Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade is an all-time player especially in the video game world. NBA 2K has announced D-Wade’s all-time rating in the 2K universe.
The post Look: NBA 2K Reveals Dwyane Wade’s All-Time Rating (Spoiler: It’s Over 95) appeared first on SOHH.com.
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It’s almost draft day for the 2019 NBA 2K League. Ahead of the highly-anticipated day, the NBA 2K League has announced a multiyear partnership with Champion Athleticwear to serve as the league’s official outfitter.
Whoa…… this @NBA2KLeague is legit-legit???? lol Level up like crazy! @NBA2K #SOHHNews pic.twitter.com/lAiWvYGDkV
— SOHH (@sohh) February 12, 2019
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Read all about it – wow! Congrats. #CHAMPION @NBA2K #SOHHNews pic.twitter.com/Av6STrd1u2
— SOHH (@sohh) February 12, 2019
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No joke – we're taking @NBA2K 20 serious next year – these guys are making legit careers out of balling in video games! lol #SOHHNews pic.twitter.com/PQnJWdgUqT
— SOHH (@sohh) February 12, 2019
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NBA 2K is joining in on the 10-Year Challenge. The popular video game powerhouse has shared the overall ratings of superstar players from NBA 2K9 and NBA 2K19.
The post Look: NBA 2K Joints 10-Year Challenge W/ LeBron James, Kevin Durant & Derrick Rose’s Overall Ratings appeared first on SOHH.com.
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Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty
What makes video games great, especially sports-related ones, is the realistic player models thanks to next-generation scanning technology. So now when you play NBA 2K or FIFA, for example, you get every detail including the player’s tattoos, but the body ink that is now the norm is becoming an issue for developers cause the athletes do not own the tats.
Wait… what?
Despite the personal connections the tattoos may have and the fact the athlete might have come up with the idea in their heads, they do not own the ink.
Per The New York Times:
“Any creative illustration “fixed in a tangible medium” is eligible for copyright, and, according to the United States Copyright Office, that includes the ink displayed on someone’s skin. What many people don’t realize, legal experts said, is that the copyright is inherently owned by the tattoo artist, not the person with the tattoos.”
“For most people, that is not a cause for concern. Lawyers generally agree that an implied license allows people to freely display their tattoos in public, including on television broadcasts or magazine covers. But when tattoos are digitally recreated on avatars in sports video games, copyright infringement can become an issue.”
Well damn. This may come as a shock, but the battle for the rights to incorporate athletes tattoos into video games has been going on for some time now. A tattoo artist slapped Electronic Arts with a copyright infringement lawsuit when it used an illustration of retired NFL running back Ricky Williams and his tattoos on the cover of NFL Street. He later withdrew his claim in 2013.
We reported on Solid Oak Sketches suing NBA 2K’s developers over the use of tattoos that it obtained copyrights for in the game. Not all tattoo artist feel the same way, two artists Shawn Rome and Justin Wright who licenesed their work to Solid Oak claim “they had been deceived by its founder, Matthew Siegler, and never desired a lawsuit.”
There is some artist who finds this ridiculous, speaking with the New York Times, Gotti Flores who has spent many hours tattooing NFL athlete Mike Evans said he was “surprised” because he had to give permission for the tats to be used in the game and sign a waiver for no compensation. “Really it didn’t even matter to me. It was dope to have my tattoos on there” he also added.
This all sounds ridiculous, but it’s definitely becoming an issue video game developers are wary of and are tackling ahead of time now.
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Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty
Source: NBC / Getty
Brooklyn rapper 2 Milly isn’t the only person suing Epic Games for stealing dance moves and incorporating them in Fortnite. Fresh Prince of Bel Air actor, and the creator of the Carlton Dance, Alfonso Ribeiro is getting in on the action and wants his coins as well.
Ribeiro is upping the ante and also suing NBA 2K’s developers as well TMZ exclusively reports.
His suit is almost similar to 2 Milly’s, and in court documents attained byTMZ he alleges that the “Fresh emote” as it is called in the game is a carbon copy of his dance he came up with for the hit 90’s sitcom that he is in the process of copyrighting.
