NBA 2K12

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NBA 2K12
Nba2k12box mj.jpg
NBA 2K12 cover featuring Michael Jordan.
Developer(s) Visual Concepts
Publisher(s) 2K Sports
Series NBA 2K
Platform(s) Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Playstation 2, Nintendo Wii, Windows
Release date(s) October 4th, 2011
System requirements Minimum:
  • Windows XP/2000/Vista/7
  • 2.4 GHz Intel Pentium 4
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 10.5 GB free hard drive space
  • 128 MB video card with DirectX 9.0c driver
  • 8x or faster DVD-ROM Drive
  • Sound card with DirectX 9.0c compatible driver
  • Dual Analog GamePad (Recommended)

NBA 2K12 is a video game by 2K Sports. It is the thirteenth installment in the NBA 2K series and was released October 4th 2011 in North America. It is a direct sequel to NBA 2K11 and was followed by NBA 2K13 in 2012. On July 21st 2011, 2K Sports revealed that the game will be available with three different covers: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Development[edit]

NBA 2K12 retains staples of the NBA 2K series such as Association Mode, My Player, the Shot Stick and Isomotion control, while adding new historical content and enhancements to gameplay and game modes.

On March 11th, Pastapadre.com reported that TNT commentator and voice of NBA 2K Kevin Harlan revealed in an interview on Damon Bruce's radio show that Steve Kerr would be joining him on commentary in NBA 2K12. Kerr previously provided commentary alongside Marv Albert for the NBA Live series from NBA Live 06 through NBA Live 10.

On May 17th, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game were confirmed to be on display at E3 2011.

On May 31st, a teaser trailer was released, containing NBA 2K11 footage. It confirmed the release date as October 4th 2011.

In an interview at E3 2011, producer Erick Boenisch touched upon improvements to the presentation in NBA 2K12. The game will feature dynamic game introductions with different clips and highlights rather than standard introduction cutscenes and further efforts have been made to imitate a TV-style broadcast, with improvements to the overlays and commentary track. Boenisch also confirmed a change that the game features a new system for shooting free throws. In a video interview, Rob Jones mentioned that enhancements would be made to the dribbling and post game, as well as a continued effort to move away from canned animations.

The PlayStation 3 version of NBA 2K12 supports PlayStation Move controls, with a control scheme dubbed NBA on the Move.

On August 3rd 2011, 2K Sports announced the inclusion of a new mode: NBA's Greatest. Building on the success and popularity of the Jordan Challenge, NBA's Greatest will allow players to recreate a historic game for fifteen NBA legends, complete with authentic broadcast presentation from their respective eras. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were the first five legends confirmed upon the announcement of the mode, with Wilt Chamberlain, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Isiah Thomas, Bill Russell, John Stockton and Jerry West being confirmed on August 18th. Full team rosters, along with a list of bonus teams, were revealed on August 19th.

Soundtrack[edit]

For the second year in a row, 2K Sports partnered up with Duck Down Records for a contest to give aspiring producers and MCs a chance to be featured on the official NBA 2K12 soundtrack. Beginning on March 23rd 2011, the first phase of the contest saw producers submit a sample-free instrumental track, with Alex Kresovich's "The Return" announced as the winner on April 14th. Following the second phase, in which MCs submitted a clean track using "The Return", the top ten finalists were be selected by 2K Sports and Duck Down and presented to the fans on May 2nd. Voting ended on May 9th and the winning entry by D.J.I.G., "Now's My Time", was announced on May 31st. The track is available to listen to here on the Duck Down website.

The full soundtrack was revealed August 11th 2011 and features artists such as Eminem & Royce Da 5'9", Travis Barker, Busta Rhymes, Lil Jon, Twista, Cee-Lo, Q-Tip.

Cover Players[edit]

On July 20th 2011, 2K Sports invited fans to Tweet #NBA2K12 with the promise that the NBA 2K12 cover would be revealed once 100,000 people had Tweeted. On July 21st, it was revealed that the game would be available with three different covers: one featuring Michael Jordan, one featuring Magic Johnson and one featuring Larry Bird.

Official Patches[edit]

The first official roster update for NBA 2K12 was released on December 12th, following the end of the lockout and beginning of the abbreviated 2011 NBA offseason. The updates gradually added the class of 2011 rookies to the game as well as the latest transactions. NBA 2K12 has also received official art updates including the Toronto Raptors' new court with the 3D "Raptors" logo on the baseline, the 2012 All-Star court in Orlando and several shoe updates as players have debuted them.

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of NBA 2K12 received two minor updates in October and November, addressing a small number of gameplay issues and attempting to fix online stability. A major title update (v1.04) was released for the PlayStation 3 version on December 13th, with the Xbox 360 version receiving the patch on December 14th. The PC version finally received a combined update, which included all previous fixes released for the console versions, on March 6th 2012.

Reception to the updates has been mixed. While the roster updates have added the missing rookies, left out of the game at release due to the lockout, issues with player contracts have left certain players out of the game and certain ratings updates have not been popular. The official art updates have also caused problems with community made mods. While the major title updates have fixed certain other issues, not all gamers have reacted positively to some of the gameplay changes and some dissatisfaction remains due to issues that were not addressed by the patches.

Legends Showcase[edit]

On November 29th 2011, 2K Sports released the Legends Showcase downloadable content for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of NBA 2K12. The Showcase includes new players, additional game modes in a new street court setting and cel-shaded, cartoon style presentation.

Reception[edit]

NBA 2K12 received Machinima.com's Best Sports Game at E3 Award, also receiving a runner-up nod in IGN's E3 2011 Awards behind EA Sports' FIFA Soccer 12. IGN was the first to post a review of the game on September 30th 2011, awarding it a score of 9.5 and proclaiming it "better in every single way" compared to NBA 2K11. NBA 2K12 currently holds scores of 90 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) and 86 (PC) on Metacritic.

The response of the gaming community has been generally favourable, with many fans deeming it as good as or another step forward from NBA 2K11. Not all gamers hold this point of view however some fans consider it a step back from NBA 2K11, while others have expressed disappointment and frustration with certain bugs and issues that remain unfixed. The delay of the official patches also caused a notable amount of discontent, especially for PC users who did not receive the official update until March 6th 2012. For the most part however, NBA 2K12 has been well received by the gaming media and gamers alike.

Screenshots[edit]

Links[edit]

NBA 2K12 Logo







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NBA 2K11
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