sports
New NBA 2K9 Launch Trailer
Posted by Adam Barenblat at 11:00 AM on October 7, 2008
We'll folks this will likely be the last NBA 2K9 trailer we post because you're finally going to be able to pick up the game tomorrow. That's not to say the promotional stuff didn't go out without a bang, this trailer still provides plenty of pretty graphics to look at.
NBA 2K9 will be hitting PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and PS2.

Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
daddybojangles
Posted 7:30 AM 7/10/08
I only buy one sports game a year and this is it. Miami Heat FTW(minus the 15-67 record last year -.-). Im stoked for this game.
daddybojangles
DARTH_TIGRIS
Posted 7:25 AM 7/10/08
This is The One.
DARTH_TIGRIS
Intellectualdiot
Posted 7:19 AM 7/10/08
Those animation are absolutely stunning. The masterful replication of weight and heft contribute to an amazingly organic visual display.
But this still feels like a rent first title to me. I think the days of me spending full price on a sports title might have passed.
Intellectualdiot
pharcotix
Posted 7:16 AM 7/10/08
day 1 (which is tomorrow, finally!!!)
pharcotix
Vallen
Posted 7:16 AM 7/10/08
Spurs got no love in that video lol... Davis was owning them
Vallen
Crowbot
Posted 7:15 AM 7/10/08
@Poo_and_Weeeee: That may be partially because dark brow skin is less translucent so you don't have that corpse look provided the rest is ok.
Crowbot
Torokun
Posted 7:14 AM 7/10/08
so... how much does publisher have to pay Kotaku to have their trailers posted in a row.
just kidding~!
XD
Torokun
chrisnick
Posted 7:13 AM 7/10/08
sorry for the double post but ........was there no lebron and no kobe and a whole lot of baron davis?.....trailer...fail.
chrisnick
Poo_and_Weeeee
Posted 7:11 AM 7/10/08
@Poo_and_Weeeee: White, not whitey, that is.
Poo_and_Weeeee
chrisnick
Posted 7:09 AM 7/10/08
bought.
chrisnick
Poo_and_Weeeee
Posted 7:08 AM 7/10/08
Has anyone else noticed that models of black guys seem to look way more realistic than models of whitey dudes, and asians especially?
Poo_and_Weeeee
RocketSauceJosh
Posted 7:47 AM 7/10/08
my excitement for this game went from amazed to sexually aroused.
RocketSauceJosh
RocketSauceJosh
Posted 7:46 AM 7/10/08
@daddybojangles:
It's Ok, I'm a Knicks fan... yeah, enough said right?
RocketSauceJosh
RocketSauceJosh
Posted 7:45 AM 7/10/08
@chrisnick:
And Kobe also has a deal with Sony.
I would have liked to see a bit of Chris Paul actually, and maybe Chris Bosh because last year he looked as thick and fat as Eddy Curry, which is so so wrong.
RocketSauceJosh
MSUHitman
Posted 7:41 AM 7/10/08
If you're looking to do some trades to get this game, Game Crazy is doing a 20% trade-in boost on trades going towards any version of this game.
MSUHitman
MSUHitman
Posted 7:37 AM 7/10/08
@chrisnick: Lebron isn't shown because he's the cover athlete for Sony's NBA 09: The Inside.
MSUHitman
SnakesSolids
Posted 8:08 AM 7/10/08
The demo was fun. I thought I liked Live better until I played 2k9. Much more realistic basketball game. Not that bball video games were very realistic to begin with.
SnakesSolids
yashichi8bit
Posted 7:54 AM 7/10/08
Looks like they "kicked up the graphics a little bit".
Seriously though, that looks like a real sports feed.
yashichi8bit
KrsJin
Posted 8:33 AM 7/10/08
@Intellectualdiot: That's the first thing I couldn't get over, the animations. Usually NBA games look amazing in still frames, but clunky or un-natural in motion. Not the case with 2K9 though, wow.
KrsJin
daddybojangles
Posted 8:26 AM 7/10/08
@RocketSauceJosh: 23-59 isn't much better but hey you never know what could happen in bball. The heat could turn it around this year, maybe potential playoff caliber. The knicks will get better in time and hey you all have patrick ewing jr(not quite the player his father was but we'll see!)
daddybojangles
TheAngryHeretic
Posted 8:26 AM 7/10/08
If this one is $40 like 2K8 was, it's damn near an instant purchase.
TheAngryHeretic
TheAngryHeretic
Posted 8:25 AM 7/10/08
@daddybojangles: I am a proud Hawks fan, and i will be picking this one up. Yeah, even proud of my team when they don't make it to the playoffs. And you know how long that has been for us.
TheAngryHeretic
TheAngryHeretic
Posted 8:24 AM 7/10/08
@daddybojangles: I a proud Hawks fan, and i will be picking this one up. Yeah, even proud of my team when they don't make it to the playoffs. And you know how long that has been for us.
TheAngryHeretic
tdevore
Posted 8:18 AM 7/10/08
i'm a huge fan of 2k8 and am a bit worried after playing the 2k9 demo. hopefully, the demo was rushed as it doesn't look any better and actually plays a bit worse than 2k8 imo. of course, it's just a demo and many of the features of the full game aren't available. this trailer certainly looks amazing. it's on the way from gamefly, so i will know soon enough if it's worth a purchase. 2k8 is fantastic in all areas so hopefully they didn't make too many changes. 5 on 5 online sounds great if they keep the lag under control. 1 on 1 over live works great in 2k8.
tdevore
TheMurderer
Posted 8:49 AM 7/10/08
I hate basketball with a passion, but those graphics were so ridiculous that my wallet hurts.
