Classic Game Postmortem: NBA Jam

[@L_Train]

I remember my local convenience store had this game set to free play. We'd ride our bikes up there, get 2 for $1 Surge, and play all summer.

[@stachowi]

For free, so smart

[@Absquatula]

600$ and millions of gamers who will never forget your voice. Totally worth it

[@higgins007]

Brilliant. I'm addicted to these classic game postmortems. They are all fantastic. This is the best of the lot.

[@wizagab]

Idk I really liked Ultima Online, Diablo, Populous.

[@psyhodelik]

Too much good memory with this game ^^

[@helloofthebeach]

The editing in this video is very frustrating. They'll show the slide when it first appears but as the speakers keep discussing it, they'll refer to something in the image, but the slide will never return, and I'll have to rewind the video to see what they're talking about.

[@warrust]

it's been a really common editing issue for a while now

[@cosmicrdt]

Unfortunately most GDC videos are like this. It really sucks.

[@redomagnus4762]

I think that is because it's not actually being edited from multiple streams, rather just a copy of the live stream that was being operated live at the time. If this was being actually edited, they would have had the slides themselves to add over the video feed.

[@andrewlee88]

I think I could download the vid and overlay the slide while the guests are speaking... but its prob copyright... But if I could do it then......

[@user-zc9zt2vl5s]

This is one of the funnest games of all time! Mark please do a remake of this classic please!!!!!!!

[@maxxdahl6062]

They did, on xbox and wii.

[@miguelbenitez5734]

Wow to many good memories at the arcade with this one. Thanks guys for this once in a lifetime game as a basketball fan.

[@DannyWilliamH]

MF NBA Jam. Classic. It took everyone by storm, sports fan or not.

[@iammichaeldavis]

Jeez, tough crowd. This is probably the most showmanship I’ve ever seen in one of these, and the deadest audience

[@eendikschaap7547]

Guys .. for the love of god ... if somebody is referencing a slide, show the slide so we can properly follow. This shouldn't need to be pointed out.

[@PregnantSausage]

THANK YOU for saying this. This nuisance is way too prevalent. Amateur hour by entire industry.

[@retrogamerockstar4334]

Everyone’s a critic

[@bodybuildingcom]

boomshakalaka

[@-GameHacKeR-]

1:01:03 YEO!!!! He said it

[@davidsotomayor8713]

32:00 funny enough the "speed boost" made it into the college slam versions of the game.

[@sneakergimpglasgow]

Great talk

[@NSTGamingChannel]

Boom shakalaka!

[@FusionDeveloper]

56:00 haha I wrote this comment BEFORE I heard them mention non-NBA fans loving the game. NBA JAM 1, is my favorite basketball game. I owned it on Sega Genesis. It isn't that later games were not as good, it's just that I had played the original NBA JAM so much, that when i went to play Turbo and so on, it wasn't the exact same game I put hundreds of hours in, so I went back to the original after a short try. Also, it is the ONLY basketball game I have ever owned, because I'm not much of a fan of sports video games, but NBA JAM is AWESOME because it takes out all of the slow "filler" and gets straight to the action.

[@FusionDeveloper]

Daylight Savings, 2AM TONIGHT

[@SusuperHands]

Thanks for sharing! I really enjoyed the Q&A section at the end.

[@TheGoatWalker]

54:06 that explains why Turmell hasn't been able to release the Jordan version. That and I'm guessing now recently due to potential rights issues with the Arcade1up release.

[@danjohnson7139]

If I could own any arcade cabinet, NBA Jam would be it no question! One of the best and most replayable games ever.

[@maxxdahl6062]

Which one original or TE?

[@stachowi]

You can, I have one it was only $500

[@PotbellyPunch]

The code for the tank game was well known at the time. I remember doing it myself on the machine back in the 90s.

[@GD-tt6hl]

hold down on player 1 and 2 controllers and all of their respective buttons... it would cycle through a little then the game would load.

[@Camraq]

Bigwillie54 has a video on his channel that sounds like u can hear a whispering voice saying Petrovich in the background music NBA Jam Glitch :25

[@riverdealer]

well the default setting was $2.00 per game per player to play all 4 quarters of the game...compared to $0.25 per game previous money earning record

[@reyanali8921]

Great breakdown! So much rare stuff here. I highly recommend tracking down the original pitch video on KZbin because it has Jordan and Barkley roaming the court. It's super strange to see Michael Jordan in NBA Jam. I'm actually writing a whole book on NBA Jam and always sharing cool/weird finds on Twitter, so if you're interested, check out @nbajambook!

