NBA 2K16 Release Date: Expect It in the First Week Of October With Possible James Harden Cover

Mar 12, 2015 05:53 PM EDT

Right now, 2K Sports is hard at work to release NBA 2K16, just as the 2014-2015 NBA season is in its post season.  From what we know about the reputation of 2K16, it will probably have a release date sometime around the first week in October. 

How do we know that? Just look into the past. NBA 2K15 was released on October 7, 2014, NBA 2K14 was released on October 1, 2013, NBA 2K13 was released on October 2, 2012, and so on.  We know NBA 2K16 will be released in October, but we don't know the exact date.  I would say the first week of October 2015 is a safe bet, and if I could make that bet for March Madness, I would. In fact, let's make it October 6, 2015, because all previous NBA 2K games were released on the first Tuesday in October.

One of the biggest features of NBA 2K15 was that it used facial scans of NBA players in order to add a level of realism.  From there it was a matter of letting the developers and graphics technicians put the face on the individual NBA player, and the player of this game suddenly had a realistic-looking team. 

According to KPopStarz, it has been revealed by some NBA teams that their players are getting full body scans to be used in the game. This will really bring the realism level up, and we already know that the Heat and the Nets have been scanned.  This body scanning is not limited to just the players.  Natalie Tenerelli, a dancer for the Los Angeles Clippers, has also had a full body scan. 

So what else can be expected of NBA 2K16?  Well, with a video game set to be released in October, we don't really have much information on it.  However, a site known as nba2k16game.com has an interesting wishlist.  It should be known that it doesn't look like NBA 2K16 is an official site, but looks more user or fan created. 

However, this wishlist has some requests that would give the game even more realism than body scans.  For example, they request a "logical pattern of realism" and "ratings can be reduced for simple attributes of the game like dunking and layups".  The body scans will definitely make the game more realistic, but the difficult task for the programmer is to make it so the video game avatars of the players can play just like their real-life counterparts. 

Fans are also demanding a better rating system for teams, and there are way too many foul shots involved in the NBA 2K series.  Also, there were complaints that the servers cannot keep up with the demand, resulting in a lot of technical issues.  Then there is complaint that the game emphasizes the monetary aspects, and not enough on the sport of the game. 

So who will be appearing on the cover of NBA 2K16?   It is a coveted position, that is for sure, and KPopStarz reports of rumors that James Harden of the Houston Rockets will be "the man".  In fact, much of his fans are hoping that he will earn his first MVP title for the 2014-2015 season.   

It would appear that 2K is asking for a lot of feedback to make NBA 2K16 the most realistic game as possible, and much of it has been a result of the mixed reviews from WWE 2K15.  By the way, they are also calling on the fans to help improve WWE 2K16

The NBA 2K series was originally developed for the Sega Dreamcast, and then taken over by 2K Sports.  There has been a new game released each year, which means that NBA 2K16 is the sixteenth version of this sports game. 

Generally, many of the new games for holiday release are shown off at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, held every summer in Los Angeles.  No doubt gamers will have a chance to try out NBA 2K16 and give their feedback. In the meantime, just expect it to be released to the PC, Xbox One, and PS4 in the first week of October 2015.  Since I can't say whether or not it will come to the PS3 and Xbox 360, I won't guarantee it for that just yet until I hear more news about it.