NBA Jam (1993 Video Game)
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''NBA Jam'' is a basketball video game developed and published by Midway for arcades in 1993. It is the first entry in the ''
NBA Jam ''NBA Jam'' is a List of basketball video games, basketball video game series based on the National Basketball Association (NBA). Initially developed as arcade games by Midway Games, Midway, the game found popularity with its photorealistic digi ...
'' series. The project leader for this game was Mark Turmell. ''NBA Jam'' was the third basketball video game released by Midway, after '' TV Basketball'' (1974) and ''
Arch Rivals ''Arch Rivals'' is a basketball video game released by Midway for arcades in 1989. Billed by Midway as "A Basket Brawl", the game features two-on-two full court basketball games in which players are encouraged to punch opposing players and st ...
'' (1989). The gameplay of ''NBA Jam'' is based on ''Arch Rivals'', which was also a 2-on-2 basketball game. However, it was the release of ''NBA Jam'' that brought mainstream success to the genre. The release of ''NBA Jam'' popularized a subgenre of basketball based around fast action and exaggerated realism, a formula Midway later applied to the sports of hockey ('' NHL Open Ice'' and '' NHL Hitz''), American football ('' NFL Blitz''), and baseball ('' MLB Slugfest'').


Gameplay

''NBA Jam'' is a two-on-two basketball video game featuring NBA-licensed teams and
digitized Digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer-readable) format.Collins Dictionary. (n.d.). Definition of 'digitize'. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english ...
likenesses of real players. Gameplay is exaggerated instead of realistic: players can jump extremely high and make slam dunks that defy both human capabilities and the laws of physics. There are no fouls, free throws, or violations except goaltending and 24-second violations. This means the player is able to freely shove or elbow opponents out of the way. Additionally, if a player makes three baskets in a row, the character becomes "on fire" and has an unlimited turbo and increased shooting precision. The "on fire" mode continues until the other team scores, or until the player who is "on fire" scores four additional consecutive baskets while "on fire". The game contains many
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, special features, and players activated by initials or button/joystick combinations. For example, pressing A five times and right five times on any Genesis controller will activate "Super Clean Floors". This feature causes characters to fall if they run too fast or change direction too quickly. Players can also enter special codes to unlock hidden players, ranging from US President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
to Hugo, the
Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...
mascot. On the arcade machine, there is also a hidden "tank" game that allows the player to drive a tank and shoot enemy tanks for a minute. Just before the court is shown at the start of a game, joysticks 1 and 2 must be moved down and all six of their buttons held down.


Teams and players

The original arcade version of ''NBA Jam'' has team rosters from the 1992–93 NBA season and the console versions use rosters from the
1993–94 NBA season The 1993–94 NBA season was the 48th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the 1994 NBA Finals, NBA Finals to win the franchise's first champ ...
. More up-to-date rosters were available in subsequent ports released for the
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,
Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
, and
Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth-generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990 in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and in 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily ...
in 1994. Midway did not secure the license to use
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...
's name or likeness (as Jordan himself owns the rights to his name and likeness and not the NBA), and as such he was not available as a player for the
Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...
or any other team. Another notable absence from the home versions is
Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...
, who was in the arcade version as a member of the
Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...
(and who later followed in Jordan's footsteps in buying his name and likeness from the NBA).
New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
guard Dražen Petrović and
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
forward Reggie Lewis, both of whom died after the release of the arcade version, were also removed from the home versions. A limited edition version of the game with an additional team composed of
Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was a point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best know ...
and
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...
was developed primarily for Jordan and Payton's personal use. During development,
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
and Bart Simpson were planned to be secret characters, but were ultimately scrapped.


