According to Harold Goldberg of VH1, both basketball stars Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers and Dikembe Mutombo of the Houston Rockets have played the next-generation console from Sony. Kobe Bryant, after dropping by at the Playstation Parlor of the Palms Hotel, Las Vegas, played the same game that sports him on the cover: SCEA's NBA '07.

Bryant enjoyed playing the game that modeled physics and players with frightening realism. He had difficulty in playing the Skills Challenge, even up against Dwyane Wade in the same challenge a little while later. At least in simulation, Bryant still wins.

And perhaps like most people, he found it odd that he could play himself in a game. But after seeing how much the game and the console could simulate maneuvers, he was very impressed. He particularly noted that not only did they capture their looks, but also their mannerisms.

Mutombo, defensive center for the Houston Rockets, also entered the Playstation suite to try out SCEA's Motorstorm. Well, in a short, frank note, he isn't very good at dirt racing. He and his son got stuck in a ditch somewhere in the middle of the race and couldn't get out. Thankfully, his daughter stepped in, touched a few buttons and he and his son were back in the race again.

The Eastern Conference All-Stars, powered by 2006 NBA All-Star MVP LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, is expected to "reign supreme" at the NBA All-Star 2007 in Las Vegas in a final score tally of 136-129.

The Cleveland Cavalier star and the Miami Heat scorer took control of the game early and kept the Western Conference at bay, even with a late rally led by Los Angeles Lakers' and NBA '07's cover star Kobe Bryant.

Also simulated was the Skills Challenge, where Kobe Bryant still proves why he is a sure win for the Most Valuable Player of the Year award, even with the first round won by Dwyane Wade. For the 3-point Shootout Simulation, Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki just barely won over Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards.

The simulations were carried out by using the AI incorporated into Sony Computer Entertainment America's NBA '07 and the hardware processing in the Playstation 3. The demonstration shows the state-of-the-art AI and authentic gameplay from motion-captured and realistically-modelled NBA players.

Take a look at the screenshots captured during the simulation.

   
  

Alright, heads up all you Sony luvvers and other PS3-droolers, Kotaku has just posted a video on YouTube showing the Sixaxis interface and demonstrates the game loading speed on the PS3 with NBA '07.

We're not sure if you guys are gonna like this vid, 'coz all it practically shows is how you go in and out of the game and a brief 101 on the SIXAXIS. Even the comments on YouTube are not that great, with one user saying "find something better to do with your time no on cares about this worthless sh*t" Tsk tsk.

BUT, we decided to share the video nonetheless in case you guys haven't been checking out YouTube lately. And, it COULD provide some info for those who haven't been reading up on the PS3. One of the tidbits you'll get from the vid is that NBA '07 has to be loaded in the console's HDD to make the load time quicker, but we dunno whether that's just for NBA 07, or for all the games that'll make its way to your PS3's.

So anyway, we'll just let you check out the video yourself. Let us know what you think.

And thanks, Sony PSP, for the heads up.

It's been to the PSP, now it's heading to its bigger brother. Last time it was just a rumor, now it's been confirmed by SCEA at TGS: NBA 07 is coming to the PS3. According to Gamespot, the game will be showcasing its 1080p capability. What does this mean? You'll see more hardwood shines, accurately rendered models, and the view will be in HD.

It was mentioned that this version will focus more on the game itself rather than dabble in mini-games. However, as of the moment, there's still some kinks to the game and it hasn't really been developed as of yet. We'll be expecting some changes soon.

We've got a video of the PS3 version available for download. You'll see a Game 6 Finals the Mavericks wish had happened. The figures are still a bit stiff, but as mentioned above, it's still under development. We'll be there once the finished product is out and tell you what we think then. Download link to the video below.

Download: [NBA 07 PS3 Video]

Those waiting for a next-gen version of Shaq Fu (good god!) will have to settle for another title bearing the mug of the Miami Heat center. 2K Sports, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive, announced today the return of Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal as the cover athlete and official spokesperson for NBA 2K7.

"Shaquille O'Neal remains one of the most dominant, exciting, and charismatic athletes in the world," stated Erik Whiteford, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. "Shaq is well-known for his fun-loving nature, great work ethic, and incredible athletic skills. His dominating game and winning attitude make him the central figure on every team he is a part of, including 2K Sports. We're very pleased to be working with Shaq again with NBA 2K7."

"You only get to represent the best by playing with the best," said Shaq. "NBA 2K7 is the game for champions and I'm proud to be a part of the best basketball game anywhere."

NBA 2K7 will be available for the Xbox, Xbox 360, and PS2 in September 2006. NBA 2K7 will also hit the PS3 this holiday season.

In a press statement released by Electronic Arts recently, they have stated that the next incarnation in the series of their popular NBA Live basketball simulation franchise will be one of the titles available with the launch of the Playstation 3.

The statement reads "NBA Live 07 will be available this fall on the Xbox 360 and Xbox video game systems, the PlayStation 2, PSP handheld system, and PC. It will also be one of the EA Sports titles available at launch of the PS3 entertainment system". It is interesting to note the use of the words 'be one of the EA Sports titles available' which may indicate that along with NBA Live '07 (that was on display at the recent E3 conference), other titles from the EA Sports range may also be available with the launch.

NBA Live 07 currently has a release date of November 17.

A video has been released which shows the pre-finalisation quality of the game, NBA '07, the next in line of the officially licensed software. Once watching the video, you can see just how much work has gone into this. The facial expressions of the players are absolutely great, and the 'foot planting', as described by our man at E3, is truly a great realism feature. The only thing I cant really say I'm as pleased about is the physics of the ball, but hopefully a bit more detail will be added. Lets hope it furthers on the released details of the PSP version.

Download: [NBA '07 Trailer]