NBA 2K10 New Demo and Features

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Hey NBA 2K fans,

My name is Ronnie and I am the Community Manager here at 2K Sports. Many of you know me as Ronnie2K. I am the guy that gets to take part in the ridiculous stunts that we pull off here at 2K Sports. I attend all the athlete motion capture sessions (my buddy Andre Iguodala), put on events for fans across the country (Alex Ovechkin greeting fans from a Zamboni in the heart of Manhattan), interview the brightest stars that represent our company (shout out to James White, expecting a big year out of you sir!), and bring together and distribute the most exclusive 2K Sports swag. Being a huge basketball player in my time and getting to work for the best NBA simulation on this planet is truly out of this world. Do I really get paid for this stuff? But don’t get me wrong, I am the guy that’s just like any of you: a huge fan of our video games and our company and I want to give you guys a voice here at 2K Sports. Feel free at anytime to drop me a line, ask a question, or challenge me to a game. I am a pretty challenging NBA 2K10 match-up if I do say so myself.

I wanted to discuss why NBA 2K10 is going to be the most realistic, simulation basketball experience to date. Our team has added all-new gameplay components, out-of-this-world graphics, even more realistic Signature Style animations, all-new presentation elements, and an unrivalled online system. The demo for PlayStation 3 will be out October 8th 15th. It will feature a one quarter match-up between last year’s NBA Finals opponents: pitting the Orlando Magic at the Los Angeles Lakers.

NBA 2K10 Kobe

You will get four of the most intense game play minutes to become familiar with the game and get a taste of why NBA 2K10 will be unrivaled in the basketball arena. It still amazes me how all ten of the players on the court match their real life counterparts, both physically and in their tendencies. I probably shouldn’t be surprised after watching all the development team’s motion capture efforts from the past few months. It is no surprise that the game’s artificial intelligence is more intelligent than ever and will give you the freedom to have complete control of the actual outcome and actions of your player and match-up. This season you won’t just play the NBA, you’ll TAKE OVER.

I also want to take the opportunity to explain modes that you won’t see in the demo, but are among the finest features within the full game that hits stores everywhere October 6th. My favorite one is the new NBA Today integration. My biggest gripe over the years is that when it came to commentary, presentation, and overlays, a regular exhibition game was happening in a vacuum. There was nothing “real” about it. It was a fantasy matchup that had no real-world context and no impact. I had the pleasure of meeting both Kevin Harlan and Clark Kellogg and talked to them about this issue. It amazed me how deep their knowledge of the game was and how we didn’t capture that fully before. They could talk about what was happening in that particular game and they could talk about what happened last season. That was pretty much it.

NBA 2K10 Eastern Conf


Now that your game and the NBA are in sync, the door is thrown open for dynamic commentary that’s based on what’s really happening in the real NBA. During the action, the play-by-play commentary is interspersed with real-life facts that touch on how the players and teams are doing during the season and how they played in their last outing. We spent hours recording thousands of lines of audio with Kevin & Clark, so that in game they can discuss a team’s previous real life win or loss, and what the determining factors were in that game. The commentary and presentation will constantly be changing throughout the season to coincide with the real league and transition from pre-season to regular season, and finally, to the postseason based on what is happening in real life.

Obviously with no previous game context going into the demo game, there is no audio in the demo, but something that you should look for in the full version of NBA 2K10 that will bring your experience to a new level. Another great mode is My Player. You will get to build a budding NBA player and make a ton of decisions in his career that will influence him in his transformation to potential star. You will get to create and customize your player, both in terms of looks and play style, put him through intense drills to increase his skills and attributes, and play in games where he must fit within the team flow, while completing both Offensive and Defensive objectives and achieving career milestones. Doing so will put him on course to becoming the next icon in the NBA. In brief, My Player brings role-playing to basketball and allows you to create any type of player at any position. Should be great fun to see what you guys come up with!

NBA 2K10 Vitals

I am looking forward to how impressive I can make my 6’7” Athletic Small Forward that I built in the pre-release NBA 2K10: Draft Combine. I hope many of you got an early start on your career by grabbing the Draft Combine SKU. You will only get to take part in the NBA Draft if you work hard and go through the Combine. It’s available to download from the PlayStation Store if you want that early boost. I am partial to those two features because a career mode and realistic commentary/presentation have been my biggest gripes over my ten years playing NBA 2K basketball, but there are so many more cool features I didn’t even get into in NBA 2K10. Feel free to drop a question if you have one below. But grab the demo on October 8th 15th and make sure to get your copy of NBA 2K10!

– Ronnie

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108 Comments

71 Author Replies

  • Nice, I’m really glad to see you guys at 2K sports posting on the officail blog.

    Looking forward to purchasing this game sometime this week.

