NBA 2K12 News Post

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

11:00 AM - 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

# 101 da ThRONe @ 07/21/11 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by airjoca


	Last year there was concern that they were focusing too much on the Jordan mode, and not the essential? It turned out ok didn't it?

There were somethings(from a completely selfish prespective) I would have like to seen besides the Jordan mode(which I have never touched). For one suction was a huge problem for me, and the one mode I almost exclusively play MP was barely touched.

# 102 T2theG @ 07/21/11 01:17 PM

Dumb, I liked jordan last year but now they are trying to hard...Lets get someone who is accutally playing in the NBA now and not players that played years and years ago...stop. Get like d rose or someone on there...or do d rose KD and another great player on there...hate this old time legend ****...

# 103 aloncho11 @ 07/21/11 01:18 PM

RUN TMC! Yikes!

# 104 ybtherockstar @ 07/21/11 01:19 PM

This is incredible. This means the classic teams are gonna be back with maybe more !!!!

# 105 Xx Qontrolz xX @ 07/21/11 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by airjoca


	Last year there was concern that they were focusing too much on the Jordan mode, and not the essential? It turned out ok didn't it?

yes it really did

game is amazing but some problems seem coming back every year

# 106 Xx Qontrolz xX @ 07/21/11 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by da ThRONe


	There were something(from a completely selfish prespective) I would have like to see besides the Jordan mode(which I have never touched). For one suction was a huge problem for me, and the one mode I almost exclusively play MP was barely touched.

THIS is what i have in mind rite now

# 107 23 @ 07/21/11 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xx Qontrolz xX


	idk.. just saying i hope they didnt forget to work on some huge flaws (MP AI teammates, trades logic in every mode, servers?, some gameplay problems etc...) b/c focusing too much on some old school modes makes sense? honestly, will the MJ challenges stay in our memories?

Yes da throne because the game was good, but you'd be foolish to sit here and say the lack of MJ in the game didnt matter in terms of sales and marketing because you KNOW IT DID

Its no different now, and honestly its just a cover...they havent released any other info yet. Complaining about gameplay in a cover art thread is as useless as asking Eddie Curry to only eat salads

# 108 Ikki @ 07/21/11 01:24 PM

Dunno if it's been posted before :

"Having Michael, having Magic, and having Larry Bird involved will tie to the game and to some of the features that we'll be unveiling in a couple of weeks, but that's all I can say right now."

http://espn.go.com/espn/thelife/videogames/blog/_/name/thegamer/id/6789933/jordan-bird-magic-cover-nba-2k12

# 109 KyotoCarl @ 07/21/11 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ikki


	Dunno if it's been posted before : "Having Michael, having Magic, and having Larry Bird involved will tie to the game and to some of the features that we'll be unveiling in a couple of weeks, but that's all I can say right now." http://espn.go.com/espn/thelife/vide...cover-nba-2k12

I assumed as much, but I haven't read that quote before.

Personally, I love it! The Jordan mode and the classic teams were great last year, but there's so much that could've been done which I hope will be done in 2K12.

The gameplay in 2K11 was better than ever so they didn't compromise any gameplay features for having Jordan in the game.

I'm not complaining here, nor am I whining, but the Jordan cover has Jordan mirrored. His sweat band is on the the right arm instead of left, and his half-sleeve is on the wrong leg too

Doesn't matter to me but people will probably start complaining about that any minute now

# 110 Xx Qontrolz xX @ 07/21/11 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rspencer86


	I would guess you are actually in the vast majority (of OS'ers anyway). 2K could put Lil Bow Wow on the cover and it would still get rave reviews from people here if the gameplay, franchise mode, presentation, etc. was excellent. Covers are most important for the people on the fence or the non-hardcore fans. These are the type of people that might be walking around Best Buy looking for the next great first person shooter game and catch a glimpse of Jordan on the cover of 2K and say "awesome, I might give this game a shot!".

i guess u're right

idk man i'm 31 now so i grew up with those players (more MJ than magic and bird tho) but i really dont feel nostalgic of that time.. i LOVE the nba of today (except lockouts, refs, and techs for nothing obviously)

i know this POV is mine and purely selfish but hey.. it's a forum

# 111 VDusen04 @ 07/21/11 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xx Qontrolz xX


	idk.. just saying i hope they didnt forget to work on some huge flaws (MP AI teammates, trades logic in every mode, servers?, some gameplay problems etc...) b/c focusing too much on some old school modes makes sense?

I understand where you're coming from. I think whenever a basketball video game has added a feature, that has always been the fear. When The Crib was added, people were afraid of what it meant for gameplay attention. When 24/7 Mode was added, people were afraid. When signature animations were added, some people were in fact afraid too much time would be spent perfecting those rather than improving general gameplay. Ditto My Player, Street Mode, and the Dunk Contest.

