All that extra marketing—plus an extreme lack of competition from EA—paid off handsomely for 2K Sports’ new basketball game. According to publisher Take Two, NBA 2K13 has set a new sales record for the series.

No specific numbers have been released, but the official company line says that NBA 2K13 has sold through 49 percent more copies in its first week than last year’s title did.

Of course, NBA 2K13 had a bit more muscle behind it than last year’s game, thanks to the production savvy of hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, who also co-owns the Brooklyn Nets.

According to VGChartz, NBA 2K13 sold 679,457 copies during the first week of October between PS3 and Xbox 360.

NBA 2K13 was also highlighted by the inclusion of the 1992 Dream Team, along with minor controversy over Scottie Pippen’s refusal to sign a deal with 2K Games.

Historically, NBA 2K has competed against NBA Live for basketball fans’ dollars, but EA was once again nowhere to be found on the court when game time rolled around, canceling their internally-troubled NBA Live 13 release.

Source: Take-Two Interactive