Source: EA Sports / EA Sports
Before NBA 2K became the go-to video game for basketball fans, NBA Jam was thee arcade game basketball aficionados considered the greatest of all-time.
Now more than 25 years after the cartoonish NBA video game made its debut in bodegas and arcades across the world, Variety is reporting that NBA Jam will be getting its own documentary detailing its creation and rise to popularity. Sean Menard (The Carter Effect) has been tapped to develop and direct the documentary about the two-on-two NBA game that racked up more than $1 billion in quarters upon its release.
“When ‘NBA Jam’ hit the arcade, I was barely tall enough to reach the joystick and view the screen at the same time,” says Menard. “But while literally standing on my toes, I was completely immersed in a game that allowed me the creative freedom to perform out-of-this world feats of athleticism. This was during a tipping point for the NBA as the league was bursting with excitement and culture that was appealing to a younger fan base.
“Our film is more than just an original story about the most successful sports game of all time. There are various sub-plots that detail how gaming was transitioning from arcades to home entertainment and how it would eventually lead to the demise of Midway,” adds Menard.
When NBA Jam dropped in ’93 it took the sports world by storm with it’s cartoonish, yet, realistic looking NBA players who were designed with big bobble heads and were capable of literally catching fire whenever making three consecutive shots in the game. It. Is. A. Classic.
Even NBA players themselves became huge fans of the game with the report detailing that Michael Jordan himself commissioned Midway Games to create a custom version of the game where he was included as they didn’t have the license to use him in the one that was released to the public. That MJ exclusive NBA Jam arcade game must be worth more than any Air Jordan out on the market today. Just sayin. We wonder what kinda raitings Midway gave Mike. We’re sure his dunk and defense bar was filled to the brim, but what about his 3 point shot bar?
We hope a little info on the G.O.A.T.’s personal NBA Jam video game is included in the upcoming documentary because MJ’s omission from the video game was the one and only beef gamers ever had with the game itself.
Either way we can’t wait for this to drop and hope that the game itself gets a retro’d sometime soon which would see LeBron and AD on the Lakers while Harden and KD hold it down in Brooklyn. Knicks will still be struggle though. Just sayin.’
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