To the surprise of absolutely no one, Disney is capitalizing on hosting the NBA this season by inserting Disney-branded apparel into “NBA 2K21.”
.@Disney is takin over 2K Beach 🔥
Pick up some new Disney merch in-game to celebrate the NBA Bubble pic.twitter.com/yu7K3VwBwY
— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) October 9, 2020
Honestly, it seems like gratuitous branding at first, but it’s just attention to detail, since this year’s NBA season was unlike any other. Disney knows a thing or two about attention to detail, especially when it comes to video game merchandise tie-ins.
Remember when Disney made it so you could use your exact lightsaber that you picked up at the Galaxy’s Edge theme park in the video game “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order?”
According to Laughing Place, the in-game merchandise is inspired by real-life merchandise that people could buy at the NBA Store in Disney Springs, and features characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
Also, eagle-eyed NBA fans might have noticed that the Mouse himself appeared during Game 5 of the NBA finals this year, which took place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World, as a “virtual fan.”
"He doesn't age. He looks the same as he did years ago."
—Mike Breen on Mickey Mouse pic.twitter.com/rlpsQgePpc
— ESPN (@espn) October 10, 2020
Creepy.
Hopefully, we won’t have to host an NBA season away from home arenas and fans, but for this year, “2K” fans will have a special game on their hands with some Disney-fied touches.
