#sports
For years, NBA 2K only featured a few pair of authentic Air Jordans in its equipment lineup. That changes with NBA 2K11, featuring His Airness in the game. Twenty-five models are available, and they carry attribute boosts. More »
NBA 2K11 has everything to lose this year. As the top-selling basketball title of last year, and with EA rebuilding and re-branding its own basketball experience as NBA Elite 11, you might think 2K Games could probably coast for the next few years, sit back and count the dough. But if there's one phrase I've heard plenty of times from 2K reps during my visit, it's "The Pepsi Challenge."
2K is putting its money where its mouth is, investing in real improvements to its yearly franchise. The first (and perhaps most important to longtime fans) is the online play. Right away I threw the question at them (it's a hot topic in the community and something I bring up every time I talk to these guys -- we've gotta be sure!) and asked, "Are you going to fix the online experience this year?" I was told it was a big focus for 2K -- the other, obviously, being Michael Jordan.
Take-Two Interactive sports game developer Visual Concepts recently let go of 30 employees, according to a statement issued by the publisher. VP of corporate communications and public affairs at Take-Two Alan Lewis told Industry Gamers, "In order to properly align its resources with its current and future goals, and to continue to develop games as efficiently as possible, 2K Sports has eliminated approximately 30 positions at its Visual Concepts studio." When contacted by Joystiq, Take-Two refused to provide further information.
The next game due from Visual Concepts is NBA 2K11 on October 5, which is said to be unaffected by the layoffs. "These reductions will not affect 2K Sports' ability to create and deliver AAA titles, including its upcoming release of NBA 2K11," the statement from Take-Two claims. As always, we wish those affected the best in the future.
Who the hell knows if/when we’ll get a Wii-specific trailer for NBA 2K11? I figured I’d post up this trailer, just so we could get a look at the gameplay. At the very least, we get a Snoop Dogg rap all about 2K11!
#clips
Snoop Dogg provides the theme, custom-fit to NBA 2K11, in a montage 2K Sports gave exclusively to IGN earlier today. Jordan on Kobe, the Bad Boys bringing it up, LeBron in Miami, Ewing with the up-and-under. It'll fire you up. More »
#nba
Ten great games and eight great teams from the zenith of Michael Jordan's career were not enough. NBA 2K11 will feature a singleplayer mode allowing you to take the game's greatest superstar into today's league - if you're good enough. More »
"It was tough to narrow down the list to just ten, but we wanted to pick games and moments that were career-defining and that translated well to replicating through a video game," explained 2K marketing director SportsChris Snyder of NBA 2K11's new "Jordan Challenge" mode -- a series of recreations of some of Michael Jordan's most famous moments on the hardwood.
As the cover athlete, Jordan has been involved with the game's development to some extent. "Michael has been great with feedback," Snyder told us. "When he talks we are definitely all ears." While Jordan did not personally assemble the list of games featured in the Jordan Challenge, "he also didn't shut it down when we sent it in for approval," Snyder said. "So I like to think we picked a good list."
When asked whether Jordan's famous teammates, such as Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, would be included in the game, Snyder promised, "fans will be pleased with who they see on the court." Outside of the Jordan Challenge mode, players can use the "Classic Bulls team," which 2K confirmed would be selectable right from the beginning. (Snyder couldn't say whether players would be able to use this team online.)
Finally, for those of you lamenting the absence of perhaps Jordan's greatest basketball accomplishment -- defeating the Monstars in the epic Space Jam showdown -- Snyder offers this: "Bugs Bunny's price was too high." We guess the price of carrots must be on the rise.
Rob Jones here. As you can tell from my interviews and the recent IGN Preview, I am very excited about the changes that NBA 2K11 has gone through. When we finished NBA 2K10, we felt that the game had some solid building pieces that we could carry forward into 2K11. You may remember my Insight [...]