    • Glad to be here… you can sense my overall excitement with NBA 2K10, it was great fun to work on the product this year between developers, marketing, and, most importantly, as a fan.

  • i think this is going to be a great game. Im going to download it when it comes out! Oh and cool gun…

  • how come the ps3 version of 2k10 does not include custom arena music like other versions of game?

    • This is something we wanted to do and may in the future. It\’s the first year we have implemented this anywhere at all.

  • why doesnt the ps3 version of 2k10 have custom arena music?

  • Throw in the T-shirt cannon and I’m in.

    • I am trying to figure out what all I want to do with it. The possibilities are endless. If a crazy guy shows up at an arena near you, chances are it\’ll be me.

  • Why is it that 2k have a WAY more support toward the 360… U as debs fail to present the ps3 with simple features that the ps3 now supports such as in game music.. But u give it to the 360.. That’s bad developing… Why come post here if you just want to milk ps3 users for their money… If you want to support the 360 so much more don’t bother here…

  • Also why is It that even the graphics/ polish of everything even the MENUS of previous games and probably this game so bad compared to the other platforms…

  • I love this game!! Great job 2K Sports, keep up the wood work!!

  • Hi guys! I am here to answer questions.

  • How come they are advertising a 360 game on a playstation blog? because 2K supports Xbox way more than PS3. I agree with comment 6, dont come here milking PS3 users money unless you are going to start supporting it the same way.

  • are the servers working now ?

  • No thanks, I think I will stick to NBA 10.

  • I’ve been reading up on getting this game and I’ve seen a few complaints about frame rate issues in the paint and various other glitches. Are there plans to put out a patch to deal with these complaints?

    • The issue you are speaking about has to do with a camera. Turn off zoom in the key and you will run smoothly. A permanent solution is not far behind.

  • You know that’s a picture of an Xbox game, right?

  • I’ve read complaints about various problems and glitches such as frame rate issues in the paint. Are these problems being worked on for a future patch?

  • Sorry about the double post, first one didn’t go up for a while there.

  • I’m sorry, but putting a 360 game on the front page of the official playstation blog is an epic fail.

  • awesome, I’m excited to play this

  • And here I thought 2K was the laziest gaming company around.

  • @14 and 17, Seriously? that’s retarded if it’s true, omg…

  • I’ll try out the demo. But I agree with the 360 cover on the official us PS Blog. But a sports game needs to have custom music in the arenas these days.

  • Uh, it’s not a 360 game. What makes you think that?

  • I see what you did there, smart move, lol.

  • Got the game yesterday and I love it :)
    Please add Custom Soundtracks. PLZ

  • the picture of the 360 game got pulled fast…

  • The game is for both 360 and ps3, but I have to admit, the 360 version always seems to outshine the ps3 version in almost every way. Whether that’s due to poor developing or because it’s a port or for whatever lame reason, I think that it’s unacceptable. I’ve been buying NBA2K for the last 5 years now, simply because it’s a great series. However it aggravates me when I see that the ps3 version is always weaker. That being said I will still get the ps3 version since ps3 is my system of choice.

    • I don\’t really agree with your sentiment here or other comments of this nature. To be honest, many have reported that the PS3 graphics are sharper. I think it\’s a matter of what you\’re used to. I personally love playing on the PS3 and enjoy the online experience more than on any other system.

  • Just got the full game today. Can’t wait to give it a go.

  • Dear Ronnie, I’d like to know what the developers take into consideration for player ratings in comparison to NBA Live 10 having DNA that comes from player stats in real life.

    • Hi Evil!
      Great question. Our player ratings are on a 25-99 system and based on more attributes than any. Our overall ratings are a very deep formula that incorporates all statistics differently based on your position.

      This year with the Player Progression system, you\’ll get a physical representation in the game about how each player is getting better or worse on every statistic. It\’s a really cool feature.

  • Glad those of you who got the game enjoy it! It really is a great experience, especially offline. Online, since the server smoothed out, I have gotten great reports of games.

  • So what makes 2k10 better than NBA Live10? Iv’e always bout live but everyone is telling me to get 2k so why should I get it?

    • We have been the #1 selling and #1 rated for several years. The NBA 2K10 gameplay is unrivaled and, from my point of view, we have just blown up in presentation the last two years. Our features continue to blow people away, notably what I discussed about with My Player and NBA Today.

      NBA Today is just crazy. During the season, Kobe goes off for 81 again, the game is going to know that when you play with or against the Lakers. That is just insane.

  • yes, keep on skankin’ Ronnie!

  • Well see what I’m curious about is how you guys judge what player is good at what. I understand the rating system for the most part. I just want to know where the ratings come from.

    • The ratings are derived initially from stats from the previous season, giving various baselines attributes from a formula. Then our mysterious NBA 2K Insider uses judgment on athletic ability. Then we look at larger and smaller sample sizes. Was this player a fluke last year based on his last three years? What hot zones and where do people shoot from and how successful are they from there?

