A demo was released on Xbox Live Marketplace the next day on March 5 for Canada, United States, and Asian markets and features the 2007 World Series opponents.

Ben Brinkman, in a January 18, 2008 KOXM podcast, revealed the following new features to debut in 2K8:[3] The official site also included these additional new and updated features:[2] Then-New York Mets shortstop José Reyes was announced as the cover athlete on December 6, 2007, taking over for New York Yankees counterpart Derek Jeter from the previous three games.

New rookies from the Japan Leagues, Kosuke Fukudome of the Chicago Cubs and Hiroki Kuroda of the Los Angeles Dodgers do not have their names in the game and are instead replaced with Kazuhito Fortunato and Hideo Kajita.

[12] 411Mania gave the Xbox 360 version a score of 7.7 out of 10 and said, "2K needs to step things up next year, there’s no doubt about that, but they're on the right track judging by the year-to-year improvements.

"[40] USA Today gave the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions a score of seven out of ten and stated that the game "boasts enough control innovation to merit an upgrade over last year's installment, but bugs in future releases could mean a trip to the bench.

"[34] However, Maxim gave the same two console versions six out of ten and said, "Like the Yankees, 2K8 has all the necessary ingredients to be a champion—great graphics, an eclectic soundtrack, a winning tradition—and yet, in the end, all the parts wind up feeling like they're trying too hard to be great.