Sony have announced the lineup of games that they will be giving out for free to PS+ subscribers for the month of June, and it’s actually a pretty good showing for a change. PS4 owners will be getting the excellent NBA 2K16 and the indie sensation Gone Home for absolutely free- meanwhile, PS3 owners can expect Echochrome and Siren: Blood Curse.

PS Vita owners, meanwhile, will be able to play the excellent God of War: Ghost of Sparta for free this month- and if playing through an old PSP game doesn’t appeal to you, then you can also download the made for PS Vita, delightful title Little Deviants, which shows off all the various tricks the Vita has in its bag.

It’s a great showing on the whole this month- I’d say that both Xbox Live Games with Gold and PS+ have equally good lineups this month, which is probably the first time that has ever happened. Competition breeds success after all, it seems.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is, at this point, three years old, and already the highest selling game of all time, having sold an absurd 55 million copies- how much higher can it go, right? Considering how old it is now, you’d think its sales would eventually slow down. This is, after all, an industry that thrives on short attention spans, and giving us the ‘next big thing.’

It turns out that whenever GTA 5‘s sales do slow down, it isn’t going to be anytime soon- the game has added another 5 million units to its overall tally, bringing its total worldwide sales to a massive, staggering 60 million units sold- on average, GTA 5 has sold 12 million copies across each of the systems it is available on.

GTA 5 was the headlining game for Take Two’s latest financial release, but their other games apparently did well, too.  “During the holiday season, Take-Two enjoyed immense consumer demand for its recent releases and catalog, enabling the Company to deliver another quarter of strong revenue, Non-GAAP earnings and cash flow,” said CEO Strauss Zelnick. “These outstanding results were driven by robust sales of Grand Theft Auto 5, NBA 2K16 and WWE 2K16, along with our highest-ever revenue from recurrent consumer spending.

“As a result of our third quarter outperformance and solid forecast for the balance of the year, we are once again raising our financial outlook for fiscal 2016, which is poised to be another year of meaningful profits for Take-Two. Looking ahead, we have an extensive development pipeline that positions our Company for revenue growth and margin expansion over the long-term. We are excited about this Friday’s release of XCOM 2, which has received stellar early review scores, and anticipation already is building for the fiscal 2017 launches of Battleborn and Mafia III.”

Man, these guys are silently becoming one of the biggest publishers in the industry.

There’s no doubt about it, NBA 2K16 is a gorgeous game. The visuals are absolutely staggering and ooze realism – thanks to a new physics engine, the addition of over 10,000 animations, full body scanning and improved AI. It looks and plays like the real thing. Even the crowds and arenas take on a new level of visual splendour. Aesthetics aside, the audio is fantastic too – a booming soundtrack and a wonderfully scripted – but natural sounding – commentary really add to the overall sense of realism.

It’s undoubtedly some of the most seamless commentary I’ve ever heard in a sports game, and each play is detailed, highlighting defensive frailties or offensive aplomb, while the pre- and postgame chatter really helps to draw you in. It feels almost broadcast quality – like you’re actually watching the big game on the TV. “Here’s the screen, he’s gone on the inside. It’s good on the triple, he’s got 10 points. He’s sensing this is a critical time in the game.” It just sounds authentic and adds hugely to the atmosphere. Other sports games should take note. Presentation wise… it’s a slam dunk!

"Importantly, the servers seem to have been shored up this time round too and perform much better than last year. We had no problems finding players online and games always ran smoothly and lag free."

And it doesn’t just look the part; it’s all backed up with loads of game modes and plenty to do too. There’s 2K Pro-AM, MyPark, the popular MyTeam card trading game and MyGM – which drops you in the shoes of a General Manager to oversee the day-to-day running of a franchise. The new Play Now Online mode is well worth dedicating some time to as well – letting you take on like-minded souls online as you attempt to work your way up the rankings.

Importantly, the servers seem to have been shored up this time round too and perform much better than last year. We had no problems finding players online and games always ran smoothly and lag free.

A word of warning though… the learning curve is kinda steep – especially if you don’t live and breathe the sport. While series’ veterans will be in their element, players new to the series will surely struggle.

The controls, plays, tactics and rules are all there – but they’re tricky to grasp out of the box. The accompanying tutorial videos provide a brief insight into the fundamentals of the game but these lack enough depth to really be helpful. Even having watched them repeatedly, the refined control system still proved tricky – and plenty of experimentation and practice was needed to understand the full effect of the various buttons. Much of my early gameplay consisted of sprinting, basic passing and failed attempts at three pointers. My defence was shoddy and I gave away an innumerable number of fouls. With persistence and a little practice, however, fake passes, step throughs and spin shots started creeping into my game and became second nature.

"Just like last year, the game lets you customise your player, tailoring his attributes and appearance. There are plenty of defaults to wade through but face scanning once again rears its “ugly head” too."