      And then lastly, we have a tendency system new to this year that is run through http://www.82games.com. Here\’s more info on that for all those interested: http://community.2ksports.com/community/insights/index.cfm?aid=987609&l=11

  • Thanks for bringing us the Info Ronnie. Are there any plans to bring “legends” into the game? I would love to be able to relive my favorite times in Basketball with legendary teams and players of yore, including the Celtics(Bird, McHale, Perish) Lakers(Worthy, Johnson, Hastings) Bulls (MJ, Scotty Pipen), Trailbalzers (Clyde the Glide), Jazz (Malone, Stockton), Pistons (all the Bad Boys), The Knicks (Ewing), The Rockets (The Twin Towers) etc etc.

    • Hi reson8er,
      A few of the legends you mentioned are already in the game. You can go to the various decade teams or NBA Blackstop.

      However, to the best of my knowledge, all of these deals are done on a one-by-one basis as our NBA license excludes people who own their own names (i.e. most retired players). So while we\’d love to have them in there, it would take two to tango!

  • hey ronnie, the 2k team really made a great job this year on NBA 2k10 for the PS3, i just want to know why the custom music feature was left out of the ps3 version, NHL 10 (3rd party) has that and MLB 09(1st party) has that feature too, so it is not impossible to implement that feature for the ps3, I would appreciate a response. I would like to know also if you guys are planning to add that for next year for NBA 2k11 if a patch is too late for that feature, Thanks looking forward to a stable server and the patch.

    • I can\’t go deeply into why it wasn\’t implemented this year, but we will do everything possible to make it happen for next year.

  • I have just grabbed 2k10. Its an improvement over 2K9. Its great and if you are a basketball fan, its a must have.

  • Is Online better this year than 2k9? Last year there wasnt a great way to communicate in the lobby or a easy way to play a game with a friend online. If i went to the lobby i had to wait until a friend came in and hope nobody tries to jump in before my friend can sign in. I really hope this years online is really fleshed out. 2k8’s lobby system was a good starting point but was taking out in 2k9.

    • Great question!!! I hated what you reference here as well. This year, I feel like it might be the best lobby system ever.

      That is because of a new feature called Who’s Online. This is essentially a floating lobby you can access just about anywhere in the game. Accessing Who’s Online by pushing Square on any screen will first bring up your friends list. Here you can get a quick glance at where your friends are by viewing their rich presence and quickly send a game invite to anyone you want.

      Tabbing over (R2) will take you to the available players list. This is a list of everyone who is online and wants to play. To add yourself to this list, simply press Triangle. Scroll through the list, send messages, and scout possible opponents then when you’re ready to play select your opponent and set up the match you’d like to challenge them to. We provide a huge list of game options and sliders to set so that you get the exact game experience you want.

      Who’s Online also comes into play when setting up Team-Up Crew games. You can invite other players from the Who’s Online available players list to your Pick-Up Lobby so you have a little more control over who you play with. Using this tool, you can scout teammates and fill your game with people who play your style of basketball rather than jumping into a game with random teammates.

      One of the reasons I’m excited about this feature is, not only does it offer a way to tailor your game through settings and sliders, it really provides a good way to get more people who want to play in one place. I know that while the settings and sliders are fun and important for some, for others it’s really about finding the right type of opponent or teammate. With that, we are hoping that with the ease and availability of Who’s Online everyone will give everyone have a wide selection of opponents and teammates to chose from as well as the availability of all of the tools we provide to help scout each player. I also want to add: that part of the scouting tools is listing everyone’s ping bars so you can see what their connection looks like before sending them an invite. That is huge so you can filter out people who you may have lagged with last year.

  • I have a question!

    Anyone have questions about what life is like in the marketing department of a video game company? Any of you dreamed of working for us?

  • Hey Ron. First I want to say great game! Those “other” guys will never catch up. Please get the NFL license back from EA! I have a few questions:

    1. I have been having issues uploading my in-game videos to your server. I can see it in my 2k profile, but it won’t play. Do you know what’s up?

    2. NFL 2k had a stellar half-time show with breakdowns of plays and stuff that until this day, hasn’t been rivaled in any sports game. I know you guys kind of do it in-game but do you think something like this would be included during the half-time show in future releases of NBA 2k?

    3. All-Star Weekend!!! We want a full version of it in game with All-Star Saturday where you can optionally participate in the events as well as get invites to players on your team to participate. If you don’t get an invite, you can still participate by selecting one of the participants or you can have a “spectator cam” where you can sit in the front row next to the other NBA players and watch the contest. Maybe you can even snap “photo’s” of the dunks and upload them to the servers as your All-Star Weekend experience!!!!

    Didn’t mean to write a book. Thanks for the great game homie!

