NBA 2K9 Introduces Living Rosters

The internet-enabled console age has been very, very good to sports gamers. Take 2K Sports' upcoming basketball title, NBA 2K9. They've just announced a Living Rosters feature for the title that will enable the game to download up-to-date statistics, player ratings, and player behaviors as the NBA season progresses. Nothing new, sure, but when you take into account the fact that they'll be releasing special animations for key players who breakout during the season you get something extremely close to awesome. Just imagine your favorite player starts taking off, making a real name for themselves in the game. Kids on the playgrounds (they still have those, right?) start mimicking their moves, the team they're in becomes a showcase for their talents. The Living Roster system will allow 2K to deliver their moves into the game, changing as often as the whims of the hardcore basketball crowd. Of course some of us won't be satisfied until we get real-time facial hair growth, but it's a good start.2K Sports Gets More Real with Living Rosters in NBA® 2K9 Fans will receive the most up-to-date player attributes, player tendencies, and unlockable animations September 22, 2008 – 2K Sports today announced details on Living Rosters, an exciting new innovative online feature for this season's highly anticipated basketball title, NBA 2K9. Living Rosters will ensure dedicated fans are playing with the most up-to-date and complete basketball experience ever available in the NBA 2K franchise. In addition to delivering constant updates to player ratings and player tendencies, Living Rosters will also offer exclusive access to unlockable animation packages for players in the game. When a player starts to heat up and takes his game to the next level on the real courts, new animation packages will unlock for that player in the video game. As the NBA season progresses, so will NBA 2K9, as players will have the ability to pull off new moves never seen before in the video game, adapt their offensive and defensive rotations, and shift starting lineups as they occur. If it happens during the regular NBA season, it will happen in NBA 2K9 thanks to Living Rosters. When the Living Rosters feature is activated and a gamer signs in online, the game automatically checks for Living Roster updates in order to download the latest real-life player information in a seamless process behind the scenes. Gamers will have an option to either have Living Rosters automatically update their in-game roster information, or they can choose to download new roster data manually. Once Living Rosters has successfully completed an update, NBA 2K9 fans can then review the different player and gameplay updates from the NBA 2K Insider – a real person working behind the scenes, pouring over the stats and spreadsheets, and who is ultimately responsible for the content and accuracy of the Living Rosters updates. However, the Insider's job is much more than just crunching numbers - they will interact with the community and listen to roster update suggestions to determine what the fans really want in each update. The NBA 2K Insider's analysis and commentary will be available in-game and on the 2K Sports website, www.2ksports.com.