Development

The game was devised after Midway's previous arcade release '' Total Carnage'' failed to meet sales expectations. Lead designer and programmer Turmell wanted to develop a game with a wider appeal and decided to mix the digitized graphics of some of Midway's previous titles to create a title similar to Midway's previous basketball game ''
Arch Rivals ''Arch Rivals'' is a basketball video game released by Midway for arcades in 1989. Billed by Midway as "A Basket Brawl", the game features two-on-two full court basketball games in which players are encouraged to punch opposing players and st ...
''. Midway was able to procure a license from the NBA, paying royalties of $100 for each arcade cabinet sold. The NBA initially reacted negatively to the game feeling that an arcade game was wrong for the branding; however, after a second pitch, they eventually became convinced of its potential. In one of Midway's original pitch videos to the NBA, they stated that they planned on including various additional features. These included different camera angles, tips from coaches,
instant replay Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred, both shot and broadcast live TV, live. After being shown live, the video is replayed so viewers can see it again and analyze what just happened. Spo ...
s and a first-person view on
fast break Fast break is an offensive strategy in basketball and handball. In a fast break, a team attempts to move the ball up court and into scoring position as quickly as possible, so that the defense is outnumbered and does not have time to set up. The ...
s. None of these features were included in the final game. The graphics for the NBA players were created from digitized video footage of several amateur basketball players, including future NBA player Stephen Howard. These players were available as secret characters in certain versions of the game. Turmell recounted, "My big ideas in ''NBA Jam'' were to do the spectacular dunks and two-on-two basketball, but the whole game was very much a team effort. For instance, someone else came up with the idea of attributes, giving different players different abilities." In 2008, Turmell confirmed a long-held suspicion that the game had a bias against the Chicago Bulls. According to Turmell, a
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
fan, the game was programmed such that the Bulls would miss last-second shots in close games against the Pistons.
Iguana Entertainment Iguana Entertainment, later known as Acclaim Studios Austin, was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by Jeff Spangenberg, previously lead designer for Punk Development, and originally locat ...
handled the conversion of the game to home consoles. According to Iguana president Jeff Spangenberg, including the time spent on learning the then-new PlayStation hardware, the PlayStation version took six months to develop. The Saturn version took longer to develop, in part because of the greater complexity of the hardware, but also because Iguana Entertainment did not have access to the Sega Graphics Library operating system (which was used to facilitate the Saturn versions of '' Virtua Fighter 2'' and '' Virtua Cop'', among other games). The Game Gear and PlayStation ports were programmed by Iguana UK employee Chris Kirby, with the Sega Saturn version coded by Darren Tunnicliff. Steve Snake, who would later create the Genesis emulator Kega Fusion, made the 32X version. The game was written entirely in
assembly language In computing, assembly language (alternatively assembler language or symbolic machine code), often referred to simply as assembly and commonly abbreviated as ASM or asm, is any low-level programming language with a very strong correspondence bet ...
. The game had a marketing budget of $10 million.


Reception

The game became exceptionally popular, and generated a significant amount of money for arcades after its release. In the United States, it topped the monthly ''RePlay'' charts for upright
arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...
s from April 1993 through summer to October 1993. ''RePlay'' listed it as America's top-grossing arcade game of Summer 1993. The game's US revenue in 1993 exceeded the ( adjusted for inflation) domestic box office gross of the film ''
Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...
'' the same year. ''NBA Jam'' was America's highest-grossing arcade game of 1993. Individual machines at the time were earning up to $2400 per week, setting the all-time record for the highest per-unit arcade earnings in the United States. In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''NBA Jam'' on their August 15, 1993 issue as the fourth most successful upright arcade unit of the month. The game grossed over worldwide in its first twelve months. , the arcade game has sold more than 20,000 arcade units and generated a lifetime revenue of . On consoles in the United States it was the top-selling Sega Genesis, Super NES and Game Gear game in March 1994, holding the top-spot on Sega systems for April as well. It was the second best-selling home video game of 1994 in the United States (below '' Donkey Kong Country''), with the Genesis version outselling the Super NES version. The console ports sold copies in 1994, more than cartridges worldwide by February 1995, and over within a year. , the Genesis and Super NES versions sold a combined copies worldwide.


Critical response

The four reviewers of ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The magazine was fou ...
'' gave the Super NES version a unanimous score of 9 out of 10 and their "Game of the Month" award. They praised its graphics, sounds, and the four-player mode, and remarked that the gameplay is easy to pick up and incredibly fun even for people who don't like sports games. Reviewing the Genesis version, Mike Weigand commented that "The voices are fuzzy and the colors are a bit bland", but that the game is still very fun. ''EGM'' rated the Game Gear version as weaker than either the SNES or Genesis versions, chiefly due to the removal of most of the jams, but said it is still worthwhile for Game Gear owners. ''
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 ...
'' praised the Sega CD version's updated roster, more intuitive controls, and improved audio with "more voice samples, more music, and more sound effects than any other home version." However, they criticized the graphics as much worse than in the Super NES and arcade versions, complained of long load times, and concluded that the improvements were not enough to make the game worthwhile for those who already had a home version of ''NBA Jam''. ''GamePro'' commented of the Game Boy version, "Obviously the GB is far too limited a system to capture more than a fraction of what made NBA Jam an arcade smash, but at least it has that fraction." '' Next Generation'' reviewed the Sega CD version of the game, and stated that "It's good, but it could have been so much more." In 1995,
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magazine rated the arcade version 19th in their "Top 100 Video Games." In 1996, ''Next Generation'' listed ''NBA Jam'' at number 99 in their "Top 100 Games of All Time", commenting that "Despite it having been flogged to death by Acclaim at home and now in the arcades, ''NBA Jam'' is still a terrific game, especially in the arcade with four players." In 2017, Gamesradar ranked NBA Jam 23rd on its "Best Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games of all time."
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
listed the NBA Jam 36th on its "Top 100 SNES Games." They praised the game saying: "Professional basketball has never been as much fun as in NBA Jam". They also praised the secret playable characters.


