Killed unjustly, the NFL 2K series will live on in the memories of gamers everywhere.
Unfortunately, they did their job too well. EA subsequently purchased exclusive rights to the NFL for the next ten years, meaning that the 2K series was effectively finished. And in the time since then, now five years or so, EA's Madden series has tried - but never completely succeeded - in erasing the memories of 2K5 from the hearts of gamers everywhere.
2K5 set a standard for presentation in sports video games that the Madden games still have not matched. Playing the game felt like watching an ESPN broadcast, and the after-shows felt like Sportscenter. Considering how poorly the next-generation iterations of Madden have done at making the game feel like a media event, there's something to be said for 2K sports.
When you add the fact that the game felt like realistic football, a feeling that Madden still fails to capture completely, then you really have a classic football game.
At this point, there's not much more I can say about ESPN NFL 2K5. It's the once and future king, the greatest NFL game ever created, and a triumph of gaming. Not surprisingly, it was too good to last in this world, and the big pockets and EA bought out the rights to prevent it from improving itself throughout the years. One can only imagine the excellent football gaming we've lost as a result.