Get to grips with the PRO STICK (the right stick) and even more offensive options and dribbling abilities are available to you. You’ve really got to persevere to unlock all that NBA 2K16 has to offer and get the best out of the game. Fortunately, GamingBolt has published this handy guide to help you on your way too.

Among the additions headlining this year’s game is the MyCareer mode, with legendary film maker Spike Lee being called upon to pull the strings and concoct an absorbing background story . The story works reasonably well – adding enough meat to the proceedings but some of the acting is a little hammy.

It tells the tale of a guy called “Frequency Vibrations”(!), a young high school player who’s got what it takes to dominate the sport. Lee’s “Living ‘Da Dream” narrative takes players on a journey from high school through to college and then the big leagues. It’s an enjoyable affair, filled with contract discussions, practice sessions, rivalry and of course the matches themselves. The voice acting is strong and the cut scenes occasionally lengthy but they’re decent enough – and, thankfully, skippable. This is all about the pressures, trials and tribulations off the court as well as on it. It won’t be to everyone’s tastes but personally, I thought it was a nice touch and quite entertaining.

Just like last year, the game lets you customise your player, tailoring his attributes and appearance. There are plenty of defaults to wade through but face scanning once again rears its “ugly head” too. It means you can blow the dust off the Kinect camera and use it to pinpoint thousands of reference points on your face, which are then magically applied to a character model – literally putting you in the game. It sounds awesome on paper, especially as the high quality of the graphics suggest a “virtual me” would look pretty decent. It didn’t!

"Spike Lee’s story mode will inevitably divide opinion – a bit too structured and cheesy for many – while the game’s learning curve is huge and almost off-putting."

A simple process of sitting in front of the screen and slowing moving your head from left to right is all that’s required – with Kinect doing all the complicated stuff to transfer your likeness to the screen. My first few attempts failed (blamed on the lighting and the fact I wasn’t moving slowly enough) so I prompted to retry. I obliged, although the result again wasn’t too flattering. The end result was me looking like the offspring of Sloth Fratelli from The Goonies. Other attempts were equally unsuccessful – one of which left my eyeball floating onscreen, seemingly unattached to the rest of my head, while a weird nose/mouth combo looked like I’d suffered some horrific accident. I decided to stick with one of the prebuilt character models… and put Kinect back on the shelf to gather dust for another year. Shame.

That minor blip aside, Visual Concepts has done a great job with NBA 2K16 – building on its past experience and success to produce a title that’s even bigger and better than last year.

Spike Lee’s story mode will inevitably divide opinion – a bit too structured and cheesy for many – while the game’s learning curve is huge and almost off-putting. This isn’t a game that you can just pick up and play; it takes time to learn the controls and master all the moves. A rookie facing up to a decent player should brace themselves for a drubbing and a ridiculously mismatched scoresheet.

Still, it’s a great game – and a great example of just what this generation of consoles is capable of presentation-wise.

It broke records for the series, with over four million global sales within the first week of release, and I’ve no doubt other sporting sims will be hard pushed to match it in terms of quality this year.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox One.

The NBA 2K series is now massive- we have known this for a while now. But we haven’t known just how massive it is, with respect to its competition. You see, it is easy to forget this sometimes, but the NBA 2K games aren’t the only basketball games on the market- EA Sports also releases its middling NBA Live series. And if these market numbers are anything to go by, well, I am not sure why they bother, really.

According to an extrapolation of NPD sales numbers (via NeoGAf), NBA Live 2016 just sold 8,300 copies during its first month on the market in September- this is contrasted against NBA 2K16’s performance in the same month, which sold over a million copies, and became the highest selling game of the month, in a tracking period which included the launch of heavyweight major games such Destiny: The Taken King, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and Super Mario Maker. Oh, and also? NBA 2K16 released midway through the tracking period.

At this point, it’s still not clear why EA is even persisting, though I guess their very existence keeps 2K Sports on their toes, so… that’s good, I guess.

The NPD’s latest sales report, which covers games software and hardware sales for September, has been making the rounds and while it shows the PS4 still in the lead, it was interesting to note the overall sale of software.

Software sales showed a drop from $480.6 million to $465.6 million, a three percent drop overall and it was NBA 2K16 that topped the charts over Madden NFL 16. This was followed by Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, FIFA 16 and Destiny: The Taken King, though sales would be higher considering the NPD doesn’t track digital units sold.

NPD analyst Liam Callahan stated that, “The majority of hardware platforms increased their sales from August 2015 to September 2015 when comparing sales on a per week basis. All eighth generation consoles [which includes PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U] experienced double-digit growth when comparing sales on a per-week basis.”

Even more interesting is Super Mario Maker for the Wii U, which sold 445,000 units from September 11th to October 5th. Its current lifetime total is at 500,000 in the United States.

