March 21st, 2018: Jordan vs Bird: One on One RetrospectiveIn my retrospective of Lakers vs Celtics last year, I took a look back at one of the most famous forerunners to EA Sports' NBA Live series. Although it was the first game in the NBA Playoffs series, and the oldest game in EA's lineage of five-on-five titles, Lakers vs Celtics was not the developer's first foray onto the virtual hardwood. That distinction belongs to the 1983 Apple II release commonly referred to as One on One, and alternatively as One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird, or Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One on One. Featuring Julius Erving and Larry Bird going head to head in a one-on-one match-up, it was one of Electronic Arts' early successes.
The game would pave the way for a 1988 release titled Jordan vs Bird: One on One. This time, Larry Bird was pitted against Dr. J's heir apparent, Michael Jordan. Not only did it build on the success of its predecessor by featuring more modes of play, it also enjoyed a wider release, coming out on the PC, Nintendo Entertainment System, SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive, Commodore 64, and Game Boy. We'll be focusing on the PC version for MS-DOS today, so let's take a look back...way back...