If you’re like me, you felt at once excited and disappointed upon seeing EA Sports’ announcement that it wasbringing backNBA Jam. I was elated that one of my all-time favorite sports games was being brought into the 21st century, but as someone who doesn’t own a Wii, I washoping against hopethat EA would eventually bring theNBA Jamrevivalto the PS3 and 360. While we’ve seenrumorsof an HD console versionbefore, there hasn’t been any official confirmation from EA of its existence … until now.
This morning, EA Sports announced that a scaled-back downloadable version ofNBA Jamwill be bundled with every new copy ofNBA Elite 11, the publisher’s reboot of its long-running basketball simulation franchise formerly known asNBA Live. Just as with theEA Sports Online Pass, new copies of the game will include a one-time-use code redeemable for the game. BuyingNBA Elite 11will be the only way to getNBA Jamin high definition — EA won’t be selling the game on the PlayStation Store or Xbox Live Marketplace, which makes its inclusion inNBA Elite 11a powerful incentive to buy the game.
And playingNBA Jamon the Wii will still be the only way to get the full experience, since the PS3/360 version will only come with three modes: Play Now, Classic Campaign (the traditional ladder-style tournament), and four-player Online Play (which remains unconfirmed for the Wii version, with only two months to go before launch). This keeps the all-new Remix Tour mode — which includes boss battles against NBA legends such as Magic Johnson and comprises “about 20 hours of gameplay,” according to EA Sports marketing VP Jordan Edelstein — exclusive to the Wii version.
It’s really a devilishly clever stroke on EA’s part, when you think about it: many of the folks who want to playNBA Jamwere likely planning on holding out for a PS3/360 version — I know I was — and now, they’ll only be able to get it by spending $60 onNBA Elite 11, which comes out on October 5th (the same day thatNBA Jamlaunches for the Wii). As it stood, EA had a long way to go in trying to convince gamers thatElitewas worth checking out, and now, nostalgia will do much of that work for them. They’re basically pulling aCrackdown, withNBA Jamplaying the part of theHalo 3beta.
So what say you, readers? Whether or not you care about simulation basketball andNBA Elite 11, are you willing to pay $59.99 in order to play a somewhat gimped version ofNBA Jamin HD (and with online play on consoles that actually facilitate it)?
‘NBA Elite 11’ to include free downloadable version of ‘NBA Jam’[ESPN]