''Tournament Edition''

Reviewing the 32X version, ''GamePro'' opined that people who already own the Genesis version should not bother with the 32X one, but summarized that "Despite some sloppy rough edges, Jam's classic run-n-gun gameplay brings much-needed excitement to the cart-starved 32X." The two sports reviewers of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' said the 32X version was the most accurate conversion of the arcade game to date. '' Next Generation'' reviewed the 32X version of ''NBA Jam Tournament Edition'', rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "''NBA Jam T.E.'' is a good game, but it is just as good on the Genesis and SNES, and shows no signs of 32-bit gaming. While there have been some decent games for the 32X, this is yet one more of the many disappointments." A reviewer for '' Next Generation'', after enumerating the improvements ''Tournament Edition'' offers over the original game, concluded, "What does all this equal? Same game (albeit a good one), new package! Only ''Jam'' fanatics and the two guys who don't own the original need slam down the cash for this rehash." A ''GamePro'' critic covered the ''Tournament Edition'' release and was less forgiving of the Game Boy version's technical flaws, complaining of sprites with too little detail to discern which player is which during play, and summarizing the conversion as "a pale imitation of an otherwise great game." ''Electronic Gaming Monthly''s two sports reviewers highly praised the PlayStation version as a precise conversion with good enhancements. ''Next Generation'' concurred and declared it the best version of the game to date. Videohead of ''GamePro'' disagreed, saying the PlayStation version conspicuously lacks graphical details and voice clips from the arcade version and suffers from overly tough A.I. Steve Merrett of ''
Sega Saturn Magazine ''Sega Saturn Magazine'' (originally known as ''Sega Magazine'') was a monthly magazine from the United Kingdom covering the Sega Saturn, a home video game console. It held the official Saturn magazine license for the UK, and some issues incl ...
'' gave the Saturn version an 89%, declaring it "A perfect conversion of one of the most original coin-ops around." He particularly praised the reliance on timing and precision over complex button combinations, and the game's high playability in general, saying it "ensures a return for late-night rematches whilst the graphically-stunning games are gradually coated in dust." Both ''Sega Saturn Magazine'' and ''Maximum'' were impressed with the Saturn version's retention of all the considerable content of the arcade version. However, the reviewer for ''Maximum'' added that it nonetheless failed to offer any game-changing features that would make buying it worthwhile to anyone who already owned the Genesis or Super NES version. ''GamePro'' commented that the Jaguar version is competent but far inferior to the PlayStation version. The two sports reviewers of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' were slightly more pleased with the conversion but felt it pointless since there had already been so many versions of the game, and the Jaguar release fails to offer anything new. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' gave ''NBA Jam Tournament Edition'' an A and wrote that "The latest upgrade, NBA Jam Tournament Edition, of the two-on-two in-your-face hoopfest boasts the participation of fully one third of the NBA's roster. And the graphics and sound are astounding-not only is playing this game like watching TV, but so is listening to it, with unnervingly accurate commentary that precisely follows the action of the game. Loads of hidden tricks and guest appearances make this one an arcade slam dunk." In 1995,
Total! ''Total!'' was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future plc. It was published monthly for 58 issues, beginning in December 1991 (cover-dated January 1992), with the last issue bearing the cover-date October 1996. A "1993 ...
ranked the game 8th in its "Top 100 SNES Games". In 1998, Saturn Power listed the Sega Saturn version 89th in their "Top 100 Sega Saturn Games." In 2018,
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
named NBA Jam Tournament Edition 44th on their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time."


