NFL 2K2 is a 2001 American football video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. It is the third installment of Sega's NFL 2K series, as well as the last in the series to be released for the Dreamcast, which had been discontinued by the time of the game's release. The game was later re-released for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, being the first game to be released by Sega for the latter console.
The game and the rest of the 2K titles on the Dreamcast have had their online capabilities revived and are completely playable online.
Reception
The Dreamcast version received "universal acclaim", while the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions received "generally favorable reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Two issues later, Bro Buzz said of the PlayStation 2 version, "Despite a few weak spots on its roster, NFL 2K2 is a whole lotta fun! Madden NFL 2002, out and about since last August, probably caught the lion's share of football gamers this season. But if you're ready for a second season, NFL 2K2 is more than worthy. And, as just the first PS2 football game from Sega Sports, you gotta like its chances next season." Another issue later, he said of the Xbox version, "It's basically a port of the PS2 version, but on the Xbox, its graphics are so much sharper and the joystick-dependent interface feels perfect."
The Dreamcast version was nominated for the "Best Sports, Traditional Game" and "Best Dreamcast Game" awards at GameSpots Best and Worst of 2001 Awards, both of which went to NBA 2K2 and Phantasy Star Online, respectively. The same console version won the award for "Dreamcast Game of the Year" (which it shared with NBA 2K2) at The Electric Playgrounds 2001 Blister Awards, and was also nominated for the "Best Multiplayer Console Game" (along with said game), but lost to Halo: Combat Evolved.