For the first time since 2009, 2K Games is going to have some honest-to-goodness competition for NBA video game supremacy now that EA has decided to re-enter the fray. Before that, however, could you imagine the uproar if EA Sports took four years between Madden releases? The revolt from gamers would probably rival that one time a fledgling United States fought for its independence in the late 18th century. Facetious comparisons aside, 2013 marks the first time consumers will have two NBA games to pick from since 2009. In one corner, we have the established NBA 2K series, armed with their LeBron James affiliation. In the other, EA’s return to the NBA video game niche is being led by Kyrie Irving; who, ironically enough, plays for James’ previous team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Working in the favor of 2K Games is the fact they have a concrete release date–October 1st for current generation systems; November 15 for the PS4 (so far, the only listing for the Xbox One is “November”)–while EA still has the “coming soon” tease associated with theirs. And then there’s the whole LeBron James factor, and if you don’t think that plays a significant role, you clearly weren’t on any social media platform when LeBron’s Heat repeated as NBA Champions back in June.

Of course, famous associations won’t save a game if the gameplay doesn’t stand up to the hype. To help alleviate any concern, 2K Games just released their gameplay trailer for NBA 2K14, and things are looking good:

With that in mind, which franchise are you leaning toward? EA’s dramatic comeback with Kyrie Irving in tow, or will 2K Games also repeat as champions with LeBron James powering them to the finish line?

[Lead image courtesy]