NBA 2K10 demo released

2K Sports today announced that a free demo of NBA 2K10 is now available for download exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. The demo lets fans relive this past season’s exciting NBA Finals and play in a four minute quarter as either the Orlando Magic or Los Angeles Lakers at a virtual Staples Center in Los Angeles. A demo on PlayStation Network will follow shortly.

Developed by 2K Sports’ Visual Concepts studio, NBA 2K10 is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB and will be available on October 6th for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 2, and PSP. NBA 2K10 ships to retailers for Windows PC on October 12th and Wii on October 19th.

NBA 2K10: Draft Combine announced for XBLA, PSN

2K Sports today announced NBA 2K10: Draft Combine, a download-only game that ptromises some pre-season fun for basketball fans leading up to the fall launch of NBA 2K10. Planned for release this September on Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network, NBA 2K10: Draft Combine lets players create their own custom player, begin their career at the ATTACK Athletics gym in Chicago.

Gamers build up their custom players by working with a mentor called the 2K Insider and increase their NBA worth through a variety of basketball drills and 5-on-5 games. When you create that player you will allegedly have access to over 300 different signature customizations, including player-specific shooting animations, dunk and dribble packages and more.

Custom built players from NBA 2K10: Draft Combine and use them in the all-new My Player career mode in NBA 2K10 launching this fall. NBA 2K10: Draft Combine is being developed by Visual Concepts, and will be released in North America, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and India this September on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 (400 Microsoft Points) and PlayStation Network for PLAYSTATION 3 system ($4.99).

For more information about NBA 2K10: Draft Combine, visit www.2ksports.com/games/nba2k10dc.

NBA 2K going online in Asia

2K Sports today announced a partnership with Tencent Holdings Limited to co-develop an online, PC-based version of NBA 2K and distribute it to China and other key markets. 2K Sports has secured a multi-year license to develop the online simulation game, which will include all of the NBA teams, as well as current and retired NBA players. Given the rising popularity of the NBA in china, this deal makes a lot of sense. For the third year in a row, more than one billion viewers have tuned into NBA programming to follow their favorite teams throughout the basketball season.

Tencent serves the largest and most active online community in China, which measured 411 million active user accounts and 58 million peak concurrent user accounts (PCU) as of the end of March 2009. Tencent launched its game portal, QQ Game, in August 2004 and is today the largest online game platform in China. The company is a leading game developer and currently operates 67 mini casual games, 5 advanced casual games and 5 massive multi-player online games (MMOGs) on its game platform. It is the first and only game operator in China to have two games reach the 1-million user milestone.

NBA 2K9 Online Fantasy Mode Detailed

2K Sports today announced details for The Other Season, an online fantasy league for the NBA 2K9. To start with 8 NBA superstars have signed up to participate as team owners, while online gamers playing on Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network will have the opportunity to be drafted onto one of the NBA superstars’ NBA 2K9 fantasy team.

NBA 2K9 cover athlete Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics) will be one of the team owners for The Other Season, along with Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers), Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz), Chauncey Billups (Detroit Pistons), Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns), Greg Oden (Portland Trailer Blazers), Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls), and Monta Ellis (Golden State Warriors). 2K Sports will make a contribution of $10,000 to the charity of choice of the NBA player whose fantasy team wins The Other Season championship.

Individual player statistics and overall fantasy team rankings will be tracked through online play. A real-time leaderboard will also be available on The Other Season website to showcase the top ranked players in the league. After a team owner drafts a player, he will send a message to congratulate the player on helping his team’s standings in the league. Players who are not active in the league for over a month will be in jeopardy of being cut from the team.

Source: www.2ksports.com/games/nba2k9

NBA Live 09 Cover Athelete Revealed

Electronic Arts signs San Antonio Spurs pointguard Tony Parker to be the cover athlete and spokesman for NBA LIVE09. In his seven NBA seasons, the 26 year old is a two-time NBA All-Star, has three NBA championships and was named the 2007 NBA Finals MVP. Parker will be the first European born global cover athlete of NBA LIVE.

Parker is joined by the NBA’s biggest international starson packaging around the world, including the Los Angeles Lakers’ PauGasol (Spain), Toronto Raptors’ Andrea Bargnani (Italy) and Chicago Bulls’ Luol Deng (UK).

NBA LIVE 09 will be available for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PlayStation 2 and the PSP on October 7 inNorth America, and on October 14 worldwide.

2K Sports Helps Debut Gunnin’ in Harlem

Here’s one for all you ballers out there. 2K Sports, Beastie Boys’ Adam “MCA” Yauch and Oscilloscope Laboratories have teamed up to debut the high school basketball documentary, GUNNIN’ FOR THAT #1 SPOT in NYC tonight. Directed by Yauch, the film follows eight of the country’s best high school basketball players as they are adored by fans, wooed by colleges and sneaker companies, and groomed to be in the spotlight.

The documentary will makes its small screen debut at the Magic Johnson theatre in Harlem, New York tonight (June 25th). A red carpet event will begin at 6:45 PM, with the film’s premiere at 7:30 PM.Director Adam Yauch, basketball players Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, Jerryd Bayless, Donte Greene, Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings, Kyle Singler and Lance Stephenson are scheduled to appear.

You can learn more about the film by visiting www.gunninmovie.com

College Hoops 2K9 Canceled

In a story that is sure to feed the anti-EA Sports sentiment further, Kotaku reports that Take-Two has canceled College Hoops 2K9 because of a breakdown in negotiations with the Collegiate Licensing Company. Unconfirmed rumors allege that EA Sports is trying to secure a license exclusively for NCAA with a substantial bid. Take-Two issued the following statement on the matter to Kotaku:

2K Sports has decided not to continue negotiations with the CLC for the license for its top-rated College Hoops franchise, which would have been released next in November 2008. We are committed to providing fans with high-quality, critically-acclaimed sports games, but given our disciplined approach to the business, we do not believe the current discussions would result in an acceptable outcome.