let's talk about nba jam

[@hydn.]

viewing notes:👀📝❤ 3:31 - places like new york city, where the NBA offices are located keep in mind, were of course filled with strip clubs and these drug dealing locations with naughty activities. The very location of the NBA front office likely played a part in the way the league viewed arcade cabinets. 4:25 - the link to the original pitch video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3PbYWaQm7mpjtk 9:07 - the 1993 nba all star game, and a number of ASG’s before and after it, also had a marketing campaign called the NBA Stay in School Jam. despite the work “Jam”, this campaign had no connection to the NBA Jam video game, and was going on years before the game was thought of. this marketing campaign was a big deal for the NBA in trying to change their own image to a more child and family friendly league. It did make its way into the NBA Jam game, likely from the NBA demanding it. A “stay in school” banner occasionally flashes over the arcade cabinet when idling (I put one in at 6:00) and when you beat every team in the game, it remind you “true jammers stay in school”(i paraphrase this in the outro) 12:28 - I cut out a rather long section that opened this chapter because I felt it messed up the flow of the video. I will just drop the information from that section here. The NBA jam was rather complex for an arcade game. Theres a joystick and 3 buttons for each player (that’s a messy 12 buttons and 4 joysticks on each cabinet. Donkey Kong is 1 joystick and 1 button. Pacman is just a joystick. These aren;t even including start buttons, which NBA Jam has 4 of, compared to most game 1-2). 2 of the buttons even change what they do on offense and defense. it was not easy to get started, but no matter who it was, even if they couldn’t understand how to start the game or play it, it was quick, attention grabby, and most importantly FUN. A big part of the fun was that the game was openly rigged, in multiple ways. 1 tiny, funny way, is that in any close game between the Bulls and Pistons, the Bulls are literally programmed to miss last second shots, giving the Pistons the win. Mark Turmell was a Pistons fan, and this was his way at getting revenge for the real life success of the Bulls. He didn’t initially tell the other developers, and they would play against each other in the game, even betting money, often using these 2 teams. The Midway staff often got suspicious of Mark and the Pistons, until he fully came out and admitted he tweaked the code. Pretty awesome, but theres a much more broad way the game was rigged. The rubber banding effect is prevalent in NBA Jam across every team and every game. This is something Midway had done in some of their other arcade games too. You see, players pay 25 cents for every quarter in NBA Jam (prices could vary). Thats a dollar a game, but Midway knew how to make sure people play the full game. The rubber banding effect basically works to prevents blowouts in NBA Jam. When 1 team starts to take a large lead, their stats start to drop, while the other team seemingly can’t miss. This is on purpose, to keep games close. They quickly figured out people were more likely to finish, and even play another game, if it was a close ball game. This causes almost every single NBA Jam to come down to the wire, with an absurd amount of games being decided on buzzer beaters (seriously, go to your local arcade, and watch. I promise out of 5 full games, at least 3 will end on a buzzer beater make or miss to decide the game.

[@KarlMarkyMarxx]

Nice to get a history of this game. Never played it before. Might have to change that. You should consider making this a series. I don't see a lot of deep dives into sports games on here.

[@jennaebranch4293]

I second this... NETFLIX did a whole episode on Mortal Kombat❗️ N Their HIGH SCORE Series‼️. ✔️ IT OUT & WORK YOUR MAGIC

[@dongeraci8599]

Only thing I would add is about the people putting their quarters up to call next game. This was common all throughout the 80s and early 90s and wasn't game specific. In any crowded arcade it was just normal etiquette. I personally remember people doing it with Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat.

[@hydn.]

interesting perspective... I wasn't personally around to see, so you may know better than me! I got that information from an old Sports Illustrated interview with a lot of the developers, so I promise I wasn't making it up lol. At the least, Jam is credited with helping revitalize the arcade scene for a couple more years before home consoles really took over

[@dannyg5442]

we luv u hayden!!!11!1

[@jaylenbarnes2.079]

Real

[@hydn.]

:)

[@thatwhitegti]

Damn for such low subs such great content just subbed you will be big one day

[@teddyy80]

Nice video. The end didn't mention arcade1up bringing it back. Also when tournament edition came out it got railroaded by the NBA taking out the Mortal Kombat characters, the breaking the backboard feature, and those star players not being in it (Shaq, Barkley, Jordan). It was pretty much a watered down version of the original Jam. Had Hangtime gotten those things I mentioned put in it, it would have made money like the original Jam.

[@SinkingOrange]

Great video! As others have said, there is definitely a hole in the market for well made and researched videos on sports games and franchises. Stumbled across this video and your channel just when refreshing the KZbin homepage; subscribed and looking forward to more content from you!

[@WVUer21]

I was in fifth grade when this came out. Never knew Jordan would have just said, "sure."

[@tallbianca]

College Slam was a fun adaptation, other than not knowing when your team’s center would be tiny

[@ocularzombie6679]

lets talk about the Coyotes moving to Utah... and why sports team owners are nucking futs.

[@UntiltedName]

I miss arcade gaming culture. Early 00s lan centers were a close approximation. Now you can find arcade rooms in some bars or city restaurants but it isn't the same. Not only that but NBA jam with a hand held controller simply feels wrong.

[@courtcaseindacut]

I missed papi hydn

[@nooobopcurio6595]

another banger i can tell from the first 30 seconds

[@TheNormalToast]

this video is seriously good and deserves more views!!

[@russellst.martin4255]

Jordan has a similar licensing agreement regarding trading cards with Upper Deck. Given Panini has the exclusive rights to produce NBA trading cards they can't use Jordan's likeness (they've been sued just for him appearing in another player's background) and since Upper Deck can't feature anything NBA affiliated, there hasn't been a Jordan/Bulls basketball card printed in 15 years, and possibly never will again. In both cases, these licensing agreements are sure great for MJ, but end up being a total bummer for fans.

[@Phoenixcaptain46]

Oh man, no love for Arch Rivals.

[@hydn.]

1:22 !!

[@averagekansasjayhawkfan]

Great. Video Hayden

[@jennaebranch4293]

I was always MAD I Could Never Really Kno Of U Had 2 Put N Another Qtr If I'D WON A GAME‼️❗️... CUZ I SUCKED & ENJOYED BEING A FAN FROM THESE REVELATIONS❗️‼️.

[@TheBlaaaaaaahhh]

Arcades in strip clubs? No way 😂

[@Revco.1]

What???

[@SamuraiSam]

Great video, but FYI, you mispronounced Tim Kitzrow's name multiple times