Tag Archives: basketball

‘NBA 2K22 Arcade Edition’ hits Apple Arcade on October 19th

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NBA 2K22 Arcade Edition is one of several games that's bound for Apple Arcade in the coming weeks. The follow-up to NBA 2K21, which is also available on Apple's game subscription service, includes a new mode called The Association. You can become the general manager or head coach of an NBA franchise and put together your own team by scouting rookies, making trades and scooping up free agents while managing the budget.

The game features current NBA rosters and modes including quick match, online multiplayer and Blacktop, a 3v3 street basketball option. In MyCAREER mode, you can create your own player with a custom look, position, jersey number and play style. You can run drills on a custom court to practice and level up your player in the MyCOURT mode. NBA 2K22 Arcade Edition will debut on the same date as the NBA's 75th season tips off: October 19th.

Elsewhere, a classic iPhone title is coming to Apple Arcade this Friday. Tiny Wings first made waves back in 2011 as a one-button game in which you control a bird that slides down hills and launches into the air. It's one of those simple-in-concept, great-in-execution games that works so well on a mobile device. It'll be a solid addition to Apple Arcade.

Looking further ahead, Apple has announced the sequel to tower defense game Kingdom Rush is on the way to the service too. You'll protect your domain from dragons, human-snaffling plants and other deadly enemies in Kingdom Rush Frontiers TD, which first hit iOS back in 2013. It's coming to Apple Arcade soon.

‘NBA 2K22 Arcade Edition’ hits Apple Arcade on October 19th

Posted on by

NBA 2K22 Arcade Edition is one of several games that's bound for Apple Arcade in the coming weeks. The follow-up to NBA 2K21, which is also available on Apple's game subscription service, includes a new mode called The Association. You can become the general manager or head coach of an NBA franchise and put together your own team by scouting rookies, making trades and scooping up free agents while managing the budget.

The game features current NBA rosters and modes including quick match, online multiplayer and Blacktop, a 3v3 street basketball option. In MyCAREER mode, you can create your own player with a custom look, position, jersey number and play style. You can run drills on a custom court to practice and level up your player in the MyCOURT mode. NBA 2K22 Arcade Edition will debut on the same date as the NBA's 75th season tips off: October 19th.

Elsewhere, a classic iPhone title is coming to Apple Arcade this Friday. Tiny Wings first made waves back in 2011 as a one-button game in which you control a bird that slides down hills and launches into the air. It's one of those simple-in-concept, great-in-execution games that works so well on a mobile device. It'll be a solid addition to Apple Arcade.

Looking further ahead, Apple has announced the sequel to tower defense game Kingdom Rush is on the way to the service too. You'll protect your domain from dragons, human-snaffling plants and other deadly enemies in Kingdom Rush Frontiers TD, which first hit iOS back in 2013. It's coming to Apple Arcade soon.

‘NBA 2K22’ enhancements include tweaks to dribbling, blocking and shooting

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With NBA 2K22’s September 10th release date fast approaching, 2K has shared a first look at the game’s PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S version. The publisher calls this a gameplay reveal, but it's mostly a showcase of what developer Visual Concepts managed to do with the new hardware from Sony and Microsoft. Thankfully, the studio also published a new Courtside Report that details some of the gameplay enhancements players can look forward to when they pick the game up next month.

To start, Visual Concepts says it completely rebuilt the shot contest and blocking systems, as well as made a significant update to how the game handles defensive rotations. When it comes to moving a player up the court, the studio promises tighter controls that will allow you to put together new combos in creative ways.

But some of the most significant changes look like they’re coming to how the game handles shooting. NBA 2K22 will feature a new shot meter that will dynamically change depending on the abilities of the player you’re controlling and whether their shot is contested. According to Visual Concepts, NBA 2K22 will put a greater emphasis on Shot IQ. You’ll be more successful if you take the time to find an open teammate and take a smart shot. For players who like to drive to the basket, there’s a new dunk style creator that will allow you to customize their dunk repertoire.

Outside of those improvements, fans of women's basketball can look forward to much-improved WNBA mode. All told, it looks like NBA 2K's second PS5 and Xbox Series X outing should be a good one. 

‘NBA 2K22’ will offer a much-improved WNBA mode

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NBA 2K21's WNBA mode was barebones, to put it charitably, but 2K and Visual Concepts intend to flesh things out for the follow-up. The developers have detailed improvements to "The W" in NBA 2K22 that address some of the core complaints. Most notably, there's a new badge-based player progression system that lets you upgrade your MyPlayer creations to match your specialties. It still doesn't appear to be as sophisticated as the MyCareer mode from 2K21, but it should be more involving.

Off-the-court advancement has received improvements, too. Instead of picking options on a card, there are three playable experiences (scrimmage games, team practices and category-specific contact workouts) to improve your badges. The contact drills will also help you form bonds with WNBA stars, according to 2K.

You'll also find upgrades to the next-gen-only online mode. You can now hook up with friends before you start matchmaking, and you'll earn season experience points whenever you play against other people.

As Polygonnoted, there are still areas where the WNBA component will be underdeveloped compared to the men's league. There aren't mentions of improved team management or options to spend your virtual currency. Like with other sports titles, it could take a while before the modes are on par. The creators are clearly aware they need to catch up, though, and 2K22 appears to be an important first step.

The NBA is working with iHeartMedia to produce over 20 basketball podcasts

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The National Basketball Association is teaming up with iHeartMedia for a significant new push into the podcast market. In all, the two organizations plan to co-produce more than 20 shows together as part of a new multi-year partnership, with the first one to debut sometime this fall. 

