Were you unenthused by the rumour that EA Sports new title would be an NFL-branded trainer for the Wii? You’ll like this one better. ESPN.com says the game will be an updated NBA Jam for the Wii.
Citing “unnamed sources”, ESPN.com says EA Sports got the rights from the NBA to deliver an updated version of the arcade classic for retail release. The report adds that the game’s creator, Mark Turmell, has been hired on by EA Sports Canada to consult on the product.
NBA Jam was a wildly successful 2-on-2 basketball game first released by Midway to the arcades in 1993, and later ported by Acclaim to the Super Nintendo and Genesis. The success of EA Sports’ arcade-style titles for the NHL and NFL in the past year makes it a good bet they’d want to spin up an NBA offering sometime soon. The demise of Midway (and Acclaim back in 2004), also means the NBA Jam name is likely held by someone unlikely to develop it anytime soon, and probably happy to make a quick buck off the IP.
An EA Sports spokesperson told Kotaku the publisher wouldn’t comment on rumour or speculation – but did add the announcement is set for sometime next week.
I emailed contacts with EA Sports and the Vancouver studio to ask for comment. Anything they say will be updated here.
EA to Announce Return of ‘NBA Jam’ [ESPN.com]
Gobbo
January 5, 2010 at 12:18 PM
CAN’T BUY A BUCKET!!
IS IT THE SHOES?!?
HE’S ON FIRE!!!
All these years on, I still say all the NBA Jam lines at random times throughout the day. I think it must be some videogames form of Tourette’s or something…
Report PermalinkDansDans
January 5, 2010 at 12:38 PM
My favourite line were:
HE’S HEATING UP, followed by HE JAMS IT IN!
Maybe thats just my dirty mind at work (even at a young age)
Report PermalinkNath
January 5, 2010 at 3:36 PM
Man this game was awesome!
Report PermalinkGreat stuff!
I still remember “HE’S ON FIREEEEE” also.
Great times.
Old_Skool_Gamer
January 5, 2010 at 12:26 PM
Oh man, I remember pumping a ton of money into this at timezone when I was a teenager.
How about an XBox Live version as well.
Report PermalinkJason
January 5, 2010 at 12:30 PM
Oh come on, you cannot do this to us!! Please lets just hope they port it over to Xbox Live, I absolutelly LOVED this game as a kid and have been dreaming of it being released on Xbox Live for a long time now
Report Permalinkoggob
January 5, 2010 at 1:20 PM
+1 for other consoles… I can’t see them updating it any further than an Arcade style game that it is… so both PSN and Live should be considered also.
Boom-shaka-laka!!!
Report PermalinkChuloopa
January 5, 2010 at 1:12 PM
Hells yes… that all i can really say
Then again.. let’s hope it doesn’t get screwed up and ruin what was once one of the best games around
Report PermalinkOld_Skool_Gamer
January 5, 2010 at 1:12 PM
One of my favourites was “Boom-shaka-laka.
Report PermalinkOld_Skool_Gamer
January 5, 2010 at 1:41 PM
Just a thought If they did release it for Live and PSN, they could have a limited edition that you can buy in shops with a download code and an NBA Jam arcade stick.
I would buy that in a second.
Report Permalinkgill bates is incognito
January 5, 2010 at 2:31 PM
My mate used to have it on the Sega Megadrive (II I think). A group of us would have epic weekend-long tournaments of Winner Stays On or elaborate tournaments with league tables culminating in a finals series
Report Permalinkgill bates is incognito
January 5, 2010 at 2:34 PM
Oh yeah… and, yes, “Boom-shaka-laka” remains part of my everyday vocabulary.
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