Hi 2K Sports Fans! I am Asif Chaudhri and I work on all things presentation for NBA 2K10. Let me introduce you to something amazing:
The NBA, the REAL NBA, is in your game and it’s updated every day…
NBA Today is a revolutionary way to experience the NBA 2K game play you love. In the “old days†you’d fire up your basketball game and wind up on a team select screen…try to figure out what matchup you wanted to play and then get going. When it came to commentary, presentation and overlays your 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. There was a limited list of subjects the commentators could discuss. 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.
A conference standings overlay during a game with the Milwaukee Bucks
In NBA 2K10 that’s all changed. NBA Today takes the sport you love, NBA basketball, and the game you love, NBA 2K, and finally puts them in the same “worldâ€. When you start 2K10, your Internet-connected console will reach out and grab all the latest information about what’s happening in the league. After that, you won’t land on the team select screen: instead you’ll go directly to the NBA Today screen which lists the REAL NBA matchups that are actually being played TODAY. Additionally you will see a breakdown of scores from last night’s games, as well as view which players in tonight’s matchups are leading their teams in the various stat categories. Furthermore, while the game is loading you’ll get a quick update on how both teams did in their last games and the stats their key players put up. From the NBA Today Menu, you can access box scores for ALL NBA games that have already been played, division and conference standings, league leader stats, the latest transactions, follow any trades that are happening around the league, and check out an All-Star voting watch menu.
Pretty cool, huh? But that’s just the start. Now that your game and your league are in sync, the door is thrown open for dynamic commentary and presentation that’s based on what’s really happening in the real NBA (have I said “real†enough times?) Throughout the season, there is no doubt you will be impressed by the intelligent commentating that not only keeps you informed on the ACTUAL latest league happenings but also keeps track of your team info as well. Examples include knowing that you just got home from a 3-game road trip where you won one and lost two, knowing the opposing team’s starting center is out with an injury, knowing your point guard put up 22 points in the road win against the Grizzlies Tuesday night and that he’s averaging 17 ppg this season, knowing this is the first of a four game series between the two teams … get it? The commentators now have the knowledge of what’s happening league-wide and will reference the most up-to-date information possible in their conversations. But it’s not just all talk, a lot of the topics, the commentary team will talk about, have overlays that coincide with their analysis. During the season, they’ll catch you up on who’s leading the league and how teams are ranked in various stat categories, check out a team’s upcoming schedule and even do a promo spot for an upcoming game. If it’s a holiday, as you may have seen in previous screens, that isn’t going to be ignored; the game will present the holiday in overlays and commentary. As the playoffs are approaching you’ll get the east/west conference standings and once the post season starts, you’ll get playoffs and finals screen wipes. 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.
For the few days during the season where there are no NBA games taking place (or anytime you feel like playing your team) you can simply use Quick Game to create your own fantasy matchup. All the NBA Today commentary/presentation will still be valid looking back and forward in time. And yes, all the NBA Today commentary/presentation will also occur in your Association (but it will be your Association data that drives the commentary, not the real NBA). A quick note: Often during an NBA game, commentators let the visual demonstration of the game lead itself if they are having a conversation. That changes, however, if there is a huge highlight play. If a thunderous dunk rains down, you’ll get the commentators attention. The same can be said during our game.
We’re really excited to see what you guys think about this new feature. Drop me a line in the comments and tell me what you think!
Asif Chaudhri
Presentation Producer
