NBA Jam is coming back and I'll wait for the inevitable price drop

[demi]

They NAILED it... this is NBA Jam through and through

Plays like shit with Wiimote though, so wait for superior XBLA version of course. But this is pure NBA Jam.

[archie4208]

Apparently the XBLA version got canned since they nixed Elite.  EA is supposed to be working on a retail version now.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

I tried to pirate it but it keeps bricking my wii.

[ferrarimanf355]

Apparently the XBLA version got canned since they nixed Elite.  EA is supposed to be working on a retail version now.

That's what I'm thinking. I'm still going to wait for the X360 version, though, since that's where all the action's going to be at.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

they better retail it at $40. the game is pretty barebones on wii and kinda boring. you play one match and go "oh NBA Jam, yeah....ok." and regret you wasted $40 on it.

[naff]

Damn, I would've preferred if they just left out the campaign/career mode and left it cheaper on XBL/PSN. I only care about the online multi with this game and at retail prices I can't imagine I'll be able to get many friends to buy it...

[OptimoPeach]

Agreed. On the bright side, I don't see how this isn't going to bomb way hard, so with any luck we'll see it in the bargain bins not too long after it retails

[EmCeeGrammar]

You guys are assholes. Real talk.

edit: I mean, it sounds like a lot of work got put into this product. And when it comes to your 360/PS3 you get all that cool shit in addition to online. You really hope it fails so it will hit bargain bins?  So you can pick it up for your preferred price based on your sense of entitlement?  If this fails, the franchise is dead. Its happened often this generation and it sucks to think of the cinematic 'epic' tripe that is filing the void.

[OptimoPeach]

If it's going to be retailing anywhere near full price, yeah. I just want some cheapo arcadey multiplayer that I can pop in at 2:00 a.m. on Friday night when I'm too drunk to play, uh, real games. Basically just looking for the SNES/Genesis version with a next-gen paint job, an updated roster, and some minor extras. A stripped down XBLA version would have been perfect for me

[demi]

You guys are assholes. Real talk.

edit: I mean, it sounds like a lot of work got put into this product. And when it comes to your 360/PS3 you get all that cool shit in addition to online. You really hope it fails so it will hit bargain bins?  So you can pick it up for your preferred price based on your sense of entitlement?  If this fails, the franchise is dead. Its happened often this generation and it sucks to think of the cinematic 'epic' tripe that is filing the void.

Would have bombed on Wii anyway. Wii is the cause of so many dead franchises...

[iconoclast]

But arcade games are the realest of games

[EmCeeGrammar]

You guys are assholes. Real talk.

edit: I mean, it sounds like a lot of work got put into this product. And when it comes to your 360/PS3 you get all that cool shit in addition to online. You really hope it fails so it will hit bargain bins?  So you can pick it up for your preferred price based on your sense of entitlement?  If this fails, the franchise is dead. Its happened often this generation and it sucks to think of the cinematic 'epic' tripe that is filing the void.

Would have bombed on Wii anyway. Wii is the cause of so many dead franchises...

It's true. Nights obliterated, Samba de Amigo destroyed, probably never see another Excite____ game again. 

[demi]

Punch Out flop

Major Majestic Parrappa flop

Mario flop

Mega Man flop

Final Fantasy flop

[archie4208]

I thought Punch Out sold like a million copies.    And New Super Mario Bros Wii sold like 15 million.

[Stoney Mason]

If it's going to be retailing anywhere near full price, yeah. I just want some cheapo arcadey multiplayer that I can pop in at 2:00 a.m. on Friday night when I'm too drunk to play, uh, real games. Basically just looking for the SNES/Genesis version with a next-gen paint job, an updated roster, and some minor extras. A stripped down XBLA version would have been perfect for me

This.

I'll buy it when it hits the bargain bin on 360.

[demi]

I thought Punch Out sold like a million copies.    And New Super Mario Bros Wii sold like 15 million.

They were some of the worst in the series. Death of a franchise...

[naff]

You guys are assholes. Real talk.

edit: I mean, it sounds like a lot of work got put into this product. And when it comes to your 360/PS3 you get all that cool shit in addition to online. You really hope it fails so it will hit bargain bins?  So you can pick it up for your preferred price based on your sense of entitlement?  If this fails, the franchise is dead. Its happened often this generation and it sucks to think of the cinematic 'epic' tripe that is filing the void.

Of course it did, XBLA/PSN games usually do have a lot of effort put into them y'know, not like WiiWare crud. Just sayin the Arcadey minimal style of JAM suits a XBLA/PSN release over a retail release and the retail release will probably lead to the game bombing hard, whereas if it got some digital distribution love it could be a real hit. It's obvious EA had a small team workin on Jam, it was a secondary product to it's hyped revamp of NBA Elite, but when they realised Elite needed more time in the oven they're like crap we fucked this up, and pushed the Jam team to quickly chuck the content they left out of the PSN/XBLA versions back into them so they can hopefully recoup some costs by giving it a retail release. If this kills the franchise you can't blame the consumer, that's EA's mismanagement.

[Stoney Mason]

I like EmCeeGrammar and all but he keeps going back to this idea that I must feel a certain way about the price of product (the same as him) or otherwise I'm not being a real gamer or something.

fuck that. Value is relative. Relative to the product and the person. My little opinion doesn't drive the industry. Its just my little opinion. I think paying a monthly fee for WoW is silly. But that's just my opinion. Millions don't.

