EA has launched a promotional contest for NBA Jam in which entrants submit their best -- or best worst -- one-liners for a chance to have them used by classic NBA Jam announcer Tim Kitzrow in the Wii game. We imagine winning is akin to being Zack Morris for the rest of your life.
As the instructional video above, uh, instructs, you'll need to submit your one-liners on the NBA Jam contest page on Facebook. The contest is already underway, and the entry period closes May 19.
Oh, need one to get you started? How about: "Need some fries with that BOOMSHAKE-A-LAKE-A-LAKE?" (Hmm, maybe you should just come up with one of your own.)
#easports
EA Sports just opened a contest to get four fan-written catchphrases announced in NBA Jam's reboot for the Wii. Note: "Boom-shakalaka" is already taken, but "boom-shakalaka-lakalakalaka" technically is still eligible. More »
Speaking with Multiplayer, NBA Jam creative director Trey Smith shared the inspiration behind the digitized faces of the upcoming Wii remake. According to Smith, tne of the key features of the original NBA Jam was the ability to tell who each individual player was from a distance. "You could tell who each [player] was," said Smith, "and that was something really key to us." He added that the team behind the new Jam worked closely with series creator Mark Turmell, who currently works with EA Tiburon. "He spent time with the team, and really kind of talked to us about it," said Smith, adding that Turmell shared "a lot of the stories" about the visual style of the first game.
And, if you like the crazy, 2D faces used for each player model as much as we do, there's more good news. Smith confirmed that NBA Jam will include a big head mode. "Wait until you see big head mode, because that's where we really start playing around with it." He concludes that the team wanted to be "as true to the original NBA Jam as possible, but using all the bells and whistles we have in the last 17 years since it came out."
Whatever the team is doing, it seems to be working.
- Remote + Nunchuk: Move with analog, flick remote up to jump, flick down to shoot/dunk, Buttons modify shot types
- Remote only (sideways): D-pad moves, buttons shoot/dunk/etc, No motion controls.
- Classic Controller: same as Wiimote only
- Classic Campaign: same as it was years ago
- Remix Tour: Powerups, boss battles, dynamic camera triggered by spectacular plays
- [...]
#wii
The new NBA Jam may be set in the present day, but that doesn't mean every player in the game is on a 2010 NBA roster. Two in particular stand out: legends Larry Bird and Earl "Magic" Johnson. More »
If you thought your excitement for NBA Jam couldn't get any higher after reading our preview, know that MTV Multiplayer has confirmed that classic ballers Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are in the game. Creative director Trey Smith said that the second-to-last team that players will face in the Classic Campaign mode -- the game's "worst-to-first ladder tournament," which pits players against a series of teams -- will be decided based on who wins the 2010 NBA championships. Then, the final match will feature the iconic duo.
There's no word on other possible unlockable characters, but, frankly, we're going to flip out if we don't get to play as Chow Chow or Bill Clinton. Get on it, EA!
#screengrab
An exclusive look at what EA said was an instantly-fun 2008 Wii prototype that has evolved into the promising new NBA Jam, a game we previewed today. (Bonus joke-completion challenge for NBA fans: These basketball players have more personality than the _______'s ________ ___________) More »
You need to get the preconception that NBA Jam is part of the rigid "sports game" genre out of your mind right this second. I can understand why you might possess this notion: for gamers whose youths were spent mastering the original game's showboating mechanics, Jam is one of the few franchises they can call up when accused of not playing sports games. For folks unfamiliar with the franchise, one might logically associate a bouncy, orange sphere with its eponymous sport: "basketball."
Yet, based on my time with EA Canada's Wii-make of NBA Jam earlier this month, I don't think the "sports game" archetype -- a turn-off for many non-sports enthusiasts -- is an accurate descriptor for what's going on here. Jam is a "party game" and will likely overtake Rock Band and Boom Blox as my entertainment of choice while hosting a social gathering. Provided, of course, attendees are prepared to get buffeted with an unstoppable deluge of smack talk.
#wii
Last week, in explaining why the beleaguered NBA all-star Gilbert Arenas wasn't a part of voting for NBA Jam's roster, EA Sports indicated it could later add him to the game with a WiiWare update. They've backtracked on that statement. More »
#sports
NBA all-star Gilbert Arenas, whose joking pistols-at-dawn challenge to a pissed-off teammate was no laughing matter to the league, is absent from fan voting on the NBA Jam roster. EA Sports says it's not entirely because of his legal troubles. More »
#wii
The NBA Jam fan page on Facebook rolled out another five screens of the upcoming reboot of the beloved arcade/early console classic. We now know the names of eight more players who'll be appearing in the game. They're identified inside. More »
As you might imagine, the vast majority of the "heat" that the newest trailer for NBA Jam brings with it is through the various players running up and down the court fully ablaze (it certainly doesn't hurt when the screen catches fire as well). Don't get us wrong -- it's full of gameplay that puts us right back on the couch in 1994, trying to desperately remember the code so that we can play as our favorite US president.
That said, the announcer probably says "Kaboom!" four or five times. And yeah, somewhere in the middle there, we realized that NBA Jam just doesn't have that many catchphrases. But that's okay with us -- the gameplay looks fantastic! We'll have our impressions of the game up in a few weeks, but for now you can peep the trailer yourself after the break.
#clips
Here's the launch trailer for the Wii re-boot of the arcade and early console classic NBA Jam. All your favorites return, and by that I don't mean Raiden or Bill Clinton, but "Boom Shaka-Laka," "He's On Fire," and "Kaboom!" More »
#wii
There's some big NBA Jam reveal on Friday night on Spike, but we can't wait that long. So we're making do with around ten seconds worth of in-game footage from this commercial, right now. More »
First up, you can get in on the next round of player voting. Click here to check out who’s up for the game.
Second, could NBA Jam be heading to other platforms after its initial Wii release? 1up seems to think so…
Details about EA’s revival are relatively sparse at the moment, but our own [...]
Thanks to today's EA earnings report (EArnings?) we're starting to get an idea of how the company's holiday season is going to shape up. This is all subject to change, of course, but as of right now it would appear you can look forward to Crysis 2, NBA Jam and EA Sports MMA sometime between October and December of 2010.
Filling out the holiday quarter are some yet-to-be-formally-announced titles like The Sims 3 on consoles, a new Need For Speed game (perhaps the Criterion-developed one?) and a new Harry Potter game (likely tied to this November's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I). Want to come up with your own wild speculation? Peruse the list here.
