NBA Jam Cover

IGDB / 8995

NBA Jam

1993 75 / 100 Sport
NBA Jam is a basketball arcade game published and developed by Midway in 1993. It is the first entry in the NBA Jam series. The main designer and programmer for this game was Mark Turmell. Midway had previously released such sports games as Arch Rivals in 1989, High Impact in 1990, and Super High Impact in 1991. The gameplay of NBA Jam is based on Arch Rivals, another 2-on-2 basketball video game. However, it was the Show full summary

NBA Jam is a basketball arcade game published and developed by Midway in 1993. It is the first entry in the NBA Jam series. The main designer and programmer for this game was Mark Turmell. Midway had previously released such sports games as Arch Rivals in 1989, High Impact in 1990, and Super High Impact in 1991. The gameplay of NBA Jam is based on Arch Rivals, another 2-on-2 basketball video game. However, it was the release of NBA Jam that brought mainstream success to the genre. The game became exceptionally popular, and generated a significant amount of money for arcades after its release, creating revenue of $1 billion in quarters. In early 1994, the Amusement & Music Operators Association reported that NBA Jam had become the highest-earning arcade game of all time. The release of NBA Jam gave rise to a new genre of sports games which were based around fast, action-packed gameplay and exaggerated realism, a formula which Midway would also later apply to the sports of football (NFL Blitz), and hockey (2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge).

World design Nicht eindeutig Game modeCo-op Game modeMultiplayer

Deep dive / Spielprofil

What it is about.

A structured look at the narrative, game feel, and traits that define this game.

Story & context
NBA Jam, which featured 2-on-2 basketball, is one of the first real playable basketball arcade games, and is also one of the first sports games to feature NBA-licensed teams and players, and their real digitized likenesses. A key feature of NBA Jam is the exaggerated nature of the play - players jump many times their own height, making slam dunks that defy both human capabilities and the laws of physics. There are no fouls, free throws, or violations except goaltending and 24-second violations. This means the player is able to freely shove or elbow his opponent out of the way. Additionally, if a player makes three baskets in a row, he becomes "on fire" and has unlimited turbo and increased shooting precision. The "on fire" mode continues until the other team scores, or until the player who is "on fire" scores 4 additional consecutive baskets while "on fire." The game is filled with easte Show full description

NBA Jam, which featured 2-on-2 basketball, is one of the first real playable basketball arcade games, and is also one of the first sports games to feature NBA-licensed teams and players, and their real digitized likenesses. A key feature of NBA Jam is the exaggerated nature of the play - players jump many times their own height, making slam dunks that defy both human capabilities and the laws of physics. There are no fouls, free throws, or violations except goaltending and 24-second violations. This means the player is able to freely shove or elbow his opponent out of the way. Additionally, if a player makes three baskets in a row, he becomes "on fire" and has unlimited turbo and increased shooting precision. The "on fire" mode continues until the other team scores, or until the player who is "on fire" scores 4 additional consecutive baskets while "on fire." The game is filled with easter eggs, special features and players activated by initials or button/joystick combinations. For example, pressing A five times and right five times on any Genesis controller would activate "Super Clean Floors". This feature would cause characters to fall if they ran too fast or changed direction too quickly. And players can enter special codes to unlock hidden players, ranging from US President Bill Clinton to Hugo the Charlotte Hornets mascot. On the arcade machine, there is also a hidden 'tank' game that allows the player to run around a 3D wireframe field. In order to access this mode, however, the player must be able to toggle the on/off switch located behind the machine. While the game was powering back on, the player holds Up and all buttons on player 1 and Down and all buttons on player 2.

Game modeCo-op Game modeMultiplayer GenreSport ThemeAction Traitartificial intelligence Traitbasketball Traitcatch phrase Traitcheat code Traitgravity Traithidden character Traitnational basketball association Traitplayed for charity Traitpresidential protagonist Traitsan antonio spurs Traitversus screen

Watch / Trailer

Gameplay video

Trailer metadata from IGDB; playback via YouTube in privacy-enhanced mode.

Game profile / Plain language

Everything relevant. Without the wiki wilderness.

Studio, play style, releases, and official sources — compactly prepared from external IGDB data.

01
Studios & ownership

Studio & publishing

Developer
Midway
Publisher
Midway, Playtronic, Tec Toy
Franchise
NBA
02
So spielt es sich

Spielprofil

Modi
Co-operative, Multiplayer, Single player
Perspective
Side view
Themes
Action
03
Wo & wann

Platform releases

  • Super Nintendo Entertainment System Mar 04, 1994
  • Super Nintendo Entertainment System Apr 29, 1994
  • Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Mar 04, 1994
  • Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Apr 29, 1994
  • Super Nintendo Entertainment System Mar 10, 1996
  • Sega Mega Drive/Genesis 1994
  • Super Nintendo Entertainment System Apr 1994
  • Sega CD Nov 30, 1994
  • Arcade 1993

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