Legacy


''Tournament Edition''

An update named ''NBA Jam Tournament Edition'' (commonly referred to as ''NBA Jam T.E.'') was released in arcades. ''NBA Jam T.E.'' included updated rosters, new features and
Easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are Egg decorating, decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter ...
combined with the same gameplay of the original. Jon Hey created new music specifically for ''NBA Jam: T.E.'' to replace the original ''NBA Jam'' music. Teams now consisted of three players (though only two could be on the court at any time; in practice, the extra player meant greater variety in lineups), with the exception of the new "Rookies" team, which consists of five players, all picked in the 1994 NBA draft. Players could be substituted into the game between quarters. The game also featured new hidden teams and secret playable characters. Early versions of the game included characters from Midway's ''Mortal Kombat'' games. Players were also assigned more attributes, including clutch and fatigue levels. In addition, the game also introduced features such as a "Tournament" mode that turned off computer assistance and on-court hot spots that allowed for additional points or special slam dunks. The test version of ''NBA Jam Tournament Edition'' included eight hidden characters which were taken out of the final version at the request of the NBA: Elviscious, Grim Reaper, Kongo, Raiden,
Reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...
,
Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
, Sub-Zero and Tim Coman. Midway also stated they would update all test version cabinets to remove these characters. In addition to the arcade version, ''NBA Jam Tournament Edition'' was ported to the Super NES, Genesis, 32X, Game Boy, Game Gear,
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...
,
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
, and Atari Jaguar, with the PlayStation port serving as a North American launch title. After Midway produced 250,000 Genesis cartridges, the developer learned that the
flash memory Flash memory is an Integrated circuit, electronic Non-volatile memory, non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for t ...
used for savegames only works if games are played in a specific order. After attempts to repair the cartridges failed, Midway included a flyer advising customers of "AutoStat" functionality that requires playing two games using initials "XXX" and "NBA" to initialize the cartridge, turning the flaw into an undocumented feature.


Ports and sequels

The ''NBA Jam'' games were ported to many home
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...
s and PC, published by Acclaim. The console versions were well known for featuring many new secret characters; the home versions of ''Jam T.E.'' even allowed the player to use then-President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
, First Lady
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,
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
, and, on the Atari Jaguar version,
Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...
's Vice President of Software Development Leonard Tramiel. Acclaim later ended up winning the exclusive rights to use the ''NBA Jam'' name, and without Midway's involvement, released a sequel, ''
NBA Jam Extreme ''NBA Jam Extreme'' is a 1996 basketball arcade game by Acclaim Entertainment based on the 1996–97 NBA season. After Midway Games released two ''NBA Jam'' games, Acclaim, the publisher of the home versions of ''NBA Jam'', ended up winning the ...
'', in 1996. It features
3D graphics 3D computer graphics, sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics, are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the purposes of perfor ...
and
Marv Albert Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American former sportscaster. Honored for his work by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he was also know ...
doing commentary. The game received mixed reception. Acclaim continued to use the ''NBA Jam'' name on subsequent console games until the company closed in 2004, although the games were only mildly popular. Midway released their own sequel in arcades in 1996, ''
NBA Hangtime ''NBA Hangtime'' is a 1996 basketball arcade game developed and released by Midway. Home versions were released for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Super NES, Sega Genesis, and Microsoft Windows. ''Hangtime'' was the third basketball game by the ...
'', which was better received. ''Hangtime'' featured refined 2D gameplay and added a create-a-player option among other new features. An update called ''NBA Maximum Hangtime'' was subsequently released for the arcade, and the game was ported to home systems. Midway later produced further entries in its NBA series with 3-D graphics, beginning with '' NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC'' in 1999, followed by the console-exclusive '' NBA Hoopz'' in 2001, which expanded the gameplay to 3-on-3, and the ''
NBA Ballers ''NBA Ballers'' is a 2004 streetball simulation video game developed and published by Midway Games, Midway. The game features fictional National Basketball Association, NBA analyst Bob Benson (voiced and depicted by Terry Abler) and Supernatura ...
'' series.
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, having acquired rights to the name, released a new version of ''NBA Jam'', with the
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version released on October 5, 2010, and
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and
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versions released the following month. Original ''NBA Jam'' creator Mark Turmell was hired to work on this new version in conjunction with
EA Canada EA Vancouver (formerly known as EA Burnaby, then EA Canada) is a Canadian video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. The development studio opened as Distinctive Software in January 1983, and is also Electronic Arts's largest a ...
. Following the game's critical and commercial success, a follow-up, ''NBA Jam: On Fire Edition'' was released for PSN on October 4, 2011, and XBLA on October 5, 2011. In 2020, Tastemakers LLC released a 3/4 scale replica of the original NBA Jam cabinet featuring emulated versions of the original arcade game, along with ''Tournament Edition'' and ''Hangtime'', with newly added online play.