#tunes
Press play on this video and read that headline in the voice of former Chicago Bulls public address Ray Clay, because the game's soundtrack includes "Sirius" by the Alan Parsons Project, the team's intro song during the Michael Jordan era. More »
#dlc
Last year's "NBA Draft Combine" for NBA 2K10 - a paid downloadable mode that went out before the game's release - will be part of NBA 2K11's main game this year, according to a 2K Sports community manager. More »
Earlier today, we were told of the "Jordan Challenges" in NBA 2K11, a series of highlight games from the illustrious career of the game's cover athlete, Michael Jordan. There will be a total of 10 different challenge games players will need to compete in and 2K Sports was kind enough to bestow upon us the full list, which you can take a look at after the break.
#jordan
When it arrives Oct. 5, NBA 2K11 will feature a 10-game "Jordan Challenge" that recreates Michael Jordan's most famous performances. Here's a breakdown of each game, its significance, and what you must do - plus one very notable omission. More »
#jordan
The Shrug. The Double Nickel. And "God disguised as Michael Jordan." The signature moments of the NBA's greatest player ever will be playable in a special challenge coming to NBA 2K11. More »
2K Sports has announced an intriguing, star-powered mode for its upcoming pro hoops title, NBA 2K11: "The Jordan Challenge." As your brain probably discerned upon reading the words "hoops" and "Jordan" in the same sentence, the mode will place you in the comically large sneakers of Michael Jordan and task you with recreating 10 of the biggest games in the legendary athlete's career. These recreations must be perfect, or the time-traveling Jordan might just create a paradox, simultaneously destroying all matter at every point of time.
Only a handful of games have been revealed so far: There's his 69-point bout against the Cavaliers in March of 1990, his self-described best game. There's also his flu-ridden performance against the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals. And, of course, the collection wouldn't be complete without his climactic match-up against the Monstars, in which his physics-defying, game-winning slam dunk guaranteed the freedom of his animated teammates, and led to his recovery of the basketball skills of fellow ballers Barkley, Ewing, Bogues, Johnson and Bradley.
#nba2k10
LeBron James' decision to leave Cleveland sign with Miami will also change the fortunes of those franchises' video game counterparts. Expect to catch a lot of the Heat in online multiplayer. And the Cavaliers, formerly the top choice, will vanish. More »
Yesterday, it seemed like the only thing people could talk about on TV, the radio and Twitter was Lebron James. For the uninitiated, he's one of the greatest basketball stars playing today. Wrapping up a lengthy stay in Cleveland with the Cavaliers -- where he's been for the past seven years, since age 18 -- James had finally become a free agent, able to go wherever he wished. As we learned last night, he chose to join the Miami Heat.
With 2K Sports set to launch the latest iteration in its NBA 2K series, NBA 2K11, on October 5, we got in touch with Chris Snyder, director of marketing for the label, to get his thoughts on the situation. While he admitted that 2K Sports was "not at all" worried about the recent events surrounding James stealing the spotlight from Michael Jordan's signing as this year's cover star, he did admit that James and the teams affected by his decision haven't had their stats finalized in the game just yet.
"It's too early to tell, as the Heat have to fill out the rest of the roster," Snyder said. "The Heat definitely will be improved, and the Cavs will definitely take a hit, but we need to see where everyone else lands before we can determine who is the number one ranked team." (Sports experts currently predict a Celtics-Heat Eastern Conference showdown for the foreseeable future.)
Finally, 2K Sports offered us a lone screenshot (above, click to enlarge) which provides us with our first glimpse of James in a Heat uniform. We know it's painful to see, Cleveland -- but it's all a part of moving on.
#coverstory
This morning, NBA 2K11 revealed its box art featuring Michael Jordan, billed as "the greatest cover of all time." But there are many other athletes, also the greatest in their respective sports, who've graced a game's cover. Here's a sampling. More »
2K Sports calls it the "Greatest Cover of All Time" -- but, you know, it's not even the greatest Michael Jordan cover of all time. Five words: Chaos. In. The. Windy. City. (Click the image for a better look at Jordan's latest comeback.)
#covers
Here is Michael Jordan on the cover of this fall's NBA 2K11. Cool image, a long time coming, but isn't Muhammad Ali "the greatest of all time"? More »
