This years iteration of the current king of the NBA games NBA 2K9 from developer Visual Concepts has made a small appearance at E3 this year so far. Not quite the huge reveal that fans would drool over but quite impressive never the less. From the show floor it can be seen that 2K9 isn’t messing with a tried and true formula, as the game still resembles 2K8, albeit with a huge level of polish being put into the graphics. Last year some gamers felt the graphics had yet to catch up to next gen, well we can positively say that this year 2K has come to the party in that department. No longer set to be the ugly duckling of the basketball games 2K9 should have the graphics to go along with its already top notch gameplay. Also of note to long time fans is that Kenny “The Jet” Smith will no longer be delivering his one liners from the commentary box this year. 
We can all breathe a collective sigh of relief at the announcement that Clark Kellogg of CBS will be filling that spot, hopefully in a slightly more natural fashion than his predecessor. One other aspect that has improved is the atmosphere of the game in-between quarters. In past games end of the quarter usually meant hitting the button as fast as you could to get to the next one. This year perhaps things will be different as there will be an array of stats and for the first time, highlights each quarter. After each quarter, the game will show replays of the biggest plays during the period from many cinematic angles—much like you would see from a television broadcast. Sharp camera cuts and highlight style music give the presentation a more lifelike boost and are certainly in line with upping the games aesthetic appeal. Visual Concepts Mark Thomas, VP of sports development, has gone on record as saying that “this year he wants consumers to be blown away by the NBA 2K experience from start to finish” Big words indeed considering what EA has unveiled in the past few days. Hopefully VC’s renewed focus on presentation this year will be just what the doctor ordered for this series, and combined with their stalwart stellar gameplay will put a tough fight once again to NBA Live. In the coming weeks 2K is said to have a preview event of sorts, hopefully including some hands on gameplay and a more detailed look at things like the revamped Association mode.
Stay tuned, but for now check out the latest screenshots in our gallery below. Update: Head over to our 2K9 features page to see the newly released complete feature set for NBA 2k9. Update - 26 July :2K has added a new clip over on their site of some pre-draft players playing what looks like 2K8, but there is some footage of 2K9 in there also, showing KG pointing at the Lakers and looks like its shaping up incredibly well.
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