I suppose my point is it would be shortsighted to expect or assume a video game would only offer one mode (or only the modes one personally cares for) and then only concentrating on that specific mode. Regardless of what features are or are not added, I can say with certainty that there will be problems with NBA 2K12. Games will never be perfect. However, I don't think those problems will have anything to do with the art and research department adding more classic teams.

Quote:


	honestly, will the MJ challenges stay in our memories?

Not to sound like a punk, but I thought the Jordan Challenge was one of the coolest video game moments I've ever experienced in my life. I ate up every. Single. Second of it. And I'm a Pistons fan. That mode will stick in my mind for a long time.

# 112 cjallure24 @ 07/21/11 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xx Qontrolz xX


	idk.. just saying i hope they didnt forget to work on some huge flaws (MP AI teammates, trades logic in every mode, servers?, some gameplay problems etc...) b/c focusing too much on some old school modes makes sense? honestly, will the MJ challenges stay in our memories?

Since when does the cover have anything to do with gameplay and features???.....when 2K puts out statements about gameplay and features then you make a fair assesment. Seriously, its just a cover release, therefore I can understand judgement towards the cover, I.E. the athlete and or design.

To answer your question, YES, the Jordan Challenge will be in our memories, it was a feature that put already great gameplay over the top. Without the Jordan challenge maybe just maybe 2K11 doesn't get the title for best sports came to have ever been created in some peoples eyes.

Its just a cover, so take it as that. I'm pretty sure the the development team didn't spend months, or days and even hours on the cover. The prejudgement is totally unwarrented.

# 113 quadsas @ 07/21/11 01:29 PM

What I mean by my last tweet is that MJ will be in #NBA2K games for the forseeable future, he isn't going away for a few years

from Ronnie's twitter

# 114 thekida @ 07/21/11 01:32 PM

I honestly haven't even finished all the jordan challenges...i got caught up in association and my player modes. I hope the expand on both.

if they have a Jordan/Bird/Magic challenge it will be fun to play and is a great addition to the game. It would be even better if we could play a whole season with a historic team (but i guess that is what pc mods are for...)

# 115 VDusen04 @ 07/21/11 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quadsas


	What I mean by my last tweet is that MJ will be in #NBA2K games for the forseeable future, he isn't going away for a few years from Ronnie's twitter

I was going to mention that as well. I'll have to re-read the ESPN article but I thought they mentioned a three year deal with MJ, but I wasn't sure if that was an extension or three years including last year.

Also, I think it's pretty cool that Larry Bird and Magic Johnson (and of course MJ) all were open and willing to grace the cover of 2K and to generally take part in the process. I'm wondering what kind of graphical updates we'll be seeing from Larry this year. Will there be a mustache option?

# 116 Xx Qontrolz xX @ 07/21/11 01:36 PM

good points guys, i hope u're both right

just to precise that i wasn't talking about the cover only but more about the modes that are coming with, i know 2k now and i can't think 1 second that those 3 legends are gonna be only on the cover and in the classic rosters.. we know a special mode is coming with it and that s what i meant by "focusing too much"

but hey.. i guess i'll have to wait for next gen consoles to play in an online association anyway

# 117 23 @ 07/21/11 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quadsas


	What I mean by my last tweet is that MJ will be in #NBA2K games for the forseeable future, he isn't going away for a few years from Ronnie's twitter

Yeah the espn article said they signed a 3 year extended deal with MJ

While he may not be the cover athlete next year we'll still get to play with him

# 118 quadsas @ 07/21/11 01:42 PM

What I wanna see is just a lot more retro teams and more retro jerseys (esp. the most badass ones - like Raptors). I don't really care what are they planning to do with Big 3, I know I will be playing MP 95% of the time, or just messing with retro teams

# 119 bigsmallwood @ 07/21/11 01:42 PM

The real BIG 3!!! iLove IT!!!! #MJBIRDMAGIC great job 2K! Now I'm interested in which game modes will be available

# 120 VDusen04 @ 07/21/11 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FreshPrince22


	i played the jordan modes for about 2 weeks. and i did that jordan my player thing (cant even remember what its called) for about 3 days. im not too scared about 2K neglecting other areas, but im not really sitting on the edge of my seat about this retro stuff either

I'm there with you on the "Be a Legend" mode (where MJ is drafted to a current NBA team). I didn't put any time into that mode either. I found the idea a little too stretched and fantastical (not to mention my own My Player mode was tedious enough).

As I said before though, I loved the Jordan Challenge. I'm not expecting another insane challenge (even though I'd be okay with it). But I am excited about the "retro stuff" in terms of added teams (like the alleged '91 Warriors and '01 Kings). That's got potential to be legendary stuff in my regard.

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