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GAMING FEATURE

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MyTEAM is huge for many NBA 2K fans. Boenisch tells us some of what’s in store in this year’s model. “Our biggest focus for MyTEAM this year was to make the entire mode more accessible, and give our community more freedom in how they play. The biggest request from our community was to remove contracts, so we listened and there’ll be no contracts in NBA 2K23 ! This means that players can use permanent player cards throughout MyTEAM without needing to fill up contracts. We’ve also made a number of other changes and added other ways to play like the addition of the Triple Threat Online: Co-Op mode. For the first time you can team up with your friends to win prizes and compete in MyTEAM.”

Get ready to go courting again when NBA 2K23 slams down this month.We had a chat with Erick Boenisch, VP of NBA development at Visual Concepts, to get more info on this year’s game, and the return of the mighty Michael Jordan. Words Amy Flower

W ith the significance of the number 23 this coming year in particular, we had to see Michael Jordan back in the game, and the classic Jordan Challenge returns bigger and better than ever. “After making 23 the most recognisable number in sports, it was only fitting that for NBA 2K23 we reintroduce the Jordan Challenge,” says Boenisch. “We’ve included all ten of the original challenges from NBA 2K11 , on top of an additional five. All 15 were completely rebuilt from the ground up, taking advantage of more than a decade of tech advancements to provide a completely new way to play through Jordan’s accomplishments. It includes unique video vignettes with special commentary from an array of NBA luminaries – Jordan’s teammates, opponents, and other sports personalities - who saw him do it live and can bring to life his legacy to a younger generation of NBA fans.” Speaking of, the NBA 2K franchise has some seriously dedicated fans, and it’s refreshing to hear just how important they are to shaping the annual evolutions of the game. “Feedback from our fans and the NBA 2K

competitive players, while also creating an even more inviting and accessible experience for our first-time players,” Boenisch tells us. “We also focused heavily on adding more weapons for attacking off the dribble and finishing at the rim. This, combined with the new tiered badge system, creates an even more authentic gameplay experience.” Many fans are excited about the addition of new skill-based attack moves. “The addition of new gesture combos to the Pro Stick is central to the new skill-based attack moves,” Boenisch explains. “We’ve expanded our signature dribble system to give players access to new attacking size-ups and combo moves that mimic the elite dribble move sets used by the best ball handlers in the NBA. Pro Stick gestures have also opened up new options for slashers, including new quick scoop layups, more intuitive controls for advanced gathers such as euro-steps and hop steps, and also new dunking controls that give players complete freedom to choose exactly what types of dunks they use to devastate their opponents in the paint.” Everybody has their favourite parts of the NBA 2K experience, and Boenisch is no exception. But can he pick just one? “This is often an easy answer, and I’ve given it a lot of thought this year as it’s a question that I always get asked,” he muses. “The truth is, between the Jordan Challenge (a masterpiece, in my eyes!), the all new MyNBA Eras, the wealth of new features in MyTEAM, our outstanding gameplay improvements covering the last 40 years of the NBA, our continued evolution on narrative storytelling in MyCAREER, and our all-new City, I don’t think I can pick a single one. I really don’t, and that’s the honest answer!”

community at-large is the single biggest driver in how we progress our game forward each and every year,” declares Boenisch. “We don’t have to guess at what features to create in any given year, as all we have to do is put our ear to the floor and listen to the voices of our community, and build them exactly what they’re asking for. That has been, and will continue to be, the secret to NBA 2K’s longstanding success.” With that in mind, players can look forward to a more wide-reaching and attacking experience this year. “One thing we focused on, based on feedback, was creating more skill-based gameplay for our

• NBA 2K is out on Sept 9

SEPTEMBER 2022

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