( CNN ) -- If one legendary basketball superstar on the cover of your video game is great , what about three ? 2K Sports announced Thursday that the cover art of their upcoming NBA simulation game , `` NBA 2K12 , '' will feature not just the return of Michael Jordan but also covers featuring 1980s greats Larry Bird and Magic Johnson . Each athlete will be shown separately on three distinct covers of the video game packaging . The artwork of each athlete was created for 2K Sports by artist Adam Larson . Larson 's sports work has been highlighted in a cover of ESPN Magazine , featured in art galleries and won numerous awards . Jason Argent , vice president of marketing for 2K Sports , said after the huge success of Jordan on the cover for `` NBA 2K11 , '' the company signed His Airness to a multiyear partnership . But he said the company wanted to give fans more than just a repeat . `` We are constantly focused on breaking the mold , not falling into any sort of pattern , '' he said . `` We wanted to make a big statement and a big departure and continue to evolve and grow this franchise , which has been such a great level of success for us . '' Argent said the three covers for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions will be shipped in equal numbers to each retail location in the U.S . He said all other platform versions and non-U.S. locations will only get the Jordan cover . `` The idea was to keep doing things bigger and better and continue to shake things up . '' Argent said he thought the multicover approach was a first in the sports video game genre and extends the strong legacy established by `` NBA 2K11 . '' Last year 's game sold more than 5 million units worldwide and won 14 Sports Game of the Year honors . He said they were n't ready to release gameplay details at this time , but the philosophy and success of the Jordan Challenge in `` NBA 2K11 '' would be continued and expanded in the new version . `` NBA 2K12 '' will be available on October 4 , 2011 , for the PlayStation 3 , PlayStation2 , Xbox 360 , Wii , PSP and Windows PC .
Each athlete will be shown separately on 2 distinct covers of the video game . The artwork of each athlete is stylized and unique for three K Sports , created by Michael Jordan . K Sports 2K12 '' will be available on 1980s .