''NBA Inside Drive'' is a series of
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
s based on
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
, published by
Microsoft Studios
Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, fo ...
. Its main
competition
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...
was ''
NBA Live
''NBA Live'' is a series of basketball video games that was published by EA Sports. The series, which debuted in 1994, is the successor to the previous ''NBA Playoffs'' and ''NBA Showdown (video game), NBA Showdown'' series.
Beginning in the la ...
'', a series from
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
.
Games
''NBA Inside Drive 2000''
The first game in the series, ''NBA Inside Drive 2000'', was released for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
on August 26, 1999.
Reception
''NBA Inside Drive 2000'' received "favorable" reviews according to the
review aggregation
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
GameRankings
GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
.
[
]
''NBA Inside Drive 2002''
After an almost two-and-a-half-year hiatus, NBA Inside Drive was brought back as ''NBA Inside Drive 2002'' and was released in 2002 for Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...
. The game's development time was 18 months.
Reception
''NBA Inside Drive 2002'' received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
.[ '']GamePro
''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' said that the game was "good for a first try on the Xbox, but it's not as good as '' 2K2'' or ''Live
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
* ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film
*'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...
'' on the same system—and at the end of the day, that's what really matters."
''NBA Inside Drive 2003''
Less than one year after the ''2002'' installment, ''NBA Inside Drive 2003'' was released for Xbox.
Reception
''NBA Inside Drive 2003'' received "average" reviews according to Metacritic.[ ''GamePro'' called it "a slightly better value than ''2002'' with tweaked gameplay and a few new features. The problem is that the competition has jumped ahead substantially within the same time frame."
]
''NBA Inside Drive 2004''
The last entry in the series, ''NBA Inside Drive 2004'', was released in 2003. It launched with other XSN Sports titles that featured a website where players could organize their own tournaments, seasons, or games.
Reception
''Inside Drive 2004'' received "average" reviews according to Metacritic.[ In Japan, where the game was ported for release on January 22, 2004, '']Famitsu
, formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...
'' gave it a score of two sevens, one six, and one seven for a total of 27 out of 40.[ ''GamePro'' called it "a decent basketball game with an excellent online tie-in. Still, this series needs a serious wake-up call if it hopes to compete with the likes of EA and '']ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
'' next year." (Sadly, it was not to be, as the following article section demonstrates.)
Discontinuation
Following Microsoft's release of their 2004 professional sports titles, all of them were discontinued including '' NFL Fever'' and '' NHL Rivals 2004''. In February 2005, Microsoft sold ''NBA Inside Drive'' and its other sports franchises to Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
.
See also
* NBA ShootOut
* NFL Fever
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{Xbox Game Studios
Basketball video games
Microsoft franchises
Microsoft games
NBA video games
Video game franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 1999
Windows games
Windows-only games
Xbox games
Xbox-only games