call "reasonable".
#2 Every Superstar should have distinct "heel" and "face" versions
We've all said the same thing. "Oh man," we all have said, "WWE would be so much better if they would just make Roman Reigns a bad guy." That's right, everybody in the world has literally said this at one point or another. It's a scientific fact. Don't ask me to prove it - I have to finish this article and I don't have time for your, frankly, insulting distrust.
Obviously, that will probably, most likely, never happen (although don't ask me to put money on it). But, we're certain that 2K, because they are owned by the same company that also owns Rockstar Game and has access to all that sweet sweet Grand Theft Auto money, also has access to technology that allows them to visit alternate universes (thus proving the Many Worlds Theory of Quantum Mechanics correct and altering our view of life and the universe forever but we're getting sidetracked, let's move on). Therefore, they can see what a heel Roman Reigns in 2019 would actually look like and then make him an option in the next WWE 2K20.
Seriously, 2K, this is the kind of realism we've come to expect from you. And we expect this for every single wrestler on the WWE 2K20 roster. Yes, even Apollo Crews.
The more reasonable version: First off, if Take-Two Interactive actually does have access to technology like that, well, that would explain a lot, actually, now that I think about it. Anyway...
Clearly, we can't expect this kind of treatment for every wrestler on the roster. But, this would be kind of a fun way for individual Superstars who might not get the chance on television to showcase a different persona for themselves, if only in video game form.
We probably won't see an Apollo Crews heel turn on TV any time soon (nothing against Crews - dude's super awesome in the ring), but if he's got an idea for a heel persona, and he's not going to have a chance to play it on TV, maybe bring it to Yuke's and work with them to add those features into a character option in an upcoming game.
I don't know how reasonable that actually is, but it's certainly more reasonable than creating theoretically impossible technology.
#1 Every wrestler ever, from the past and currently in other companies, should be playable
Every year, 2K and WWE love to brag about how the currently upcoming edition of the WWE 2K series has the "largest roster ever" and now 2K19 probably will have the largest roster of playable WWE Superstars in a WWE game because yeah.
But, these are all wrestlers that are either currently working for WWE, are former WWE wrestlers who are now retired and have a contract with 2K Games, or otherwise have some sort of working relationship with WWE and/or 2K Games. But, I say, that's not enough!
What, just because Dean Ambrose is now Jon Moxley and working for AEW, I can't play as him in WWE 2K20? Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah, I know, I can create him in the creation suite, or someone else can, and I can download him. Not good enough.
I want Yuke's to create a version of him and put him in the game! I want every wrestler that ever existed, from Gorgeous George to the Shockmaster to the Gobbeldy Gooker to be a playable character in WWE 2K20. I want Joey Janella and Jay Lethal to come in and do mo-cap and be in the game. I want this one guy I created for an e-fed back in 1999 to be in it.
"Badass" Brian Brown, I think was his name. He was really cool. He did this powerbomb into a bridge pin thing for his finisher and wore a leather coat and... anyway, I want him in there.
No, I don't want to make him myself. I want Yuke's to do it. And I also don't want to hear about intellectual property and licensing right and all that legal mumbo-jumbo. Just make it happen, 2K Games or I'll... well, I'll still buy your game, I guess. I mean, I already own Fire Pro Wrestling World and no other wrestling company has a game out right now and all the other wrestling games aren't very good, so..
Just do it, OK?!
A more reasonable version: There really isn't one. I just wanted to end this on a really silly one.
So, I hope you guys enjoyed that. When it comes down to it, we can say what we want about the WWE 2K games, but it's clear that Yuke's and everybody else involved in the series really loves pro wrestling and loves making these games and that's all you can really, reasonably, ask for.
I'm looking forward to playing WWE 2K20 and to not seeing any of these entries from this list, although if they manage to pull any of these off, I will.... well, nothing. I know better than to jinx myself like that.
What are your ideas for WWE game features, reasonable or otherwise? Share them in the comments below.