Kobe covers Sony's NBA 07

By Tim Surette, GameSpotPosted Aug 21, 2006 11:19 am PT

Los Angeles Lakers scoring machine to be spokesperson, cover athlete for basketball sim on PS2, PSP; game possibly coming to PS3.

NBA 07

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Kobe Bryant has seen his image plastered all over the place--on magazines, newspapers, and countless SportsCenter highlights. But one place he hasn't seen himself as often as an NBA superstar of his caliber should is on the cover of games.

Though Kobe is clearly one of the top NBA players of all time, his offcourt troubles sometimes overshadow his oncourt prowess. However, it appears that Sony is willing to forgive and forget his past indiscretions and plaster his photo on the cover of its upcoming basketball game.

Bryant, who will wear his new number 24 jersey on the cover, will be the spokesperson for NBA 07, Sony announced today--his first such deal since 2002. The game is being developed for the PlayStation 2 and PSP and will hit stores this fall. Bryant previously appeared on the cover of Nintendo's now-defunct NBA Courtside series.

In addition to the standard struggles of guiding a team to the NBA championship, NBA 07 offers a story-driven mode called The Life: Vol. 2, which pits gamers in the role of up-and-coming NBA stars the Kid and Big W.

The announcement marks the possibility of a huge rebound for Bryant, whose credibility took a mammoth blow in 2003 when he was accused of sexual assault by a 19-year-old in Colorado. The charges were later dropped, but Bryant admitted to the infidelity, and later made a public apology to his wife--an apology which was accompanied by a $4 million diamond-encrusted ring. Bryant has also drawn the ire of former teammate Shaquille O'Neal--the cover athlete for 2K Sports' NBA 2K7--in a war of words that has shown all the drama of a daytime soap opera.

Even with all the negative media attention, no one can doubt Bryant's skills on the court. The three-time NBA champion is a sensational scorer, and lit up the lowly Toronto Raptors for 81 points last season, second on the all-time single-game scoring list.

Kobe and NBA 07 may not just be appearing on the PS2 and PSP. A report on the deal in the Los Angeles Times claims that the game is headed to the PlayStation 3. No details on the next-gen version were disclosed, and Sony was unavailable to confirm the game as of press time.

NBA 07 is rated E for Everyone and has not yet been priced. For more information on the game, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

69 Comments

  • FstBrk342

    Posted Sep 28, 2006 4:55 pm PT

    haha that number looks so strange

  • s0lidsnake23x

    Posted Sep 23, 2006 5:44 am PT

    Kobe is the best player in the NBA, barnone. Lebron admits it. Wade admits it. Charles Barkley does, too.

    He scored 81 points against the Raptors. With a percentage higher than 60%. Okay, so a lot of his points were made from the line, but did you see all of the 3 pointers that he shot? I remember he made more than 8 3-pointers. Then he mixed it up with the inside game? Tell me, if you played against him, could you defend him any better than the rest of the guys that were on the Raptors? It was a beauty to watch him put on a show like that, especially cutting an 18-point deficit. If that was not the best game he ever showcased, then I don't know what is.

    All of you naysayers need to shove it. Kobe is only human, and he is allowed to make mistakes, regardless if he is a role model or not. If we lived in a society where we cannot forgive and forget, it'd be a pretty sad place. Number 24 signifies change and maturity, and I'm guessing no one really understands that.

  • Jhego128

    Posted Sep 18, 2006 11:36 pm PT

    LuminosityBlaze and gitaruman is just a dumb ass hater, Lebron is aight, but Wade the flop man didn't deserve to win, Dallas should've won just cause referees are on his side calling all his fake ass flops. . And the Kings???? Hah, keep on ringing those cowbells cuz championship ain't coming soon.

  • BlueYoshi579

    Posted Aug 31, 2006 2:37 am PT

    Come on. Kobe made the playoffs last year by himself. He took the Suns to 7 games, despite being outnumbered 5 to 1 on the court.

  • ArchAngel2284

    Posted Aug 26, 2006 8:57 pm PT

    go kobe!!!

  • EMAN2g

    Posted Aug 26, 2006 1:45 pm PT

    doesn't anyone remember NBA Courtside for the N64?

    he's been on games before...
    newbie GameSpot author....>_>

  • boocreepyfootdr

    Posted Aug 26, 2006 5:37 am PT

    Hope it does indeed come to PS3. I love Sony's recent first party sports games.

  • gitaruman

    Posted Aug 23, 2006 1:01 pm PT

    Screw Kobe... D. Wade or Lebron are like a thousand times better. So he scored 81 points against a crappy defense. So what? He doesn't deserve the cover.

  • LuminosityBlaze

    Posted Aug 23, 2006 4:51 am PT

    Yea, and Kobe hasn't done anything with the Lakers since Shaq left either. Just because he can score 81 pts. because he doesn't know how to pass doesn't make him a great player. There are others in the NBA that can do what he does and a lot of them are on teams that can't get anywhere for one reason or an other. This season, you'll see, it already started last season...
    The Kings are gonna blow up!

  • BobC Works for a game publisher or developer

    Posted Aug 22, 2006 12:34 pm PT

    "When are they ever gonna put one of the Kings on a game cover...?"

    Maybe when the Kings do or win anything worthwhile.

  • LuminosityBlaze

    Posted Aug 22, 2006 4:25 am PT

    Kobe Bryant needs an ego boost like he needs a hole in his head!
    I wish they wouldn't encourage him.
    He is already the cockiest, and one of the richest , players in the NBA.

    When are they ever gonna put one of the Kings on a game cover...?

  • regulesblade

    Posted Aug 22, 2006 3:45 am PT

    go kobe beef

  • jakeboudville

    Posted Aug 21, 2006 11:50 pm PT

    yay! Kobe is on it

  • VegetaMaelstrom

    Posted Aug 21, 2006 9:50 pm PT

    I guess EA will next go out and get the convicted rapist Mike Tyson to be the cover boy for the next Fight Night. Just to keep up with the competition's low morals. Another shining example of where this industry is headed.

  • d0njuan

    Posted Aug 21, 2006 9:22 pm PT

    yay first!

  • romukun

    Posted Aug 21, 2006 9:01 pm PT

    hahaha

  • dwoop

    Posted Aug 21, 2006 8:58 pm PT

    I wonder if there will be any easter eggs for say the Colorado home games...lol

  • romukun

    Posted Aug 21, 2006 8:36 pm PT

    Yes, number 24 is Kobe's new official jersey number now. He insisted on the name change during mid-season. The number 8 was worn because of Mike D'antoni who used to play in the Italy league. Kobe grew up watching Mike D'antoni as a hero, so chose to use that number for his career.

    Kobe's new number 24, is from back when he was in High School. He will now sport the number 24.

  • aftermath_69

    Posted Aug 21, 2006 7:50 pm PT

    NBA Live and NBA 2K series are better than NBA games from sony

  • eiru

    Posted Aug 21, 2006 6:18 pm PT

    no 24>???

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