2K Sports Takes NBA Game to Chinese Market

June 23, 2009 -

Basketball is wildly popular in China and so are online games.

Seeing big revenue in that combination, 2K Sports announced today that it will create an online version of pro hoops game NBA 2K for the Chinese market. Chinese Internet portal Tencent Holdings will partner with 2K Sports on the deal.

Licensing for the game includes all NBA team along with current and retired players. 2K Sports president Christoph Hartmann is quoted in a press release issued this morning:

The incredible popularity of basketball in Asia combined with the love of online games in that region makes this a very exciting project for 2K. For the first time, 2K is developing an online game combining our expertise in making the best-selling and top-rated NBA 2K video game franchise with the proven ability of Tencent for developing and operating highly successful online game communities in China.

Online gaming was a $2.75 billion business in China in 2008 and more than a billion Chinese viewed NBA programming during the just-completed season.

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Comments

Re: 2K Sports Takes NBA Game to Chinese Market

Submitted by DarkSaber on Tue, 06/23/2009 - 08:39.

Wonder how long it will be until China bans it for not being CHinese enough.

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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

-------------------------------------------------- I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

Re: 2K Sports Takes NBA Game to Chinese Market

Submitted by Ashton on Tue, 06/23/2009 - 12:19.

I was wondering how long it'd take before someone would make a dumbass remark like this.

Not long, apparently.

Re: 2K Sports Takes NBA Game to Chinese Market

Submitted by DarkSaber on Tue, 06/23/2009 - 13:25.

Well that sure told me didn't it.

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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

-------------------------------------------------- I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

Re: 2K Sports Takes NBA Game to Chinese Market

Submitted by mdo7 on Tue, 06/23/2009 - 08:37.

I'm not that suprised that this game is coming out in China, Basketball is becoming popular in Asia. I remember they released the 2K baseball in Japan and probably Korea. I wonder if Sony can try to release MLB 09: the Show in Japan and Korea, it would boost sales and and boost the PS3 sales in Asia.

Re: 2K Sports Takes NBA Game to Chinese Market

Submitted by JustChris on Tue, 06/23/2009 - 10:58.

I hear that China has more people shooting hoops as recreation than the entire population of the US. The NBA has already tapped into that market a decade ago with its sales of NBA merchandise, and there were also many Nike ad campaigns in the 90's. I won't be all surprised if basketball video games weren't already popular there, games imported from the US.

GameSnooper

Re: 2K Sports Takes NBA Game to Chinese Market

Submitted by Ashton on Tue, 06/23/2009 - 12:21.

Basketball was popularized in Asia a huge amount in the 90s thanks to anime like Slam Dunk. The sheer number of teenagers in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and China who started playing basketball because of that anime is staggering, to say the least.

Re: 2K Sports Takes NBA Game to Chinese Market

Submitted by JDKJ on Tue, 06/23/2009 - 08:22.

Yo. Yao.

Shout box

Technogeek: If the developer were male there wouldn't have been a "conversation" in the first place.10/19/2014 - 2:27am

Monte: trolls are just at their absolute worst when it comes to women and feminist. You could bet good money that if the developer were male the trolls would be silent and the conversation would actually focus on the journalism.10/18/2014 - 9:18pm

Monte: Papa: Not the first time we've had a journalism scandals before, but the harassment never got close to this level; the difference with this scandal is that feminists are involved. Without the feminist angle, their would be A LOT less harrassment10/18/2014 - 9:15pm

Papa Midnight: Monte: That's honestly rather short-sighted. As has been proven with other persons who have been targeted, if it wasn't Quinn, it would be someone else.10/18/2014 - 6:26pm

Avalongod: I think that's part of what gives an esoteric news story like this real life...it taps into a larger narrative about misogyny in society outside of games.10/18/2014 - 3:29pm

Avalongod: @Monte, well the trolls made death threats that came to police (and media attention). I think this is tapping into a larger issue outside of games about how women are treated in society (like all the "real rape" stuff during the last election)10/18/2014 - 3:28pm

Wonderkarp: Zippy : Havent tried the PS4 controller. might later.10/18/2014 - 2:37pm

Monte: Seirously, If Quinn was not involved and GG was instead about something like the Mordor Marketing contracts, the trolling would have never grown so vile and disgusting. There have been plenty of movements in the past that never sufferred from behavior..10/18/2014 - 1:57pm

Monte: We have seen scandel's before but the trolling has never been as vile as what we see with GG. Trolls usually have such a tiny voice you can barely notice them, but its like moths to a flame whenever femistist are involved.10/18/2014 - 1:53pm

ZippyDSMlee: Wonderkarp: You might be able to if you had a PS4 controller.10/18/2014 - 1:00pm

MaskedPixelante: http://store.steampowered.com/app/327940/ Night Dive starts charging for freeware.10/18/2014 - 12:21pm

Matthew Wilson: the sad thing is there are trolls on both sides of this. people need to stop acting like their side is so pure.10/18/2014 - 12:19pm

MechaTama31: So, only speak out on a scandal that hasn't attracted trolls? I wouldn't hold my breath...10/18/2014 - 10:49am

Monte: I feel like GG just needs to die. The movement is FAR to tainted by hatred and BS for it to be useful for any conversation. Let GG die, and then rally behind the NEXT gaming journalism scandal, and start the conversation fresh.10/18/2014 - 10:33am

quiknkold: and we dont have a Dovakin to call a cease fire10/17/2014 - 7:37pm

quiknkold: The whole thing is Futile. Both sides are so buried deep in their trenchs that there isnt a conversation. Its just Finger Pointing, Name Calling, Doxxing, Threats. there needs to be a serious conversation, and GG isnt it.10/17/2014 - 7:37pm

quiknkold: I thought it was a good article. Jeff is right. I feel like GamerGate did destroy its message. I am for Ethics in game journalism, but man. so much hate. and its on both sides. I've seen some awful stuff spewed on twitter. Its a big reason why I exited..10/17/2014 - 7:34pm

Matthew Wilson: while he focused on gg, he did call out both sides crap.10/17/2014 - 7:18pm

Papa Midnight: That was a damn good read offered by Jeff Gertsmann.10/17/2014 - 7:17pm

Matthew Wilson: http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/letter-from-the-editor-10-17-2014/1100-5049/ deferentially a nice write up.10/17/2014 - 6:44pm

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