[@cheesewheel]

Reyan Ali looking forward to reading your book. Is it still set to come out next month?

[@andrewlee88]

Oh man where can we see more details on the book?

[@futuregohan4837]

Hell LeBron James Himself Also Pitched An Alternate Version Of NBA Jam In 2010 Where It Had The Mane 6 As An Selectable Team With The Combinations Being Twilight Sparkle And Rarity, Rarity And Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie And Fluttershy, Applejack And Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle And Applejack And Last But Not Least Fluttershy And Twilight Sparkle I Always Wondered If That Version Came Out I'd Play It

[@BADC0FFEE]

that damn rubber banding.... no wonder the guy works at zynga now

[@rx7here]

off topic, but what is the name of the song played at 01:39? Thanks guys

[@mortemerb8839]

The song is titled Sirius. It’s an instrumental that leads into the song Eye in the Sky from the eponymous album by The Alan Parson’s Project. It was the official Chicago Bulls Intro music during the ‘97 finals vs the Utah Jazz. Very hype intro song.

[@rx7here]

thanks!

[@kevinbooth-]

19:10 feels like when the preamble ends....

[@trevk8233]

Thank you.

[@polaris911]

so what is the "definitive" version of the game? He talked about all the hardware capabilities they had to work with but never said the name. Is he talking about Sega Genesis or the arcade cabinet?

[@DannyWilliamH]

polaris911 Cabinet overall but Genesis had the best console version.

[@Clay3613]

@@DannyWilliamH PS1 though...

[@maxxdahl6062]

@@Clay3613 Different game technically.

[@maxxdahl6062]

@@DannyWilliamH I'd go with sega cd as you get the arcade quality audio too.

[@cuer9949]

They need to use the original code of the game and remaster it.

[@futuregohan4837]

With Undertaker And LeBron James As A Odd Combination

[@bepkororoti8019]

Winning in the Gameboy version was basically just like rolling dice... no idea how you were supposed to play it

[@Bess2k2]

Great video

[@cosmicrdt]

I was guilty of buying one of those cheat sheets in the 90's. I thought it was money well spent at the time.

[@smokey5100]

The Arcade1Up Mass Re-release of NBA Jam would be the PERFECT OPPORTUNITY to release Michael Jordan, Gary Payton as well as Ken Griffey back into the game. I happily would PAY you my money for this DLC!!! Make it HAPPEN!!! 🙏🏀 #NBAJam #TheLastDance

[@andrewlee88]

Thanks so much for this. Surprised only 25 comments. Really wanted to hear questions about when the midway documentary is going to come out, what did he think of kotakus article on nba jam from 2017 and why alley oops arnt in nba jam or n a jam te or what features werr ditched in jam to get into TE. I have the arcade cab in my basement with mortal kombat character roms! Gimme more easter eggs!?!

[@kicknotes]

That EA/ESPN announcer guy killed the presentation for not shutting up after a while.

[@catalinbadalan4463]

Nightwolf presenting.. nice! :)

[@jps8080]

If I wanted contrived "wait what?"s I'd watch...every single commercial on TV right now.

[@teddyy80]

Wish I could talk to these guys. I love Hangtime. Obtained the Arcade1up cabinet. Hate the NBA took out Mortal Kombat players and breaking backboard. They are really no fun at all.

[@akalyx]

slides are up for 2-3 secs, try to retain it as fast as you can...i'd rather look at the slides than these people.

[@snoodballla9632]

54:56 classic nerd

[@GD-tt6hl]

I can still go and pull up a bunch of statistics! Not nearly as powerful as the kid in the 90s who could pull up the tank game... lol

[@Visuwyg]

If this were a modern game, these guys would be seen as villains - Micro transactions, cheating AI to maximize profits, secret stat tracking, lying about features (cheerleaders!)...

[@andrewlee88]

Kaffeebohnson no, they would eventually release all of what they promised in a downloadable DLC pack. And the cheerleaders are available as secret characters with initial codes.

[@clawhammr666]

Agreed, except for stat tracking, pretty sure every game dev does that.

[@philpillphil]

'zany' guy isn't as funny as he thinks he is

[@GD-tt6hl]

he couldn't buy a bucket...

[@inceptional]

I hate the fact they went for the stupid big heads in the new games.

[@Fabio-kk5xx]

wow, what a dead audience, they are dead, and no one has realized it