The 2015-16 NBA season officially ended after the Game 7 of the NBA Finals on June 20 where the Cleveland Cavaliers completed history by beating the defending champion Golden State Warriors coming back from a 3-1 deficit.
But the basketball simulation video game “NBA 2K16” has yet to make a curtain call in the gaming community. In fact, the video game just came out with its latest update that already includes the 2017 NBA rookies following the official NBA Draft held on June 23.
The latest roster also includes some trades made by some teams prior to the official opening of the NBA free agency market on July 1. This means that Derrick Rose is no longer wearing a Chicago Bulls uniform on “NBA 2K16” but is already donning a New York Knicks outfit with No. 25 on it, reports the Morning News USA.
Serge Ibaka, formerly of the Oklahoma City Thunder, is now wearing No. 7 for the Orlando Magic, and Jeff Teague is now with the Indiana Pacers after being traded by the Atlanta Hawks.
It also means that top rookie pick Ben Simmons is now boosting the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of his true mettle when the NBA 2016-17 season begins in October.
Now that the NBA free agency has started, there will be more changes in the lineups of each team as free agents move from one team to the next while several others would stick to their respective ballclubs.
Giving way to its successor
Gamers of “NBA 2K16” will continue to get roster updates in the next few weeks before it finally gives way to its successor, the “NBA 2K17” which has already been scheduled for release on September 20 on the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, reports Forbes.
Some gamers are actually making “NBA 2K16” their dry run for the roster changes it made following the NBA Draft and the first wave of the NBA trades prior to the opening of the free agency, as they prepare for the arrival of the “NBA 2K17.”
Upgrading the offseason roster of “NBA 2K16” is part of the so-called after sales services of developer EA Sports and publisher 2K Games to its gamers so that they would know that the game denotes the goings on in the NBA and is also very dynamic too.
And because the NBA offseason is still a fluid situation, the team rosters in “NBA 2K16” are constantly being updated every chance that the developer and publisher can get.
They obviously do not want gamers to think that “NBA 2K16” has outlived its excitement because it will continue to do so until the official release of “NBA 2K17” or maybe even beyond.
Getting good media mileage
The “NBA 2K16” got intense media mileage and promotions without 2K Games doing anything fantastic about it because of the intense NBA playoffs beginning in April all the way to June culminating with the return match of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
In fact, when the NBA Finals officially began on June 2, the attention on “NBA 2K16” further heightened as fans of both teams started pitting the two teams every time they play the video game.
Microsoft had offered Xbox Live Gold members on its gaming console, the Xbox One, to try out “NBA 2K16” for free during the last week of May.
Those who availed of the promo offer from Microsoft were also able to play the new 2K Pro-Am game mode that features fully customizable tournaments.
As part of the Microsoft promotions for “NBA 2K16,” 2K Games offered the video game for a discount if the players were able to buy the game digitally via the Xbox Live Marketplace.
2K Games has been promoting the game since the NBA Playoffs began in April. It also promised that the game will be inclusive of the 12 new legendary teams including the 2000-2001 Los Angeles Lakers and the 2007-08 Boston Celtics.
Meanwhile, most gamers know that the MyCareer mode of “NBA 2K16” has been directed by renowned director and actor Spike Lee, who is an avid New York Knicks fan.