March 30th, 2004 (12:00am) - Midway Games Inc., a leading interactive entertainment publisher and developer, announced today that NBA Ballers, an all-new and unique one-on-one NBA lifestyle basketball videogame, scheduled to ship April 5, 2004 for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox video game system from Microsoft will be backed by the company’s most in-depth sports marketing campaign to date.
One of 2004’s most anticipated sports games, NBA Ballers is being aggressively promoted via a multi-million dollar television, print and online advertising campaign geared towards the game’s lifestyle features; a 30 minute special entitled "Making the Game: NBA Ballers" scheduled to begin airing on MTV on March 31; a series of dedicated events and a number of unique licensed content.
"NBA Ballers is one of Midway’s key releases for 2004 and marks the company’s re-establishment as a leader in the sports genre," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "Our intense marketing campaign includes a combination of advertising, an MTV special, licensing deals and public relations events that bring players to the fabulous backyard courts of the NBA’s greatest stars."
The marketing for NBA Ballers includes:
-- National TV Advertising: National television advertising campaign, scheduled to begin March 31 on multiple mainstream broadcast and cable networks including UPN, MTV, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, ESPN, and NBATV among others.
-- National Print Campaign: NBA Ballers print advertising set to appear across multiple major videogame and consumer publications including Electronic Gaming Monthly, Game Informer, GamePro, ESPN Magazine and Vibe.
-- MTV’s Making The Game Special: A 30 minute special entitled "Making The Game: NBA Ballers" is scheduled to begin airing on MTV starting March 31. The special is expected to feature a behind the scenes look at the game’s development, musical influences and what it takes to live the NBA lifestyle.
-- Online Campaign: Online advertising has already begun on IGN, GameSpot, GameSpy and NBA.com. A dedicated website, http://www.nbaballers.com features game assets and streaming audio from the game’s soundtrack.
-- Retail Point-of-Purchase: Promotional materials at all major retailers including: standees, posters, and in-store TV coupled with exclusive giveaways.
-- Dedicated PR Events: Midway kicked-off the PR campaign for NBA Ballers with an exclusive mansion party in Beverly Hills last fall and the hype continued during February’s NBA All-Star weekend.
-- Underground Soundtrack: The explosive soundtrack found in NBA Ballers features 19 track created exclusively for NBA Ballers by a number of up and coming MCs along with in-game commentary by World Freestyle Champion rapper MC Supernatural and on-the-court beats by DMC Champion DJ Rocky Rock.
-- Cover Athlete Stephon Marbury: NBA Ballers is represented by New York Knicks starting point guard Stephon Marbury. A player who exemplifies the NBA lifestyle.
-- Licensed Content: NBA Ballers features a host of licensed content including cars from both Range Rover and Cadillac.
