NBA 2K12 News Post

NBA 2K12 Cover Athletes - Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird

12:00 PM - July 21, 2011 by Steve_OS

Jordan Returns: 2K Sports Announces
Trio of NBA® 2K12 Covers Featuring Three NBA Icons

Michael Jordan, joined by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson,
to grace three unique artistic covers in celebration of NBA legacy

New York, NY – July 21, 2011 – 2K Sports announced today that NBA® 2K12, the next installment of the top-rated and best-selling NBA video game simulation franchise*, will offer three separate covers for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft featuring three of the NBA’s greatest legends of all time, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

The new stylized NBA 2K12 covers are a unique, one-time departure from the traditional 2K Sports brand artwork, and will spotlight each legendary athlete on his famous team: the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Lakers. The covers featuring Bird and Johnson will be available at launch in a limited quantity.

A new feat in sports gaming, this three-part collection extends the strong legacy established by NBA 2K11, which has sold-in more than 5 million units worldwide and garnered over 20 video game accolades, including 14 ‘Sports Game of the Year’ honors.

“Bringing Michael Jordan to the virtual hardwood last year was a huge success for NBA 2K11; however, we didn’t want to stop there,” said Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. “We’re bringing ‘His Airness’ back to the NBA 2K franchise as part of a multi-year extended partnership, along with two other legendary icons – Larry Bird and Magic Johnson – for a special cover athlete collection representing the NBA’s greatest heroes.”

The unprecedented, stylized artwork covers underscore 2K Sports’ passion for bringing fans authentic NBA basketball across generations, while celebrating the legacy of legendary hoops athletes, past and present.

The cover artwork for NBA 2K12 was created by Adam Larson of Adam&Co. Larson has created dynamic artwork for galleries, magazines and various product advertising campaigns. His work has received numerous honors, including the Kelly Awards, Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, and two primetime Emmy nominations

NBA 2K12 can now be pre-ordered from leading video game retailers nationwide, and will be available on October 4, 2011, for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360, Wii™ system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and Windows PC.

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Member Comments

# 221 kwabalicious @ 07/21/11 09:45 PM

Am I gonna be playing NBA Jam?

# 222 mikenoob @ 07/21/11 10:19 PM

Sooo, I'm assuming each cover will have just 1 minor difference for content on disk which is different title screen.

# 223 Sinner @ 07/21/11 10:41 PM

love all the covers but as a Celtics fan going to have to go with my boy Larry, maybe ill get a picture of all three and set them on empty cases just to have. Can't wait for NBA2k12

# 224 Portertrain @ 07/21/11 10:41 PM

Wow......I'm so grateful they are doing the legends, judging by ronnies feedback on the ps network there is more legend team players/teams on the way......( miller,Barkley,shaquille-magic) fingers crosses And detailed sneakers goodies ... Sold!

# 225 blues rocker @ 07/21/11 11:17 PM

anyone wondering how they're going to handle Steve Kerr announcing in the Jordan mode? Will he be announcing the game AND playing in the game for the bulls at the same time? i'm wondering how they will address this.

# 226 VDusen04 @ 07/21/11 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Portertrain


	Wow......I'm so grateful they are doing the legends, judging by ronnies feedback on the ps network there is more legend team players/teams on the way......( miller,Barkley,shaquille-magic) fingers crosses And detailed sneakers goodies ... Sold!

I think you're right in that there will be more classic teams, but I didn't get the idea that any of those players mentioned were shoe-ins for inclusion (judging from the Sony blog). Rather, he seemed uncommitted either way. He more or less just said "wait until more info comes out". He could have told us straight up that someone like Charles Barkley might not be included, but then that turns everything into a yes/no game or a "well he didn't say he wasn't in the game so. . ." situation. So instead, my feeling was he just wasn't filling us in at the moment either way.

# 227 GaryT531 @ 07/21/11 11:32 PM

speaking of shaq, another cool jordan challenge idea would be 1993 when they played for the first time and mike put up 53 points.

# 228 jd@os @ 07/21/11 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KyotoCarl


	The main reason why Jordan and Barkley haven't been in any games (except NBA Live 98 or 2000) is because some sort of contract that they have.

Jordan AND Barkley. Jordan himself (not including Barkley) was in video games in the early 2000s as a Washington Wizard.

# 229 aloncho11 @ 07/21/11 11:43 PM

^Don't forget about "Chaos in the Windy City"

# 230 VDusen04 @ 07/21/11 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jd@os


	Jordan AND Barkley. Jordan himself (not including Barkley) was in video games in the early 2000s as a Washington Wizard.

Most of the time, I've heard it's one of two things (or both):

1) Existing contracts with other video game companies. MJ with his "Chaos in the Windy City" and Charles Barkley with his "Shut up and Jam".

Probably more likely:

2) I've heard MJ (and probably Charles) were not parts of the NBA Player's Association, meaning all negotiations for their likeness had to be settled individually. Through a steep price, or just an unwillingness to participate, basketball companies and these two could not come to terms.

I don't know what changed for MJ when he returned with Washington. I always kind of assumed he just joined the Player's Association.

# 231 jd@os @ 07/21/11 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aloncho11


	^Don't forget about "Chaos in the Windy City"

Sorry to get off topic, but I never played that (saw it, but never played it). Even though I had fun playing with Jordan as a member of the Wizards in the 2K games, I would be bored when I had to sub him out because that squad was absolutely dreadful.

Love the cover, looking forward to the game. Sorry to get off topic again, but c'mon 2K: this time get the Jordans right. Better yet, have an option for the regular season Js (white) and post season Js (black). Three covers to choose from...nice job 2K,

# 232 VDusen04 @ 07/21/11 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jd@os


	Sorry to get off topic, but I never played that (saw it, but never played it). Even though I had fun playing with Jordan as a member of the Wizards in the 2K games, I would be bored when I had to sub him out because that squad was absolutely dreadful.

