The NBA today extended its multi-year agreements with Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive to develop and publish basketball games, but in its announcement, the NBA may have shown the hand of both game companies’ upcoming sports lineup. The NBA’s extension with EA and 2K encompasses any NBA-related game, including five-on-five simulations and arcade-style games on just about any platform (console, online and mobile devices).
And that’s where the NBA may have tipped-off gamers as to EA Sports’ and 2K Sports’ upcoming new-game announcements.
According to the NBA’s press release, the NBA 2K series will be released annually on all leading video game platforms. In addition, 2K Sports “will have the opportunity to explore and develop new NBA licensed gaming opportunities, including online on social media platforms.” Persistent NBA leagues on Facebook, anyone?
Meanwhile, the NBA divulged that “EA … will debut a new 5-on-5 NBA simulation title in fall 2012. The game is being developed at EA Tiburon in Orlando.” Along with the new NBA simulation, EA will continue to publish the arcade-style NBA JAM series. According to the NBA’s release, “the latest edition, NBA JAM: On Fire Edition, is being developed for the [PS3 and Xbox 360] and … will be available on PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Arcade this fall.”
We’ll have more information about both game publishers’ plans as we descend upon E3 in just a few weeks. In the meantime, we thought you’d like to have this bit of inside information courtesy of none other than the NBA.