Other Midway sports series

Midway also applied similar themes and designs to their other sports games, beginning with the 1996 hockey game '' NHL Open Ice'' and the American football game '' NFL Blitz'', which proved to be a major success. Midway had also developed ''Power Up Baseball'' around 1996 based on the same concepts as ''NBA Jam'', but it was cancelled as they found the game did not test well due to the large number of paid plays users would need to complete one game, among other issues. After making the switch to develop console games exclusively, Midway continued to produce sports titles with arcade-style gameplay, with sequels to '' NFL Blitz'', a new hockey series called '' NHL Hitz'', the '' MLB Slugfest'' series of baseball games, and the soccer game '' RedCard 2003''.


Popular culture

In popular sports culture, the phrases "He's heating up", "He's on fire", and "Boomshakalaka!" are identified with ''NBA Jam''. In the game, these catch-phrases describe when a player hits two or three shots in a row. When a player is "on fire", the ball literally catches fire and singes the net. Voiced by Tim Kitzrow, the announcer is reminiscent of
Marv Albert Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American former sportscaster. Honored for his work by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he was also know ...
and has contributed numerous memorable lines to the basketball lexicon. The ''NBA Jam'' script was written solely by Jon Hey, although Kitzrow has stated that the lines were largely improvised. ''NBA Jam'' also incorporates a slogan from
Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...
's alter-ego in his 1986 film ''
She's Gotta Have It ''She's Gotta Have It'' is a 1986 American black-and-white comedy drama film written, directed, produced, and edited by Spike Lee in his feature-length directorial debut. It stars Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell ...
'',
Mars Blackmon Mars Blackmon is a fictional character in the film '' She's Gotta Have It'' (1986), played by the film's writer/director, Spike Lee. In the film, he is a "Brooklyn-loving" fan of the New York Knicks, sports, and Air Jordans (the basketball shoes ...
, who was also featured in a
Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...
basketball shoe television commercial at the time. The ''NBA Jam'' commentator asks, "Is it the shoes?" after a player performs spectacularly. The 2010 game features a nod to this particular piece of commentary, when the commentator (Kitzrow reprising the role) sometimes exclaims "It's ''gotta'' be the shoes!" under similar circumstances. The upbeat, funky music written by Jon Hey was inspired by sports music themes and has been compared to George Clinton's
P-Funk All Stars Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American musical collective, music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament (band), Parliame ...
. Funkadelic's 1979 " (Not Just) Knee Deep" shares the most similarity with the music of ''NBA Jam'' but was recorded more than a decade before ''NBA Jam''s music was written. The likeness of George Clinton was used as the character "P. Funk" in the console versions of ''NBA Jam Tournament Edition''. The original ''NBA Jam'' arcade release and the ''NBA Jam T.E.'' arcade release had different music for the title screen and for each quarter. In July 2009, ''Mortal Kombat'' creator
Ed Boon Edward Boon (born February 22, 1964) is an American video game programmer, voice actor, and director. Boon was employed for over 15 years at Midway Games. Since 2011, he has worked for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for one of its subsi ...
revealed (on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
) that a ''Mortal Kombat'' court was to be hidden in a console port of ''NBA Jam'' or ''NBA Hangtime''. In October 2019, writer Reyan Ali published a book on the game/series for
Boss Fight Books Boss Fight Books is a Los Angeles-based book publisher and its eponymous series of books about video games. Similar to the style of 33⅓, a series of books about individual record albums, each book focuses solely on one video game. The compan ...
called ''NBA Jam'' documenting the game's development, success and impact on Midway afterward.


See also

* ''Double Dribble'' (1986 video game) * ''
Arch Rivals ''Arch Rivals'' is a basketball video game released by Midway for arcades in 1989. Billed by Midway as "A Basket Brawl", the game features two-on-two full court basketball games in which players are encouraged to punch opposing players and st ...
'' (1989)


References


Further reading

*


External links


Game Information
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:NBA Jam (1993 video game) 1993 video games Acclaim Studios Austin games Arcade video games Atari Jaguar games NBA Jam Game Boy games Game Gear games Midway video games Sega CD games Sega Genesis games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Tiger Electronics handheld games Video games with digitized sprites Acclaim Entertainment games VSDA Game of the Year winners Torus Games games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in the United States