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Hip-Hop Wired chops it up NBA 2K's Ronnie Singh, aka Ronnie 2K and Vice President of Global Marketing for NBA 2K Alfie Brody.

The second reveal belonged to two GOATs of the WNBA, Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird, who share cover duties on the GameStop exclusive WNBA Edtion of NBA 2K23. Source: 2K / NBA 2K23: WNBA Edition Finally, future GOAT and current Phoenix Suns superstar Devin Booker was announced as the cover athlete for the Standard and Cross-Generation editions of NBA 2K23. Source: 2K Sports / NBA 2K23 Last week, the good folks at 2K invited our very own Bernard Beanz Smalls out to Las Vegas to crash the NBA 2K23 House of Greatness to get hands-on with the new game and talk to some NBA hoopers and, of course, the folks who bring us the game every year. The Process Behind Choosing Cover Athletes Speaking with Ronnie 2K and Alfie Brody, we had to ask them about the thought process of choosing the NBA 2K23s cover athletes that perfectly reflect the year of greatness. A lot goes into it. Were always trying to tell a story around a specific year. And for us, greatness felt like the thing that we wanted to tell because were really excited about the evolution in the game, Ronnie 2K begins. This is our third year on Next- Gen. Were really excited about what the game is shaping up to be. And so 23 made it easy as far as, oh yeah, well partner with Michael Jordan. But its more than that. Its about a statement of what we think this game is going to be, and its going to be great. Source: Bernard Smalls / @BeanzGotGamez Theres different criteria. One certainly is an affinity for the game. Obviously, if you work with somebody, you want them to like the game, Brody tells Hip-Hop Wired. Doesnt really matter how long they played or anything like that, but they just got to like being a part of it. And then we definitely focus on authenticity, so somebody who can actually play it. You guys know our community. Theyre very vocal. Theyre very passionate. So they can see through any of the fluff. And if the cover athlete is not interested in the game, isnt part of the community, theyll call that out. So thats certain criteria. And then beyond that, its just somebody thats going to give us the time and want to work with us and have fun with us, Brody continued. They hit the jackpot with Devin Booker, who checks all of the boxes, being that he is a pretty damn good NBA 2K player and still in the infancy of his prime. Certainly standard edition cover athlete, we dont want someone thats already hit their prime, thats already won MVP. You want somebody thats young and hungry, Brody added. Keeping NBA 2K23 Fresh Releasing annual video games is not as easy as many people think. Yeah, franchises like Madden NFL, EA NHL, FIFA, MLB The Show, Call of Duty and NBA 2K have loyal fanbases who can instantly tell when they are getting recycled products every year. NBA 2K somehow still manages to keep things fresh for their community, and NBA 2K22 returned to form after taking a bit of a stumble. Well, I would say its two things. One, basketball in general, keeps us hungry. Theres so many storylines in the way that the game changes. And the storytelling around individuals, that is something that we want to drive as the authentic stimulator in the market, Ronnie 2K begins when talking about keeping NBA 2K fresh. And then the other thing Id say is we really want to compete with ourselves. Thats our big thing. We want to put out the best product we can. Now we cant do everything every year, but I can very, very, very comfortably say that we move the needle. We change the game. We evolve on an annualized title, more than any other annualized title. Its not even close. And thats really coming from our great consumers and what they had to say. But we also have to make our decisions. As developers of the game, you have to be confident in what you are delivering, he continued. Look, Im biased, but Visual Concepts, our studio, is the best in the business. Greg Thomas, Eric Benish. These producers, theyre the GOATs. Theyre hyper-focused on innovation every single year, Brody adds. The development team has a seven-month cycle every single year. This is the 24th year of NBA 2K, and theyve done this consistently for 24 years. So that team is not happy. They will not settle on just porting the game year over year, the same experience. They try to flip it upside down. What can we do to make it cooler, make it more fun? Drive engagement, and focus on basketball. Clearly, all the ancillary cultural pieces, right? Music and fashion and sneakers. And The City is now an open-world environment. We had The Neighborhood. We could have stuck with The Neighborhood. We thought, no. Lets go bigger, right? Source: Bernard Smalls / @BeanzGotGamez Brody also touched on the importance of the NBA 2K Communitys feedback and how it helps the developers continue delivering the best game possible. So it all starts with the studio, and we joked that were marketing a Ferrari. These guys, what they accomplish in seven months is remarkable. And then we get to get people engaged. So from th Read more