NBA Jam
- NBA Jam (1994 on Dedicated handheld)
-
NBA Jam
(2003 on
PlayStation 2,
Xbox)
-
NBA Jam
(2010 on
Wii,
Xbox 360,
PlayStation 3)
-
NBA Jam
(2011 on
iPhone,
iPad,
Macintosh...)
Description official descriptions
NBA Jam is a two-on-two basketball game You can play any NBA team, and you can play as players like Barkley, Starks, Pippen, and Grant. Each human player controls a single player, so choose your squad wisely to take team-mate skill into account. The game is action-oriented, and players can perform unrealistic slam-dunks. Full performance statistics are automatically recorded. The play clock and 3-point line apply, but other rules are largely overlooked.
Spellings
- NBAジャム - Japanese spelling
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Credits (Arcade version)
46 People (24 developers, 22 thanks) · View all
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 88% (based on 30 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 88 ratings with 0 reviews)
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Trivia
1001 Video Games
NBA Jam appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
Athletes
One of the game's major features is the NBA license and the real athletes. The arcade version became such a hit that several NBA athletes requested to be included in the game. Some of those requests were fulfilled and special versions were sent to a few select arcade owners. Among them were Gary Peyton and Michael Jordan, the latter actually being featured in a pre-release version but taken out because he had left the NBA. According to Mark Turmell, Shaquille O'Neal actually bought two arcade cabinets; one for his home and one for his hotel rooms when traveling.
Dražen Petrović glitch
According to Mark Turmell in a 2008 interview for ESPN.com and Tim Kitzrow in a 2019 episode of the NLSC Podcast, the original arcade version would repeatedly shout out the name of Dražen Petrović for seemingly no reason, which they report first hearing after the real Dražen Petrović died in a car accident not long after the game shipped.
Easter egg rumor
Another famous thing about the original arcade version is the big number of easter eggs, including hidden athletes and a free Battlezone variant (arcade owners really didn't like that one!). The promotional material of the game included photos of cheerleaders, portrayed by Playboy models. So everyone searched for the hidden codes to unlock their models in the game... Kerri Hoskins was even pestered with phone calls at home.
Scrapped secret charaters
According to NBA Jam: The Book, a documentation of the game's development, two secret characters were supposed to appear in the game, but were ultimately scrapped: Godzilla and Bart Simpson. Photographs of their respective toys were taken for in-game images, with video evidence released by 2019.
Sega Master System port
A port of the game for the Sega Master System was developed, but never released.
Success
According to the magazine Retro Gamer, the arcade version made over one billion dollar during its first year.
Awards
- Electronic Gaming Monthly
- February 1994 (Issue 55) - Game of the Month (SNES version)
- 1995 Buyer's Guide - Best Sports Game (SNES version)
- GameFan
- Vol. 3, Iss. 1 - Best SNES Action/Arcade Game of the Year 1994
Analytics
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Mullet of Death.
SEGA CD added by Kartanym. Game Boy, Game Gear added by Freeman. Arcade added by Pseudo_Intellectual.
Additional contributors: Alaka, j.raido 【雷堂嬢太朗】, Big John WV, Cantillon, Patrick Bregger, Riemann80, Plok, FatherJack.
Game added June 7, 2002. Last modified December 17, 2024.