NBA Jam Message Board

Remember the pure genius that was thatscoutisaspy's recreation of the Game Grumps absolutely losing it to Sonic '06? If you don't, do yourself a favor and get acquainted. The Game Grumps continue to play games and be silly about it, and thatscoutisaspy continues to take the silliest of their content and recreate their interactions in Team Fortress 2, thanks to Source Filmmaker. And I continue to soak it up, because I like the weirdest of things. Here's the original for comparison:

#nbajam For the politically-inclined, Bill Clinton's speech last week at the Democratic National Convention seemed a slam dunk. Or, as this video shows, a collection of slam dunks, punctuated by the odd MONSTER JAM. More »

#nsfw More »

#totalrecall We rarely get to see the process by which a video game is pitched to a publisher, even today in an age of developer diaries and all-access marketing. It's even rarer we get to see how a game was pitched all the way back in the early 90s. More »

Don't screw this up, Electronic Arts.

Jeff called it back in November of last year: NFL Blitz is making a return.

First details came out yesterday, causing confusion over how Electronic Arts would roll out the game, but a press release today clarifies this is a downloadable release--not retail. In other words, forget a bunch of the bitching we may or may not have done on this week’s Bombcast.

The high-definition update arrives in January for both Xbox Live Arcade (1200 Microsoft Points) and PlayStation Network ($14.99), and maintains the 7-on-7 gameplay from the original series.

Similar to NBA Jam, NFL Blitz will have an expanded single-player mode, with the Blitz Gauntlet, which sees players fighting through a series of teams, in addition to “exclusive fantasy bosses.” Two people can play on a team simultaneously, with up to four total, and that extends to online.

EA also seems to be incorporating its popular Ultimate Team concept from its other sports games into NFL Blitz, calling it the Elite League here. Players purchase cards using “Blitz Bucks,” which are earned while playing online. These cards can affect on-field play, providing advantageous power-ups And while released footage shows the option of punching in codes to unlock random cheats, apparently some will be purchasable in the “Blitz Store” using your...I’m not going to say it again.

For colorful audio, NBA Jam commentator Tim Kitzrow will be joined by actor and comedian Brian Haley (Gran Torino).

As you may have heard last week, EA spent a metric tonne of money in its acquisition of social gaming gurus PopCap Games. Specifically, the publisher ponied up a whopping $750 million (that could be worth as much as $1.3 billion, based on performance incentives). While that sounds like a lot of up-front cash, evidently, PopCap could have had even more, but turned it down.

NBA Jam creator and new Zynga employee, Mark Turmell.

Based on what Forbes is reporting today, PopCap had another offer on the table from rival social games behemoth Zynga, makers of all that "___Ville" and "____ With Friends" stuff you're deeply ashamed to admit you occasionally partake of, the way a junkie only "occasionally" uses heroin. According to the Forbes story, Zynga had an up-front offer of $1 billion dollars on the table, but PopCap ultimately decided to go with the EA deal, which has more lucrative potential based on those incentives.

While Zynga was ultimately Reeeeeeeejected! by PopCap, the publisher managed to Jam It In! with another EA-related deal, as the company Intercepted! former Midway creative head and EA Sports executive Mark Turmell away from the company, presumably for far less than a billion dollars. Boomshakalaka?

Trumell helped create the NBA Jam franchise for Midway back in 1993, and once again helped revive the series at EA when the publisher bought the rights to the franchise from his suddenly defunct former employer. Trumell had been rumored to be working on a revival of NFL Blitz at the EA Tiburon studio, but evidently isn't anymore, if he ever was. EA confirmed last night to Kotaku that Trumell had left the company. Neither Zynga nor Trumell have yet commented on Trumell's new position at the company. One can surmise that an announcement of "Jamming with Friends" and/or "FootballVille" cannot be terribly far off, however.

#easports Mark Turmell, the creator of the NBA Jam series that saw a revival last year on modern consoles, has left EA Sports for the social games developer Zynga, Kotaku has learned. More »

#screenshakalaka Eighteen screenshots, depicting the NBA Finals matchup of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd versus LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, herald the coming of NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, due later this year as a downloadable title on Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store. More »

#hesonfire You hopefully already know this, but a lot of the truly interesting stuff about games development (and game developers) comes not from the PR-managed machine of an upcoming title, but by scouring the medium's past. Example: the following story about NBA Jam creator Mark Turmell. More »

One day, Goldilocks decided she wanted to play EA's new NBA Jam. First, she sat down on the couch and tried to play it on a console, but the TV was too big. So she pulled her iPhone out of her pocket and downloaded NBA Jam from the App Store. But that screen was too small.

Finally, EA released a version of NBA Jam for the iPad, and it was just right (and cost $10). EA also released an update for the iPhone version that adds multiplayer functionality, but we couldn't fit that into the story.