[EmCeeGrammar]

Punch Out flop

Major Majestic Parrappa flop

Mario flop

Mega Man flop

Final Fantasy flop

Megaman and Mario did not flop! Punch-Out did about half a mil in the USA, and bombed everywhere else. Major Minor was shit, and Square can't make a good game on any platform.

[demi]

Nice FUD.

[EmCeeGrammar]

I like EmCeeGrammar and all but he keeps going back to this idea that I must feel a certain way about the price of product (the same as him) or otherwise I'm not being a real gamer or something.

fuck that. Value is relative. Relative to the product and the person. My little opinion doesn't drive the industry. Its just my little opinion. I think paying a monthly fee for WoW is silly. But that's just my opinion. Millions don't.

I don't want you or anyone else to feel a certain way about how to spend your money. I'm not presenting an argument counter to the cheap download idea that games that check off certain features and requirements warrant a 40-50 dollar price tag. I would love it if we lived in a world whereas games were priced for impulse and low risk investment for consumers. But its just plain irrational that one thinks its okay to spend 60 dollars on one piece of software with a full amount of features, and then turn around and say that other games shouldn't have this consideration because you might only be using if for the multiplayer. If NBA Jam was just like the old versions, I'd understand. But reading up on the development of this game they are adding a lot of things that make it comparable to any other big release.

tldr
I demand an Orthodoxy of Opinion, mang! Not really, but consistency would be nice.

[demi]

It's actually pretty barebones. I only grazed the menus but it was basically

> play now
> career/campaign
> boss battles (lol)
> achievements
> remix campaign (no idea)
> options
> training

also the game was widescreen. omg widescreen.

[EmCeeGrammar]

Boss battles and Remix Campaign are pretty lengthy from what's been reported. Boss Battles is kinda like a basketball punch-out. Is Multiplayer under 'Play Now' or something? 

And I would hope it has widescreen for a basketball game.

edit: I've said this before, but I didn't hear anyone claiming Street Fighter 4 should be a 15 dollar xbla title. Its vs cpu, and multiplayer, with some minigames. Why was that game a justifiable 60 dollar purchase and other arcade titles not?

[Stoney Mason]

It's pretty simple. There is a time and value equation that goes into a purchase for me. If it doesn't hit a certain threshold then it doesn't warrant a certain price for me. Which is fine. Somebody else probably has a completely different value to dollar equation they put into effect when they purchase a game. 

I love Jam. But not at full retail price Jam. If other people do then they will buy it and they will keep making more of them. If they don't then they won't. I'm hoping they won't. Because an XBLA level NBA Jam is all I need. But if enough people want to pay full price for it then more power to them. I have a feeling which way this whole thing will shake out based on sales but we'll see I guess.

As far as your edit, I wouldn't pay $60 for a never ending line of Streetfighters myself but then somebody else may feel that way about COD which is their right. I would argue the difference is that NBA Jam is a fairly simply remake of a very old game. The production values shouldn't cost the same as a top of the line game from other genres. But that's just a guess of course. But if NBA Jam is costing the same to make as other triple A titles then EA has a production problem on their hands because it shouldn't.

What I'm really saying is what Optimo essentially said earlier. I don't want the remix mode if it adds cost to the overall product. Separate that shit into DLC like the original plan was going to be. All I want is to occasionally play NBA Jam against people online. I would be just as happy with a port of an older version of Jam or Hangtime as with this new version of Jam. In fact I would buy the old version instead if it was at XBLA pricing. 

[EmCeeGrammar]

I think it would be cool if publishers started releasing their multiplayer components as an optional sku. So, for example, you could buy the whole Halo Reach package for [insert accepted price here] and then release a version with just the splitscreen and online stuff for a fraction of that.

[OptimoPeach]

There's more depth in a single match of SSF4 than ever NBA Jam game ever played. I don't see how this is going to be anything but a dressed up minigame. Plus, I was never playing NBA Jam for the single player and I didn't know a whole lot of people that did, so it seemed like a lite version for XBLA made the most sense

[EmCeeGrammar]

So now... "depth" enters the equation. How much would you pay for a videogame version of chess then? Same amount as Street Fighter 4? 

[naff]

I didn't hear anyone claiming Street Fighter 4 should be a 15 dollar xbla title. Its vs cpu, and multiplayer, with some minigames. Why was that game a justifiable 60 dollar purchase and other arcade titles not?

Your SF argument is crap. SFII Turbo HD Remix was released as a downloadable title, and like JAM it looks like the old game with a new lick of paint and some new features, SFIV was a completely revised entry to the series changing core gameplay, introducing new characters and creating new graphics, creating something that resembled what people expect from a $60 game this generation. It may be that JAMs retail release will be as a budget title, it may be that the addition of modes previously only in the Wii version bumped up the size to be greater than is allowed on XBLA (2gb). I don't know. My opinion from what I've seen and read about the game is it's a rip if it sells for more than $30. Then again I think heaps of games this gen are way overpriced.

[OptimoPeach]

So now... "depth" enters the equation. How much would you pay for a videogame version of chess then? Same amount as Street Fighter 4? 

That's what it was always about. More depth = more time spent = more money worth*

And for what it's worth, I really couldn't care less about whether or not the franchise dies. I would have absolutely no interest in this at all if it were not for the nostalgia factor

*Except archaic board games