NBA 2K13 sets franchise record sales

How good is NBA 2K13? Good enough to get scored a 9/10 in our REVIEW. Good enough to scare EA Sports into cancelling their NBA Live series. And good enough to set franchise record-setting sales, which the game has done.

Today, 2K Sports announced that NBA 2K13 sold 49 percent more copies in its first week than the franchise's previous fastest seller, NBA 2K11. And compared to last year's NBA 2K12, it has a 127 percent increase in sales. The number of online users for the game have also doubled, with the amount of online games growing exponentially.

The reason for this isn't just the popularity of the NBA, or the fact that it's the only NBA video game simulation. NBA 2K13 is the premier NBA video game — by far the best one ever made. With a revamped Control Stick that gives you more control over the player, and bringing in Jay Z as Executive Producer, the game has a polish that we've rarely seen.

What does 2K Sports think of the sales? Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports, said, "Our early sales figures are a validation of our ongoing efforts to push this franchise to new heights. We owe it to our great fans to continually improve our title — year in and year out — and that's exactly what we've done with NBA 2K13."

You can follow Movies and Culture Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com