Tips and Tricks:

Offense is, of course, the most important part of the game- without a proper offense, you’re really not scoring any goals, and unless you score goals, you’re not winning any games.Here are some tips for you to keep in mind, to help you up your offense game. PlayVision lets you see how an offensive play will actually look on court, in the middle of a game. This is entirely essential to understanding how space works in basketball, and for a newcomer the fastest way to get used to the game. Make sure to turn it on! Go to Options, coach settings, and turn ‘Offensive PlayVision’ to All Plays, ‘PlayVision Display’ to ‘Full’, all Playcalling to Auto.

Always look at your player’s feet. No, this isn’t about a foot fetish, it’s just common sense- the Shot Meter is near the feet, and you want to keep an eye on that to ensure you’re timing your shot right and getting the best chance to score. Plus, the dribbling will ensure that you also keep track of the ball this way- it will always bounce near the feet too. And most importantly, be patient. You get 24 seconds to score a shot, don’t force it.

Rune Codes:

Rune codes help you unlock the Black market. Rune Codes are obtained by first getting Runes. To get a Rune, examine a card you have already acquired. Rotate it around from every angle- if it has a Rune, it will show up in the left border, near the Ovr rating. Finding five of these Runes (Runes are very rare, so don’t despair if you can’t get one- just keep trying) will give you a Rune Code, which will give you temporary access to the Black Market, where you can purchase special items.

Locker Codes:

These are like cheatcodes- select “Options” from the main menu, then select”Features”, then choose the “Locker Codes” selection. Put in the following code: PAYRESPECT.

Signature Moves:

How To Get 99 OVERALL In MyCareer – How To Get All Upgrades:

How To Get DEADEYE Badge

How To Create a DOMINANT 99 OVERALL PG in 2K16

How To Score 950+ Points EVERY GAME in MyTEAM

How To Create a KNOCKDOWN 99 Overall SG

How To Create a MAXED OUT 99 Overall SF in MyCareer

Cheats:

Infinite Money Cheat:

Achievements and Trophy Guide:

Trip-Dub

Record a triple double with any player in a non-simulated game.

It’s Raining

Make 15 or more three-pointers with any team in a non-simulated game.

Buzzer Beater

Make a game winning shot with no time left on the clock.

Run ‘N’ Gun

Make a three pointer off of a fast-break in a non-simulated game.

Untouchable

Score 37 points in a single quarter with Klay Thompson.

Perfect Practice Makes Perfect 

Make 7 perfect release jump shots in a single game.

The First Of Many 

Earn a Call-Up in Play Now Online.

Perfection 

Win all 10 games of ‘Greatest of All-Time’ in Play Now Online.

1, 2, 3, Swish! 

Start your journey to NBA stardom.

Signing Day 

Announce where your college ball will be played at.

I’m Going Pro, Capeesh? 

Declare your intentions to enter the NBA Draft.

V-G-G, Vic Gotta Go! 

Listen to your owner’s opinion on Vic.

Money, Money 

Settle the dissention inside your inner circle.

Keepin’ It 

Admit to the uncomfortable truths in your life.

Bo$$-Key-Yacht$ 

Learn more about Vic’s true agenda.

Think Long, Think Wrong 

Listen to your owner’s ultimatum regarding Vic.

Wheels Up 

Hold a press conference to announce your free agent destination.

A Harsh Reality 

Listen to the phone call that changes it all.

Freq’n and Vibin’

Give your opinion on the Freq signature shoe.

Restin’ In Power

Get to know the Vic you never knew.

Man Of The People 

Get 5,000,000 fans in MyCAREER.

My Every Day Player 

Become a starter in the NBA in MyCAREER.

My All-Star 

Be named an NBA All-Star in MyCAREER.

Gym, Tan, Laundry, Gym 

Unlock the gold version of the Gym Rat badge in MyCAREER.

Social Butterfly 

Attend 10 social events in MyCAREER.

As Good As It Gets 

Completely upgrade an Attribute Discipline in MyCAREER.

How Much Ya Got? 

Sign a max deal in free agency in MyCAREER.

Run It 

Get a win streak of 3 or more in MyPARK.

What’s My Line? 

Get at least 5 PTS, 5 AST, and 5 REB in a MyPARK game.

Bust A Move 

Bust a 3 or more game win streak of an opposing team in a MyPARK game.

I’m Going Places

Achieve the All-Star Rep in MyPARK.

Mount Up 

Join a Squad in MyPARK.

Playing For Keeps

Win a non-simulated game in MyLEAGUE Online.

Onward and Upward 

Relocate an NBA team to a new city in MyGM/MyLEAGUE.

Cavs Magic 

Win the #1 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery in MyGM/MyLEAGUE.