#delayofgame After the disastrous, last minute cancellation of NBA Elite 11, Electronic Arts is keeping its basketball sim on the bench for another year, saying that it won't ship a new entry in the NBA Live/NBA Elite franchise until the fall of 2012. More »

EA Sports is working on a follow-up to last year's reboot of NBA Jam, but this one's going download-only. NBA Jam: On Fire Edition is set to take the court in October for both PS3 and Xbox Live (no Wii release announced) and will arrive via PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, respectively. It's worth noting that last year's game was a full $50 retail release, but was originally planned as a downloadable title free to those who purchased new copies of the ill-fated NBA Elite 11.

The new title, in development at EA Tiburon (consequently, the new studio for EA's future basketball sims), will benefit from new opponent AI, revamped visuals and a host of new online features including a full co-op "Road Trip" campaign mode playable over PSN and XBLA. Tiburon is adapting the AI code from EA Sports' Fight Night titles for the new Jam, promising competition that "learns your tendencies and throws them back in your face."

Y'know, kind of like having the fact that you paid 50 bucks for the last game, when this one will probably run $15-20. Boomshakalaka!

#ishakalaka Earlier this month, EA Sports made it official that anyone expecting updated rosters on NBA Jam was SOL. That's for the console versions. The game's iOS version just got a roster tweak today, in time for the soon-to-begin playoffs. More »

#sports EA Sports has made it official - there will be no roster update, nor any type of post release support, for NBA Jam. Carmelo Anthony on the Knicks? Deron Williams on the Nets? You're on your own. More »

#iphone A former Wii exclusive, EA's NBA Jam is coming to the iPhone (and soon). Based on a brief peek at gameplay, via Touch Arcade, it's looking on par with its console counterparts. More »

You probably already possess a wide array of accessories for your Apple-branded mobile device, but we suggest adding some form of iPhone wrist bungee to your collection. Why? EA Sports has announced that its over-the-top, recently remade basketball title NBA Jam is getting ported to the iPhone, and we can't imagine that we'll able to play it without inadvertently "slam dunking" our expensive cell phones to the ground with each and every "Boom-Shaka-Laka" therein.

The publisher didn't announce any pricing or release date details, but did reveal a short gameplay clip, which we've posted after the jump. Looks like the lo-fi graphics of the modern remake have maintained their quality on the iPhone -- though we'll have to wait until it's released to find out how well those touch controls work when executing the highest, nastiest, most bodacious dunkaroos.

There's no telling what could happen when you put together teams like this! Check out the specialty teams of NBA JAM's HD release!

EA set up an NBA Jam arcade cabinet out on the street in NYC and had hoopster extraordinaire Dwight Howard hang out and play with folks recently. That's all well and good, but we're a bit concerned at the comfort level of these people in the video.

#sports The heyday of skateboarding games is past, the head of EA, the company that makes Tony Hawk rival franchise Skate, told Kotaku in an interview this week. More »

It's probably the most entertaining same-couch multiplayer game this year, but should it really be a retail release?

#nbaelite With NBA Jam on shelves and earning praise (deservedly), EA Sports is being a little more candid about NBA Elite, the canceled title and Jam's original dancing partner. More »

#voices His bombastic boothman persona in NBA Jam isn't Tim Kitzrow's only gaming credit. The guy also was the voice of Rod Serling in the classic Twilight Zone pinball table. He got his start from his bandmates, who worked for Midway. More »

#boomshakalaka NBA Jam on the 360 and PS3 hit shelves yesterday; today EA Sports is taking a page from the Old Spice YouTube campaign that drew raves. The announcer, Tim Kitzrow, is reading off Twitter-submitted catchphrases. Apparently mine (above) wasn't objectionable. More »

Check out this latest trailer for the 360/PS3 version of NBA Jam. Tell me if the way this is presented doesn’t make you feel a bit miffed as a Wii fan.

#clips "Look Wii, it's not you, it's just, it's me. I need to see other people. I need to see them in high definition, I need to see them online ... But I'll always remember the good times ..." More »

NBA Jam ballers on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 need not worry about online functionality -- aside from "Classic Mode" being available out of the box, the patch adding online versus and co-op to the rest of the modes will be available at launch. Get an early look at what it'll add after the break.

#clips NBA Jam is known for its zany catchphrases and Tim Kitzrow is best known as the zany announcer delivering them. Asylum got Kitzrow on the phone to deliver seven new lines they wrote. The result is 100 percent fan service. More »

#throwitdownbigman Dwight Howard believes his dunk rating of 8 in NBA Jam doesn't reflect reality. Neither does jumping from the three point line to eye-level with the shot clock to throw down a 720-degree behind-the-back slam, but who's counting? More »

#clips Election Day was yesterday, but so what, none of these politicians in NBA Jam were candidates. When the game hits the Xbox 360 and PS3, it will have the same roster - and unlockables - as the Wii version. More »

So, you've still got the burning urge to engage in politics following yesterday's Midterm election? Don't actually get involved with your local government bodies -- that would be ridiculous! Instead, watch this NBA Jam video, which features a bunch of showboating, high-dunking politicians.