Nike Says Video Games Like 2K Sports NBA 2K12 Helps Sell Basketball Shoes
Post on: 2011-11-02 By: admin
2K Sports had a killer year last year in the basketball video game space, selling over 5.5 million copies of NBA 2K11. With no competition from EA Sports yet again this year, things were looking good until the NBA lockout. 2K Sports knew that was coming and focused on NBA legends like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Dr. J for the cover as well as new gameplay modes.
So far this year, NBA 2K12 has sold approximately 2.8 million copies worldwide according to VGChartz.com. According to Arvind Bhatia, video game analyst at Sterne Agee, 2K Sports should sell 4.5 million copies worldwide by the end of its run. If the NBA can get its act together, he believes 2K Sports could sell an additional 1 million copies of its new game. Janco Partners has lowered its NBA 2K12 sales forecasts from 4.5 million to 3.2 million units.
Michael Pachter, video game analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities, believes 2K Sports should be able to sell 5.7 to 5.8 million copies of NBA 2K12 with a full season.
“This year’s game got a higher review, and ostensibly, the market grew a bit,” said Pachter. “If the season is cancelled, the game will be less relevant, and I would expect at least a 20% drop-off in sales, so probably around 4.5 million. I do think that if the game were the same thing as last year, sales could drop by 30% or more, possibly below 4 million. The Legends feature is pretty cool. However, I think that top-of-mind awareness of the NBA season keeps consumers interested in the sport, and sustains sales throughout the season, so I think that no season hurts sales.”
While the NBA helps sell 2K Sports’ video games, the NBA 2K franchise helps basketball shoe makers like Nike sell its latest high-end sneakers. As games have jumped to high definition and stereoscopic 3D (both NBA 2K11 and NBA 2K12 are 3D games on PlayStation 3), the shoes each player wears on the real hardwoods are replicated in the video games.
“The way these shoes are now used in the video games is great,” said Justin Taylor, Nike Jordan brand footwear designer. “I love the fact that a lot of the users can customize the shoes in the game, like a virtual Nike ID system; that’s been great. What it really does is highlight the graphic of the shoe. We always want our shoe to be seen on court by players wearing them. Of course in the video game, that’s how you always see it. We’ve been real proud of how that stuff has come to light in recent years.”
Nike’s Jordan brand is constantly introducing new basketball shoes to the mix, working with big-name NBA players like Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony. These guys may not be on TV broadcasts this year with the lockout, but they will be front-and-center in NBA 2K12.
“What’s fantastic about the video games is they create a wonderful experience,” said Andre Doxey, creative director for the Jordan brand at Nike. “The reason why the footwear is so important is because it reinforces that experience. When you’re watching basketball or you’re playing a basketball video game, you want to feel like you’re playing the real game. When the footwear is represented in the video game in high def, it just reinforces, “I’m watching Chris Paul play.” His uniform is authentic. His footwear is authentic. You totally see why the video games have taken on that approach to represent the footwear as realistic as it can.”
Next fall, Nike and other shoe brands will have a pair of simulation games to help promote their latest kicks. EA Sports has committed to returning to the video game space in time for the 2012-13 season. And 2K Sports will be back with NBA 2K13. In the meantime, you can check out Nike’s shoes both in and out of the games in the videos on this page.
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I've been covering the video game space for almost 20 years for outlets like The Washington Post, Reuters, CNET, AOL, Wired Magazine, Yahoo!, Entertainment Weekly, NBC, Variety, Maxim, and Rosebud Magazine. I serve as EIC of Gamerlive.tv and co-founder of LiveContent Networks, a video game and technology video syndication network, and cover games for outlets like The Hollywood Reporter and GamePro Magazine.
The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.
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Article original from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2011/10/28/nike-says-video-games-like-2k-sports-nba-2k12-helps-sell-basketball-shoes/
