NBA 2K7 upgraded for the PS3

From IGN: "While the development team hasn’t had a lot of time with the final test hardware, don’t simply assume that NBA 2K7 is a mere port of the 360 version of the game. The development team has spent a ton of time trying to respond to a lot of the comments from fans on their boards, and have added a lot of shot animations in the post and new gameplay upgrades, among other new features. They also put in extra time in the motion capture studios to enhance the realism on the court, so players really had a sense of being in a game situation. In fact, Greg Thomas, the president of Visual Concepts pointed out that as they’ve been spending more and more time with the hardware, they’ve started realizing that future game titles for both the 360 and PS3 will have to have different development cycles to fully take advantage of each console’s power.

Speaking of taking advantage of the PS3’s power, the team has been using the computational power of the system to enhance a large number of the standard features that the game is known for. For instance, the cloth physics of jerseys and shorts has been assigned to one SPU on the PS3 instead of multiple cores on the 360 so that it can move more realistically than ever without taking away processing power for the rest of the game. But you’ll find that there’s just as much realism off the court in the PS3 version than on the court. Instead of running cutscenes during timeout situations, the development team has created real time AI that governs the cheerleaders, mascots, floor cleaners and even the crowd. For example, during a game between Dallas and Miami at the American Airlines Arena, we noticed Burnie, the Heat mascot doing much more than simply dancing on the sideline; he would run under Dallas’ basket and actively try to distract shooters at the free throw line, and he had new dance sequences during timeouts.

Visually, the game has been taken up to a new level, particularly in how the game action is rendered. Not only have the in-game visuals been beefed up thanks to the power of the system, but according to Thomas, the way the PS3 renders pixels gives the game a richer appearance than the 360 version. It looks much more organic and lifelike, and if you thought you were watching a real game on the 360, just wait till you see it on the PS3. The only thing that is still up in the air right now is the online play: Visual Concepts has been trying to work out how online will be implemented for the PS3. It’s been a challenge for them to include that feature in the game, and their testers have been working around the clock figuring out how to work the game with Sony’s as yet unannounced network platform. However, as Thomas put it, Visual Concepts has been known as an online pioneer, so the overall plan is to have the game out within the launch window with the feature firmly established within the game. Interested in checking the game out for yourself? Hop over to the video page and check out the first videos of off-screen gameplay running on the PS3, as well as the free throw mechanic in action."