No love for Chris Whitney and Tyrone Nesby???

# 233 VUUAASSHHH! @ 07/22/11 12:03 AM

For those complaining about the top 3 NBA legends on the covers, you guys pls go back to Miami Heat to play with LJ, DW and similar players because you don`t know what real basketball means.

# 234 jd@os @ 07/22/11 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VDusen04


	No love for Chris Whitney and Tyrone Nesby???

Nope, sorry lol. I had more love for Pete Myers on NBA Showdown '94.

# 235 mkharsh33 @ 07/22/11 12:30 AM

IMO, they would not be putting such a push on the classic rosters if they weren't really wanted by those who play the game. I'm not a fan of "today's NBA" because I just don't enjoy the game as much as I used to, but I wonder if the research that 2K has done on this idea of classic rosters is an indictment on how the NBA has changed over the years and that maybe fans don't enjoy it as much as they used to. My guess is the target age of video games are those in their 20's and 30's. My 11 year old son finds NBA Jam for the Wii to be more fun that 2k 11. Just find it interesting that 2K is making the classic teams a LARGE part of their marketing plan...

# 236 trobinson97 @ 07/22/11 12:47 AM

Those covers are beeYOOtiful! Wow, I'm definitely impressed 2K, great job.

# 237 VDusen04 @ 07/22/11 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkharsh33


	IMO, they would not be putting such a push on the classic rosters if they weren't really wanted by those who play the game. I'm not a fan of "today's NBA" because I just don't enjoy the game as much as I used to, but I wonder if the research that 2K has done on this idea of classic rosters is an indictment on how the NBA has changed over the years and that maybe fans don't enjoy it as much as they used to. My guess is the target age of video games are those in their 20's and 30's. My 11 year old son finds NBA Jam for the Wii to be more fun that 2k 11. Just find it interesting that 2K is making the classic teams a LARGE part of their marketing plan...

I'm not sure that's the case. Of course, I'm not sure there's any way possible to decide whether it is or not, but in my opinion, I don't think the move toward classic teams is an indictment on today's game. I happen to love today's NBA, but I also love the NBA I grew up with. I feel it might be more likely that the group of video gamers who grew up on NES in the 80's is growing older, with a fond memory of the basketball they grew up with, yearning to have an opportunity to play as their heroes in a modern day format.

So in that respect, with the mounting interest seen in the gaming community, I would agree that 2K is helping to cater to a 20-30 year old crowd (but not only that crowd). I'm not sure how they collect their data, but it may have helped to scan a few message boards here (reading about how much people love classic rosters) and looking at some 2KShare download numbers there (seeing thousands of downloads for nearly each classic season uploaded by users). I'm happy to see this groundswelling of support for classic teams and through whatever means, I think it's just a matter of 2K deciding to try to expand their game. Not to cater to a certain crowd, but to include them.

NBA Jam is admittedly a simpler, "go wild in the arcade" format and can appeal to kids, but it still doesn't appeal to all kids. My little brothers have preferred 2K since they were in elementary school (now 13 and 15 years old). They own NBA Jam but have likely played it about four times before losing interest. I think 2K appeals to more than just an older age range and 2K knows that. My brothers love the current NBA. The fifteen year old is a huge Derrick Rose fan and the 13 year old can't get enough of Steve Nash (and the Cleveland version of LeBron James). But on that same hand, the fifteen year old also loves Gary Payton (got an authentic Payton jersey for Christmas. . .which he never wears) and the younger one is down with Mark Price.

I suppose the point may be, things have changed but they've also stayed the same. The league may not be quite as different to the general public as you may believe it to be. It's awesome they're adding more classic teams, but it's also awesome (and obviously a given) that all the current squads are accounted for in a very realistic fashion. I think it's all about choices and opening doors for others more than an indictment on today's game.

# 238 youvalss @ 07/22/11 01:05 AM

Nice covers, though it's not that important to me. But I must say that the design is awesome. That template is so sweet!

# 239 DJ @ 07/22/11 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkharsh33


	IMO, they would not be putting such a push on the classic rosters if they weren't really wanted by those who play the game. I'm not a fan of "today's NBA" because I just don't enjoy the game as much as I used to, but I wonder if the research that 2K has done on this idea of classic rosters is an indictment on how the NBA has changed over the years and that maybe fans don't enjoy it as much as they used to. My guess is the target age of video games are those in their 20's and 30's. My 11 year old son finds NBA Jam for the Wii to be more fun that 2k 11. Just find it interesting that 2K is making the classic teams a LARGE part of their marketing plan...

I think it was inveitable after the success of 2K11. To me it makes sense to take what was already there and expand upon it. Will it be better than 2K11? Time will tell. Heck, we don't even know what we're getting in the game yet, just the covers, so all of this is pure speculation at this point.

The NBA has actually seen an increase in fan popularity over the last 2-3 years. TV ratings are up and traffic to most major sites that cover the NBA have seen a spike in page views. Attendance at games is very good for the elite teams, and even some mid-market teams. Obviously, there are teams not drawing jack, and that is hurting the league. I will say that the league has improved its on-court play the past few seasons; 2003-07 were some dark years, imo, for the NBA.

# 240 youvalss @ 07/22/11 01:58 AM

I just hope they have captured Magic's not-so-athletic/funny-yet-efficiant - layups...you probably know what I'm talking about. No other player had those moves. I loved seeing Magic laying it in over more athletic players without jumping much. Same goes for Bird.

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