In addition to content devoted to the latest news from the league, analysis and player commentary, it sounds like iHeart and the NBA want to replicate the success of projects like The Last Dance. They say they’ll use material from the NBA archives to retell stories of “some of the greatest moments in sports history.” What exactly they have planned on that front, we don’t know yet, though iHeart and the NBA promised to share more information soon.

“The partnership provides the NBA and its teams access to iHeartMedia’s massive reach across multiple audio platforms including podcasts, streaming and broadcast radio, as well as the opportunity to develop a new slate of groundbreaking shows each year,” iHeart said.

Podcasts, in particular ones related to sports, have become big business in recent months. At the end of April, DraftKings spent $50 million to secure distribution rights to The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.

Tokyo 2021 Olympics gets a new showstopper – a basketball playing Japanese robot who made a flawless half-court shot!

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At the ongoing Tokyo 2021 Olympics, world-class athletes are showcasing their talent, but a robot stole all the limelight during a basketball game between the U.S. and France. Demonstrating the early stages of the machine-dominated dystopian future, the seven-foot robot developed by Toyota engineers scored a perfect three-pointer and half-court shot. The eerily designed robot took to the center stage at halftime break during Sunday’s showdown game that France won by 89-79.  The Toyota engineers have created this free throw shooting robot in their free time over the last couple of years – and at the game – the smart machine beat human players shot for shot. It perfectly landed an easy free throw, a three-pointer, and a flawless half-court shot (just like Stephen Curry) in tandem to wow the crowd!

The robot has a very peculiar bumpy surface, Kawhi Leonard-like big hands, iRobot-like head shape, and moves on two wheels to position itself for the shots. By the look of things, this basketball shooting automaton looks to be the CUE4, the updated version of the CUE3 that set the Guinness world record in 2019. The robot uses sensors on the torso and a camera eye positioned somewhere around the nose to judge the distance of the shot and basket angle. Then the motorized arms and knees flex to make the shot perfectly. However, it is not as advanced to overshadow professional basketball players like Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Sue Bird, or A’ja Wilson in a full game. It moves too slowly and the motion is also not that swift. A Toyota engineer said back in 2019 that it will take almost two decades to acquire skills like running or dunking for such robots!

In a free throw duel, this robot is unbeatable since it is consistent day-in and day-out as compared to human counterparts who are vulnerable to mistakes. The robot is designed in a way to repeat the same action with perfect accuracy owning to its AI software and it doesn’t have to deal with its own monsters – things like metal pressure and stress of a big game. Perhaps, Toyota can take design inspiration from Boston Dynamics who have developed some amazing life-like robots like Spot the dog robot and Atlas who made our jaws drop with their dance moved for the New Year’s celebrations.

If this basketball shooting robot can acquire the intelligence and agility of pro basketball players, Mark Cuban would be eyeing to get this basketball robot in his Dallas Mavericks team!

Designer: Toyota

Candace Parker is NBA 2K’s first female cover athlete

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Twenty two years after the debut of NBA 2K, the basketball sim series will feature a woman on the cover of the game for the first time. Two-time WNBA MVP and 2016 WNBA Finals MVP Candace Parker features on the front of the WNBA 25th Anniversary Special Edition of NBA 2K22.

Parker is one of several basketball stars to feature on NBA 2K22 packaging. Luka Dončić is the cover athlete on the standard edition of the game, while the NBA 75th Anniversary Edition features Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The WNBA 25th Anniversary Special Edition is a GameStop exclusive (Canadians can pick it up from EB Games). It's a physical edition for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and it features a bundle of seven exclusive in-game WNBA jerseys, including one for Parker. It costs $70 and it will be available on September 10th.

Although it's taken a long time for 2K to put a female athlete on the cover of an NBA game, it's a positive step forward for representation. NBA 2K20 was the first 2K game to feature WNBA teams and players, and a WNBA version of the MyPlayer career mode debuted in NBA 2K21.

EA has been featuring more women in its sports titles over the last several years. It beat 2K to the punch by featuring WNBA players in NBA Live 18. EA put women on the cover of a FIFA title for the first time in 2015. FIFA 2016 was the first edition of the series to feature women soccer players.

Nike x Sony Playstation 5 PG5 Sneakers: Play Has No Limits

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Because who plays video games without sneakers to match their console, Sony has teamed up with Nike and basketball player/lifelong Playstation fan Paul George to create a Playstation 5 inspired colorway for George’s PG5 basketball shoes. I can already sense my skills improving at NBA 2K21.

Set for release on May 27th at 10:00AM, the $120 shoes will almost certainly all be instantly snatched up by resellers, who will then put them on eBay for $300+, making them inaccessible to anybody who doesn’t have a fast bicycle and lucrative paper route. And I wonder why I still can’t get my hands on a PS5.

You make recall the previously posted PG2, another Playstation inspired sneaker from Nike and Paul George that had a light-up logo and vibrated like a DualShock controller. Well, these don’t do that.

My wife doesn’t actually let me buy nice sneakers anymore because whenever I run out of socks I start wearing them barefoot, then they start to stink. It’s an endless cycle. One that could probably be broken if I did laundry more often, but that would interfere with my time to play video games and with my allergies, I can’t smell all that well anyway.

[via The Verge]

The NBA will use Microsoft Teams to virtually seat fans courtside

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When the National Basketball Association (NBA) restarts its season on July 30th, it will use Microsoft Teams to recreate the atmosphere of a packed arena without any fans physically present. As part of its ongoing partnership with Microsoft, the leag...