NBA Jam is a basketball video game developed and published by Midway for arcades in 1993. It is the first entry in the NBA Jam series. The project leader for this game was Mark Turmell.
Madden NFL is an American football sports video game series developed by EA Tiburon for EA Sports. The franchise, named after Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and commentator John Madden, has sold more than 130 million copies as of 2018. Since 2004, it has been the only officially licensed National Football League (NFL) video game series, and has influenced many players and coaches of the physical sport. Among the series' features are detailed playbooks and player statistics and voice commentary in the style of a real NFL television broadcast. As of 2013 the franchise has generated over $4 billion in sales, making it one of the most profitable video game franchises on the market.
A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with video games, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize playing the sport, whilst others emphasize strategy and sport management. Some, such as Need for Speed, Arch Rivals and Punch-Out!!, satirize the sport for comic effect. This genre has been popular throughout the history of video games and is competitive, just like real-world sports. A number of game series feature the names and characteristics of real teams and players, and are updated annually to reflect real-world changes. The sports genre is one of the oldest genres in gaming history.
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) with pictures or endorsements, it soon grew up to become a sub-label on its own, releasing game series such as EA Sports FC, PGA Tour, NHL, NBA Live, and Madden NFL.
MVP Baseball was a baseball game series published by EA Sports, running from 2003 to 2007 with five games produced. In 2003, MVP became the official successor to EA's long-running Triple Play Baseball series, and it simulated Major League Baseball from 2003 to 2005. However, an exclusive licensing deal between Major League Baseball and Take-Two Interactive in 2005 prohibited EA Sports from making another MLB game until 2012. In response, EA made NCAA college baseball games in 2006 and 2007, but discontinued the series in 2008 because of poor sales.
NFL 2K is an American football video game series developed by Visual Concepts and published by Sega. The series was originally exclusive to Sega's Dreamcast video game console due to the absence of EA Sports's Madden NFL series on the system. As the foremost "2K" title, it marked the beginning of a running athletics series that eventually led to the spinning off of 2K's sports publishing business under the name of 2K Sports. Upon the Dreamcast's discontinuation, the series continued to be published for other sixth generation game systems and became the chief competitor of the Madden series.
NBA 2K is a series of basketball sports simulation video games developed by Visual Concepts and released annually since 1999. The premise of the series is to emulate the sport of basketball, and more specifically, the National Basketball Association.
ESPN NBA 2K5 is a 2004 basketball simulation video game developed by Visual Concepts and co-published by Sega and Global Star Software. It was released in September 2004 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in North America, and February 2005 in Europe. The sixth installment in the NBA 2K series, it is the successor to ESPN NBA Basketball, and the predecessor to NBA 2K6. Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons is the cover athlete; this marks the first time in the series that a player other than Allen Iverson was featured as a cover athlete. It is the last NBA 2K game to be released by Sega before the company sold Visual Concepts to Take-Two Interactive, forming 2K Sports. It is also the third and last game to feature the ESPN branding on its front cover.
NBA Live 98 is a basketball video game based on the National Basketball Association and the fourth installment of the NBA Live series. Its cover art features Tim Hardaway of the Miami Heat. The game was developed by EA Sports in 1997 for Windows, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn, while also being the final NBA Live game released for the Super NES, Genesis, and Sega Saturn.
NBA 2K6 is a 2005 basketball simulation video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K. It is the seventh installment in the NBA 2K franchise and the successor to ESPN NBA 2K5. It was released in 2005 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Xbox 360. Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat is the cover athlete of the game. NBA 2K6 is the predecessor to NBA 2K7 in the NBA 2K series and is the first NBA 2K title to be released by 2K Sports. This is the first game in the series to be released for the Xbox 360.
EA Sports College Football is an American football video game series developed by EA Sports in which players control and compete against current Division I FBS college teams. It served as a college football counterpart to the Madden NFL series. The series began in 1993 with the release of Bill Walsh College Football. EA eventually acquired the licensing rights to the NCAA name and officially rechristened the series with the release of NCAA Football 98.