Virtual Clipboard 

Coach a game using SimCast Live in MyGM/MyLEAGUE.

Changes A Comin’ 

Submit a team relocation application in MyGM.

Shrewd Operator 

Successfully negotiate a 3-Team Trade in MyGM/MyLEAGUE.

Grass Is Greener 

Hire a coach from another team to be your head coach in MyGM/MyLEAGUE.

Summertimeeeeee 

Play a Summer League game in MyGM/MyLEAGUE.

Just Say No

Purchase a Card Pack in MyTEAM.

Iced Out 

Acquire a Diamond Player in MyTEAM.

Diamonds Are Forever 

Acquire a Diamond Shoe or Contract Card in MyTEAM.

History Lesson 

Unlock Historic Domination in MyTEAM.

198 Problems and Domination IS one! 

Earn 198 Stars in Domination and Historic Domination in MyTEAM.

We Named The “Dog” Indiana 

Discover your first rune in MyTEAM.

Fortune Hunter

Acquire all runes in MyTEAM.

Psst…Hey You! 

Solve a code in MyTEAM.

Survive 

Complete the 10th game of The Gauntlet in MyTEAM.

Extra Effort 

Complete an Accolade in MyTEAM.

The latest UK game sales are in courtesy of Gfk Chart-Track and to the surprise of no one, EA’s FIFA 16 still occupies the top spot. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some big releases this week though – LEGO: Dimensions had an impressive debut and actually managed to sell more than Disney Infinity 3.0 and Skylanders: Superchargers in the same period.

Considering how lucrative the union between video games and toys can be, that’s not bad at all for LEGO: Dimensions. It notched up second place followed by NBA 2K16 in third place, which saw 50 percent higher sales compared to last year. Destiny: The Taken King is in fourth wihle Forza Motorsport 6 is in fifth place.

Animal Cross: Happy Home Designer also debuted but in sixth place followed by Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, Skylanders: Superchargers, Grand Theft Auto 5 and Mad Max. And despite overwhelmingly negative reviews, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 at managed to debut at 12th place.

2K Sports has really made a turnaround in the past few years, and made its central sports brands major, tentpole annual franchises. All that effort is now beginning to pay off- 2K Sports announced today that the excellent NBA 2K16, which launched last week, has managed to sell 4 million copies already- an incredible amount of success, and the kinds of numbers that EA Sports’ FIFA games are known for.

2K Sports also saw success in the digital space- the firm announced the game’s digital sales doubled the sales of NBA 2K15 during the same period. This is good for them, as digital sales usually lead to a larger cut of the revenue for the publisher and subsequently the publisher.

Highly critically acclaimed, NBA 2K16 is notable for its extreme realism, and its story mode, made in collaboration with Spike Lee. It is available now on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, and PC.

NBA 2K16 is available now on PC platforms and we are here to help you with any potential performance issue with the game. Please be advised that the following methods are to be used at the sole discretion of the platform owner. GamingBolt or its staff members take no responsibility for problems that may arise or issues that may occur from trying the below. Always remember that official support is always the best support. 

If you are facing memory issues while running NBA 2K 16, try the following solution. Go to the users folder of your PC -> user name -> AppData -> Roaming -> 2k sports -> NBA 2K16. Select videosetting.cfg and edit it by changing SUPERSAMPLE to 0 or 1. If the game randomly crashes, check whether your GPU drivers are updated. If they already up to date, try disabling antivirus programs and verify Steam Cache.

If you are facing NBA2K16.exe ERROR 0xc000007B at launch then this is most likely due to outdated drivers. If you are using an Nvidia GPU and are facing performance issues, try the following steps: Disable vsync and supersamling and change buffer count to 1. Add the nba2k16.exe file into the Nvidia Inspector and set power management type to “max performance” and Max Prerender Frame to 1.

If you are facing online lag issues, try the following steps: Go for a wired internet connection and turn off Vsync.

Note: Given that the wide range of PC hardware out there, the fixes mentioned here may or may not work for you. But it’s worth giving them a shot since these have worked for players who own the PC version of NBA 2K16,

NBA 2K16 is almost out (if you pre-order it now, you can get it ahead of its official release date three days later), and to get you in the mood for another season and year of some hot digital basketball action, 2K Sports have released a brand new trailer to get you all pumped up. It’s called ‘Momentous,’ and it lives up to its name, all right.

It’s a good trailer too, because rather than mixing in real world game highlights, or pseudo documentaries on the lives of the players, 2K Sports go all in and show us some of the highlights of the game itself- everything, from nail biting, white knuckle big moments in games to some of the smaller things and nuances about basketball that make it so beloved to begin with, and which are so accurately recreated and captured in NBA 2K16, is being shown off here.

NBA2K16 launches at the end of this month. Stay tuned for more coverage and information.