Barring the alphabet soup-like title, NBA 2K16 has turned out to be a staple in the basketball gaming community. Originally developed by Visual Concepts studio and released in 1999 by Sega for the now defunct Sega Dreamcast, NBA 2K quickly became a competitor series to the well-established EA franchise of NBA Live. While NBA Live was released relatively close to NBA 2K’s timeframe, EA’s NBA Live came from a franchise succession of games such as NBA Playoffs and NBA Showdown.
EA followed up NBA Live with a misstep called NBA Elite 11. NBA Elite was never released but cost EA studios a year of development and resulted in a lost year of competition against the newly competitive NBA 2K franchise. A few more missteps by EA pushed the NBA Live franchise further behind the burgeoning NBA 2K success and helped cement the franchise’s place in basketball gaming.
For fans of the NBA 2K series, the most recent installment is slated for console release later this year, but Xbox One gamers can start reserving their copies today. According to the pre-order disclaimer:
“XBOX ONE GAME EXPECTED TO RELEASE ON 9/29/2015. YOU MAY DOWNLOAD THE GAME FROM XBOX LIVE BEFORE THEN, BUT IT WILL NOT BE PLAYABLE UNTIL 12:01 AM EST 9/25/2015 Once purchase is complete, download this game by selecting the “Manage” button on the product details page on your console.
In addition to digital reserve availability, eager NBA 2K16 gamers can also look forward to virtual currency for previously owned games as well as exclusive ‘swag’ for MyPLAYER characters.”
In addition to digital reserve availability, eager NBA 2K16 gamers can also look forward to receiving virtual currency that can be applied to previously owned NBA 2K 15 games as well as exclusive ‘swag’ for MyPLAYER characters.
- “Pre-Order NBA 2K16 – includes 35,000 VC for NBA 2K15 (instant download); digital download on Friday, September 25 (4 days before standard release on September 29); 10,000 Virtual Currency; MyTEAM VIP with 3 Emerald packs each with a guaranteed Emerald player.
- Pre-order NBA 2K16 Michael Jordan Special Edition – includes NBA 2K16 and additional in-game rewards: Digital Jordan shoes for your MyPLAYER; Jordan T-shirt for your MyPLAYER; Jordan Jersey for your MyPLAYER; 30,000 Virtual Currency; MyTEAM VIP+ Packs, featuring 3 Emerald Packs AND a new Special Edition Exclusive Moments Card.”
Are you a fan of basketball video games? If so, let us know in the comments below which franchise you prefer and whether you will be pre-ordering NBA 2K16.