NBA 2K12

NBA 2K12 is a basketball simulation game which strives to emulate the National Basketball Association. Players mostly play NBA basketball games with real or created players and teams. The game features several aesthetical details found in real televised NBA games, such as commentary from Kevin Harlan, Clark Kellogg, and Steve Kerr, sideline reports from Doris Burke, halftime shows, replays, customizable camera angles, and other details.

Along with standard online and quick play game modes, several other game modes are present. Association mode allows the player to assume control of an entire NBA organization, simulating through NBA seasons, managing personnel, and participating in off-season activities, such as the draft and free agency. MyPlayer mode returns, in which the player creates their own basketball player. The player customizes the appearance, animations, and other aspects of their player, and plays through their basketball career, upgrading their attributes.

NBA 2K12 was released in October 2011 for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox 360, and, for the first time, iOS. It was developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive. The first trailer for the game was released in June 2011. Several other trailers were released in the months leading up to the game's release.

A demo of the game was released in September 2011 for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. Three different covers are available for the game. A first for the series, the three cover athletes are Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird.

According to the review aggregation website Metacritic, the Microsoft Windows version of NBA 2K12 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics upon release, while the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions received "universal acclaim". The iOS port, by contrast, received "mixed or average" reviews. The PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo Wii versions of the game do not hold an aggregated score on the website, due to a lack of reviews.

Matt Bertz of Game Informer called NBA 2K12 the "best basketball sim ever". He praised the introduction of more classic teams and players, commended the control tweaks and tutorial options, called the overall presentation and player models the "best in sports games", and called the commentary the "best ever recorded in a sports game".