Before you read any of this post, I have but one request: take two minutes out of your life and watch the above video. It’s of a crazy Dwight Howard dunk from the NBA All-Star Weekend Dunk Contest, and you should watch it not only for the dunk — which is plenty insane in and of itself — but also for the over-the-top (yet completely warranted) reaction from NBA on TNT analyst Kenny Smith (you’ll know who I’m talking about if you watch the video). And he mentions the term “video game” thrice!
What does this have to do with anything? Well, Dwight Howard went on to win the Dunk Contest, which just happened to be great press for Midway’s NBA Ballers: Chosen One, a street basketball game in the vein of their classic NBA Jam series. You see, on January 14th, Howard was announced as the cover athlete for the game, so it was pretty convenient for Midway that he won. Midway has gone the opportunistic route — they’re heavily promoting the game using Howard’s Dunk Contest win as the focal point of their advertising campaign.
Midway had a heavy presence at the All-Star Game to begin with, including helping NBA Cares (the league’s social initiative program) to refurbish two basketball courts at a New Orleans grade school. They also had some demo kiosks for the game on hand during the weekend. Finally, the game’s website was launched on February 14th in conjunction with the Search for the Next Chosen One contest, which asks for custom player artwork designs for the game with the promise of some NBA-related prizes.
Five recent screens from the game are posted below, in addition to a promotional composite shot of photos from Howard’s ridiculous dunk and some more screens from the game. NBA Ballers: Chosen One is set for release on April 21 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Entries (RSS)