Per TMZ:
Alfonso’s attorney, David Hecht of Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP, tells us, “It is widely recognized that Mr. Ribeiro’s likeness and intellectual property have been misappropriated by Epic Games in the most popular video game currently in the world, Fortnite.”
He continues, “Epic has earned record profits off of downloadable content in the game, including emotes like “Fresh.” Yet Epic has failed to compensate or even ask permission from Mr. Ribeiro for the use of his likeness and iconic intellectual property.”
We reached out to Epic Games but were told they don’t comment on ongoing litigation.
2 Milly’s case was going to be a bit of an uphill battle, but with Ribeiro throwing his name into the hat, the pressure on both companies to compensate them might have increased dramatically. We wouldn’t be shocked at this point if Epic Games and now 2K decide to settle and cough up some dough. The results of this suit could open the door to more similar lawsuits as well.
You can see the evidence in the video below if for some reason you’re skeptical about Ribeiro’s case.
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Photo: NBC / Getty
Source: El Nuevo Herald / Getty
Tattoos on NBA players are as common as the Nike sneakers on their feet. So with today’s scanning technology, its no surprise players body ink makes into the game. 2K’s constant desire to give its players the most realistic basketball video game experience possible every year with NBA 2K has landed them in some legal hot water.
Solid Oak Sketches back in 2015 bought the rights to individual players tattoos such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Back in 2016, the company decided to take the game’s publisher, Take-Two Interactive, to court arguing that the company infringed on the copyright of eight tattoo designs that are on the bodies of James and Bryant.
The tattoo saga continues this month as Solid Oak is asking a federal judge to deny a motion for summary judgment by Take-Two.
Per Page Six:
“Solid Oak Sketches argued in court documents this month that while some players, such as LeBron James, “may have granted his rights of publicity” to game maker Take-Two Interactive “through the [NBA] . . . that is a consideration completely separate and apart from whether the defendants ever received a license to use the copyrights to the tattoo artwork that was fixed on Mr. James’ body by tattoo artists.”
Take-Two has counter-argued that the inked images fall under fair use guidelines and the tattoos use in the game are no big deal because they are “rendered virtually unrecognizable on-screen.” The publisher also feels making tattoos copyrightable will make things very touchy beyond video games opening Pandora’s Box and paving the way for lawsuits such as the one they are battling.
This scenario does seem kinda ridiculous being that the ink is on the bodies of the players already and they should have a say so not Solid Oak.
Do you feel the Solid Oak Sketches has a case? Or do you think they are doing entirely too much with this lawsuit?
We are interested to see how this one plays out in court.
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Photo: El Nuevo Herald / Getty
Source: 2K / Youtube
2K cares if don’t nobody else care. The publisher behind the fan-favorite NBA 2K basketball video game franchise is giving back to the community in a big way, and it’s using the sport of basketball.
Today (Sept.25) the company announced the launch of 2K Foundations which aims in its first year to support underserved communities across the United States by refurbishing basketball courts in cities like Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Chicago, and Cleveland.
On top of supplying the youth brand new blacktops to hoop on, 2K will also give local community centers the essential technology upgrades, that will enable STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education programming to the youth. Tech giant Microsoft will be partnering with the game studio to supply Xbox One S consoles to allow them to get some games in on the virtual basketball court as well.
Jason Argent, Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations for NBA 2K on the launch of 2K Foundations:
“2K Foundations is inspired by the basketball community and passionate NBA 2K fans who have been enthusiastic about their love for the game over the last two decades. Basketball has been so good to us, and we want to pay it forward to the communities that need it most, by helping to enhance the lives of youth both on the court and in the classroom.”
2K plans to revitalize 12 basketball courts that will feature environmentally-safe upgrades and give local community centers the resources to run basketball tournaments, and positive endeavors in hopes of promoting diversity, sportsmanship, and learning and teach the youth the power of the community.
2K has already kicked things off with two amazing installations in the cities of Baltimore and Cincinnati. You can see the 2K Foundations beautiful work in the two recap videos below.
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Photo: 2K/Youtube