    • Hi Bloodbath,
      Thanks for the feedback sir.

      1) I wonder how much of that had to do with the first 12 hour server hiccups we were having. Try it again, and if it doesn\’t work, come hit me up on twitter or the 2K Sports forums.

      2) I couldn\’t agree with you more here. I am going to make this top of the idea list we file every year from community this year as this is one of the few things we are missing.

      3) We have a new and improved All Star Weekend where you can participate on everything. We have a new bench camera, though I am blanking on whether it works during this mode. And the photo snap you are referring to is also in this year\’s game… try using the Pressbook feature after the game. You can then upload them to the server and share them using 2K Share.

      Hope that answer your questions, let me know if you need further explanation.

  • So Ronnie, When will 2K actually release a finished game? Does the game go through a QA process, if so how did they miss the bugs present in the game?

    Are you actually proud to endorse a broken game to the masses where all the players are pissed because 2K dropped the ball again this year… but then again you are in the 2K payroll. Sorry to troll you but damn this has got to stop. Since you are busy answering posts here instead of the 2K forums I decided to catch you here.

    Now you can ban me.

    • I spend hours upon hours on the 2K Sports Forums, so I refuse to comment on that further. I am sure you have seen the support I have there.

      What bugs are you referring to? This general \”there are bugs\” statement needs more information. Come track me down on the forums if you want to discuss them.

  • how do you guys feel about nba live 10??

    I just wrote that to see if I can get a reply.
    :)

    • To be honest, I don\’t even think about that. I feel like we\’re striving to be as close to the real life game of basketball and that\’s always the focus.

  • Hey Ronnie,

    This isnt a question about how great the game is, thats obvious just from the trailers and recent reviews,

    I just wanted to know, who is your favourite team to play as in the game?

    and

    Who is your favourite in game player?

    Cant wait to get my hands on the game on Friday because i live in the UK,

    Thanks

    • A fellow London brother. I lived there many a year!

      I really like the Orlando Magic this year because of their inside and outside presence. My game is much like what is was in high school. Feed it to the post or penetrate, kick it to the outside for the open three. The Magic have all those weapons.

      My favorite player in real life is Shaq. I have always been amazed by his ability to handle and charm the public and he is still going strong.

      My favorite player in the game though is myself. I mean I mo-capped my shot so… Haha, in case you\’re interested to see what I shoot like, pick the shot type SPIKE.

  • Why do 2k always support 360. why not ps3. Every tournament or commercial always comes out and support 360. thats not right because live is supporting 360 too.2k need to come to ps3 world and make a change

  • Ronnie have you officially addressed the development drills bug. The one where after you do development drills in association mode the players attributes are dramatically reduced in the areas that were supposed to be increased?

    Great blog!

  • Wuz up Ronnie. Does 2k10 still has tha NBA blacktop mode with tha dunk contest and street mode and how did u guys change it from last year? Thanks

    • Hey DaPinz,
      Yes we still have the awesome blacktop mode, where we go to the streets. New legends will partake, but no dramatic changes here.

  • i wish we had the ability to play or own music off the PS3 hdd so i don’t listen to the weak commentary. i don’t need to hear play by play to enjoy the game i wish i could just bounce to my own music. any chance off patch that will allow us to play music off our PS3 hdd while playing the game.

  • whooptie friggin doo, i already bought the game, i bet the xbox owners had fun with their demo BEFORE the game came out.

    i know this isnt the right spot, but on fast breaks why do the players run to the 3point line with the lane open?

    and yes my fastbreak is turned to 100

    • It\’s not everyone, and it\’s the rarest of players who have the tendency on fast breaks to shoot a 3 instead of going for the easy two. Many coaches have that in their playbook tendencies.

  • why 2k doesnt support ps3 and it support 360.. plus live is supporting 360 too.thats not right

  • Thanks for the reply Ron. You pretty much answered my question but I think I didn’t make myself clear on #3. I meant during Association Mode. I just realized you can snap the photos and stuff after just playing it (sweeeet) but All-Star Saturday with all those activities during Association would just be crazy!!!! I see the Rookie/Sophmore game too.

    Anyway, keep doing what ya’ll do!

  • Can you really play celebs online?

    • Yep, they\’ll be on there from time to time. The Game is an exclusive PS3 player, sure you\’ll see him on there. I know for a fact that Andre Iguodala and Nate Robinson have their copies (and are avid players) cause I was there when they were handed their copies.

  • Hey Ron, this is just a really great game. But still the servers must need a really over the top upgrade.

    You’re doin a great work here. Keep it up!

    • I imagine many of you will be impressed by the dramatic step up in our server this year. These initial issues actually have little to do with the server, just your normal first 48 hour stuff when you introduce a ton new modes to the game. I mean, how sick is My Player?

      Thanks for the kind words Charli!

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