TheMurderer
DarkHavoc99
Posted 8:34 AM 7/10/08
@Intellectualdiot:
Yes especially the falling. Kind Euphoria engine like. I dont like basketball games but would rent this to just gawk.
DarkHavoc99
Pancho_Villasan
Posted 9:12 AM 7/10/08
Holy fucking shit-balls! I just went in my pants, that looked amazing.
Pancho_Villasan
etchasketchist
Posted 9:09 AM 7/10/08
That B-Roy block of Iverson gave me flashbacks to his real rejection against Carmelo Anthony last year. Go Blazers. Go 2K! I am full of giddy. Tomorrow=awesome.
etchasketchist
mcx
Posted 9:25 AM 7/10/08
@tdevore:
There was stuff missing in the demo for sure. Its still the best for whats its worth.
mcx
mcx
Posted 9:23 AM 7/10/08
2k still #1 in NBA -- The demo was awesome with great game play. Another step up in the graphics department.
mcx
EnigmaNemesis
Posted 9:52 AM 7/10/08
@mcx:
I am not into basketball or the games, and I was impressed with the gameplay/atmosphere.
Too bad their baseball stinks ... though The Show is just so sick and fills the void nicely.
EnigmaNemesis
pharcotix
Posted 9:37 AM 7/10/08
@TheAngryHeretic:
2k8 was 60 at launch...
also, the 2k series demos always suck :|
pharcotix
Soho
Posted 10:13 AM 7/10/08
Sigh...i only have a beefed-up PC ;_; ...
Soho
Seahawker
Posted 9:55 AM 7/10/08
Can't get enough of this trailer. The hard fouls on A.I. are fantastic. Love the left-handed floater by Baron Davis. Tomorrow needs to hurry up and get here.
Seahawker
Soho
Posted 10:14 AM 7/10/08
Omg...its being released on PC too :D, this is a buy for me.
Soho
CaterinaCalvus
Posted 10:40 AM 7/10/08
We'll miss you Diddy... That was beautiful trailer.
CaterinaCalvus
Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.
Posted 11:09 AM 7/10/08
THAT'S what I'm talking about.
Makes we wish VC was still making NFL games. Imagine what a NFL2k9 would look like...
Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.
sexdrugsandps3
Posted 1:34 PM 7/10/08
ahhhhh....come to papa...we've got a lot of catching up to do...Nice trailers by 2k, but Sony's NBA 08 trailers impressed me the most(I almost wanted to buy the game)...too bad the gameplay isn't anywhere near the 2k franchise...2k all day...
sexdrugsandps3
coolmkv69
Posted 1:18 PM 7/10/08
I'm a NBA Live turned 2K Sports guy. Couldn't take Live after 2003. But I digress, did anybody catch the subtleties in the demo? When someone got fouled hard, they get back up and push the person that fouled them and the fouler talks alot of smack. The new animations are amazing. Too bad EA wasn't able to take over Take Two. It would've been amazing to see EA graphics and presentations with 2K Sports gameplay and fluidity, assuming that WOULD'VE happened. =]
coolmkv69
SG_Mahonay
Posted 2:06 PM 7/10/08
After playing the demo and was absolutely wowed this is a day 1 purchase for me. I've been waiting for NBA2K to blow me away like it used to on the Dreamcast and Xbox. Looks like they've gotten to that point on the 360 now as well. It's about time.
SG_Mahonay
ibelli
Posted 3:00 PM 7/10/08
I downloaded this demo. Doesn't look nearly this good. Perhaps there are some last minute enhancements made?
ibelli
Snuffbox
Posted 3:21 PM 7/10/08
This game is gorgeous, I can't wait to get my hands on this bad boy.
Snuffbox
sexdrugsandps3
Posted 4:03 PM 7/10/08
@sexdrugsandps3: correction: "NBA 09"
sexdrugsandps3
showshaboy
Posted 5:05 PM 7/10/08
According to the demo, which I'm pretty sure will look the same as the retail game, looked meh in my eyes. Same character models from last years game with just a few minor upgrades.
I always hated 2ks player models...but dont take my word for it...just take a look at Manu Ginobli in the game..is that Manu ginobli..or is it Giligan?? lmao
showshaboy
shufflemoomin
Posted 8:28 PM 7/10/08
I'm skeptical of this trailer. Every year sports game show great trailers and every year the game looks little different from last year. I will say that the animations in this video look great, but animations in sports games have been great for years. The problem is the flow from one canned animation to the next. That's what gives them the unnatural, stunted look. The animations are flowing in this trailer, but each cut away shows just one canned animation. I'd like to see them string a few together and then see how fluent it looks. My guess? No better than last year.
shufflemoomin
onigoroshi
Posted 4:01 AM 8/10/08
The animation in this trailer is ridiculously amazing...this is the first basketball game in a long time that I will probably buy.
That being said, the opening scene with Kevin Garnett looked off to me...didn't seem like he was actually holding on to the ball.
onigoroshi