NBA star Derrick Rose signs on for NBA 2K10: Draft Combine

2K Sports has signed rising NBA star, Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, as the official spokesman for NBA 2K10: Draft Combine, a download-only title that promises a pre-season basketball experience leading up to the fall launch of NBA 2K10. Rose, the 2009 T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year, has quickly become one of the most prolific playmakers in the league, and this season NBA 2K10: Draft Combine will tap into Rose’s personal knowledge and experience training for the NBA Draft.

Rose, who led the University of Memphis to the NCAA Championship game in his freshman year, was selected the top overall pick by his hometown Chicago Bulls in the 2008 NBA Draft after only one college season. This past year, he averaged 16.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Additionally, Rose led the Chicago Bulls back to the NBA playoffs, and his 36 points tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA record for the most points scored by a rookie in his playoff debut.

NBA 2K10: Draft Combine, developed by Visual Concepts, is planned for release in North America, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and India on August 26 for Xbox LIVE Arcade (400 Microsoft Points), and North America and Korea on September 3 for the PlayStation Network

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 2K10: Anniversary Edition details

2K Sports is celebrating 10 years of NBA 2K with NBA 2K10: Anniversary Edition, planned for release in North America this fall for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Beyond the game, NBA 2K10: Anniversary Edition will come in a specially designed 2K Sports locker containing items featuring 2009 NBA Finals MVP Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, along with a special commemorative video looking back on 10 years of NBA 2K and its past cover athletes.

Each NBA 2K10: Anniversary Edition will be individually numbered for authenticity too, if that’s important to you. Only 30,000 copies of this limited edition version of the game will be released.

NBA 2K10: Anniversary Edition will include the NBA 2K10 video game, 2K Sports’ NBA 2K10 game locker packaging, a 3 inch figurine of Kobe Bryant by McFarlane Toys, a 16 inch x 36 inch Kobe Bryant poster, the commemorative NBA 2K 10th anniversary DVD and access to the Gold Room - the NBA 2K10 VIP online lobby (accessible only with Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network membership, of course).

Look for it in stores this fall.

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.