Since the NBA 2K franchise began in 1999, the idea of selecting a professional basketball player to star in the box art of each new iteration of the game has been hotly anticipated. Following Allen Iverson's five-year stint as the series' inaugural cover star, 2K has chosen a new star from the pool of the NBA's best players, past and present. From Derrick Rose to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Larry Bird to Zion Williamson, being the cover of NBA 2K's newest annual installment is high honor in the professional basketball world. It's also a proven move for 2K to sell more units — if a fan sees that their favorite basketball player is on the cover of the new game, they might be a little more willing to leave behind last year's edition and pay $70 for the new one.
In recent years, 2K has begun releasing special editions of their games, each with unique covers. They went through a brief period of selling country-specific versions of NBA 2K a couple years back, with international players starring on covers sold in their respective countries (Pau and Marc Gasol on the Spanish edition, Tony Parker on the French edition, etc.). Following the death of Kobe Bryant, 2K released a Mamba Forever edition of 2K21, in honor of the legendary Laker. Last year, the first WNBA edition came out, commemorating of the WNBA's 25-year anniversary. The edition was exclusive to GameStop, and Candace Parker starred on the box art. 2K is continuing the tradition this year by releasing a WNBA edition for 2K23. This time, WNBA legends and friends Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm and Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury will share the cover.
Big W for the NBA
The WNBA has long been subject to criticism and negative discussion, especially concerning its profitability. In 2018, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that the WNBA was operating at a loss of $10 million per year. Though the WNBA has reported significant progress in recent years, the league's administration still faces an uphill battle if it wants to come anywhere close to garnering the numbers the NBA is currently achieving. Many of the barriers the WNBA faces stem from systemic sexism, and increased exposure in the way of a video game cover has the potential to chip away at some of those gargantuan barriers.
One of the driving forces of the WNBA is its impassioned mission to ensure that everyone who wants to play sports can and does. WNBA editions of NBA 2K releases are just one step toward that goal. Sue Bird stated in an interview with AP News that the level at which girls drop out of sports concerns her. To have WNBA players alongside NBA players on the cover of one of the most prolific sports video games in history is one more step to giving all young fans the motivation they need to stick with the sports that they are passionate about playing.
In a refreshing turn, the WNBA versions of NBA 2K games are not solely meant to turn a great profit, but to bolster representation too. While some men who have enjoyed their NBA 2K games just fine might complain that this is not a profitable or desirable move for 2K or the NBA, they are entirely missing the point: that it's not for them. It's for that young girl wandering through a GameStop who stumbles upon a basketball player that looks like her and realizes that maybe one day she could become a professional basketball player. It's giving encouragement to people who haven't had it before.
NBA 2K23 will release on September 9 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Source: AP News