MLB 2K was a series of baseball video games that was developed by Visual Concepts and Kush Games, and published by 2K. The series was licensed by, and based on, the Major League Baseball professional baseball organization. It was a successor to the World Series Baseball games, which were published by Sega.
NBA Hangtime is a 1996 basketball arcade game developed and released by Midway. Home versions were released for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Super NES, Sega Genesis, and Microsoft Windows.
NBA Live 95 is the follow-up to NBA Showdown and the first NBA Live title in the NBA Live video games series from EA Sports. It was published by EA Sports and released in October 1994. The cover features an action shot from the 1994 NBA Finals.
NBA Live 96 is the second installment of the NBA Live video game series published by EA Sports and released on November 30, 1995. The PC and PlayStation covers feature Shaquille O'Neal of the Orlando Magic, while the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis and European PlayStation box covers feature a photo of the tip-off to Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals. PlayStation and PC versions are the first games in the series to feature 3D-rendered courts, allowing for multiple camera angles using EA's "Virtual Stadium" technology, which is also used for FIFA Soccer 96. On-court player graphics remain 2D sprites. It is also the first NBA Live game released for the PlayStation and the only game for the Game Boy. NBA Live 96 is followed by NBA Live 97.
NBA Live 97 is the third installment of the NBA Live video games series. The cover features Mitch Richmond of the Sacramento Kings. The game was developed by EA Sports and released in 1996. The MS-DOS, Sega Saturn and PlayStation versions featured polygonal models for the on-court players, thus marking it as the first 3D EA Sports Basketball sequel for the series. It was also the first NBA Live released for the Sega Saturn. The game received mostly positive reviews for its advanced graphics and wide array of available moves and plays, though the Saturn conversion was reviled for numerous technical deficiencies. NBA Live 97 is followed by NBA Live 98.
NBA 2K is a 1999 sports video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by Sega. The first game in the NBA 2K series, it was initially released for Dreamcast in 1999. Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers is featured as the cover athlete. The game is based on the National Basketball Association and, as such, allows the player to compete in basketball games with the current NBA season's players and teams. Several game modes are present, including one in which the player can create customizable players.
NBA 2K13 is a 2012 basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K. It was released on September 19, 2012 for the Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. A version for the Wii U was also released as a launch title in North America, and in December for the PAL region. Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls are the cover athletes, and they are all shown in dunking positions. NBA 2K13 is the successor to NBA 2K12, succeeded by NBA 2K14 in the NBA 2K series and is the fourteenth installment in the 2K series. The game was executive produced by rapper Jay-Z, who designed the game and curated its soundtrack. It is also the fourth and last NBA 2K game to be released on both the Wii and PlayStation Portable, the only installment available on the Wii U, and the last to be available on pure handheld systems.
NBA 2K14 is a 2013 basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K. The fifteenth installment in the series, it was released on October 1, 2013, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One versions were released on the consoles' respective launch dates. LeBron James of the Miami Heat became the cover athlete, and also served as the music curator for the game. 2K Sports also released the DLC pack that as a bonus for pre-ordering the game, they would receive 10,000 VC, bonus content for "Path to Greatness" mode, adding James in the Blacktop mode and a signature skill for MyCareer mode. On August 14, 2013, 2K Sports announced that Crew Mode would return to this year's installment of NBA 2K. NBA 2K14 is the successor to NBA 2K13 and was succeeded by NBA 2K15 in the NBA 2K series.
NBA 2K21 is a 2020 basketball simulation video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K. The game is based on the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is the 22nd installment in the NBA 2K franchise, the successor to NBA 2K20, and the predecessor to NBA 2K22. The game was released on September 4, 2020, for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Google Stadia, and the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S versions were released on the consoles' respective launch dates. Most versions were released to heavy criticism, citing the lack of originality in the gameplay and many microtransactions and bugs.
