NBA Jam: On Fire Edition (EA's 2011 bball game)

[JaoSming]

From this press release.

Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that an all-new digital download of EA SPORTS™ NBA JAM will be available in October. NBA JAM: On Fire Edition is being developed for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, and it will be available on PlayStation® Network and Xbox LIVE® Arcade. NBA JAM: On Fire Edition will feature exciting new gameplay enhancements, including ground-breaking artificial intelligence that will change the way gamers play NBA JAM.

“EA SPORTS continues to support this iconic franchise through a new digital download and we’re taking everything fans loved about the original and adding a host of new features,” said Trey Smith, Line Producer, NBA JAM: On Fire Edition. “We’ve listened to all of the feedback from our fans and we are driven to deliver the very best NBA JAM experience to date.”

NBA JAM: On Fire Edition contains new gameplay features including:

REAL AI: Featuring the ground-breaking AI system used in the Fight Night franchise that learns your tendencies and throws them back in your face.

JAM Arena– Play solo, or team up with friends and take on the world in a new, dynamic online competition.

Road Trip – A cooperative online campaign where you can team up with friends and compete in a series of white-knuckle challenges against the current superstars and timeless legends from each of the 30 NBA Teams.

Tag Mode and Team Fire return! – Swap players “on the fly” and ignite your entire team by performing consecutive cooperative moves!

More NBA JAM Hotness – Online roster updates, more NBA superstars, legendary NBA players, over-the-top animations, JAM challenges, secret teams and unlockable characters than ever before!

Well, first I gotta say it sucks for Wii owners that they don't get a follow-up to the first remake. With that, going download only with the poor sales of the disc version of NBA Jam this year makes a lot of sense. From this press release it sounds like this is going to be more of a NBA Jam 1.5 situation where reviewers might say "This is the version of the game we should have gotten last year".

I have no idea what Fight Night's AI can do to help this arcade game, but more power to them. More players, legends, and roster updates are always a good thing, but this just feels like its going to be a slap in the face to the current owners of NBA Jam. This won't cost more than $20 and doesn't seem to offer up much more of a feature change that a $5 DLC package or title update could do to the current game.

[[Q]]

sounds pretty cool. if it comes out in the summer (before the big boys 2k11 & Elite/Live come out to play), i would throw $20 on it.

[JaoSming]

it's coming out in October, probably the same date as 2k12

[Andrew]

It might be a tough sell, but it sounds like a worthy "1.5" sequel along the lines of NBA Jam Tournament Edition; similar sort of gameplay with AI tweaks, along with some new features and updated rosters. Including ongoing roster updates is definitely a must given the outcry over the lack of them in last year's game (even though they were never promised to begin with). Sucks for Wii users but I agree with Jon that a digital release is a good move.

I agree that a lot of people are probably going to feel ripped off or claim that it should be DLC for NBA Jam or what NBA Jam should've been all along but I believe that sentiment (particularly the suggestion that it's what last year's game should've been) is a little misguided. They released a remake of NBA Jam with current rosters and some new features, they got a lot of things right and a few things wrong and there was room to build upon the game with sequels. To me, that seems like the nature of the best when it comes to video games, at least the ones worth playing.

Now they're taking fan feedback into account and releasing a new version of the game with additions and improvements, which again is kind of similar to what NBA Jam Tournament Edition was to the original NBA Jam. I do understand the argument for it being DLC but perhaps that just wasn't feasible. An updated sequel at a presumably lower price via the Marketplace/PSN Store isn't really a ripoff; I know this is the Internet and we're supposed to be negative and cynical, but I just don't see it as a scam.

[The X]

Glad I didn't waste my money on the first one. This one will be a bunch cheaper & will have roster updates

[Andrew]

I wouldn't call the first one a waste of money, it was a very faithful recreation of the original and I found it pretty fun with a lot of nostalgic value. There was room for improvement though, I'm glad they're taking the initiative and listening to the fan feedback for their future releases under the brand.

[JaoSming]

I'm glad I didn't buy the game a third time just for online play (Wii/iPod)

[DVocShoeBox]

It seems like every time EA makes an announcement someone gets a nice little ole "disappointment"! Can we all be happy like the early 2000s...... sorry Wii fans!

[Andrew]

I think we might have to go a little further back than that to find a time when the majority of fans were reasonably satisfied.

[[Q]]

dunno if it means anything, but the screenshot on the main page has the Kings in light blue jerseys

[JaoSming]

where? what main page?

[Andrew]

Posted an article with some thoughts on the news here:
http://www.nba-live.com/index.php?subac ... =&ucat=31&

[JaoSming]

good read, but just wanted to mention that XBLA games are required to have a trial version. So there will be a demo no matter what.

[[Q]]

where? what main page?

sorry, EASPORTS main page

[Andrew]

good read, but just wanted to mention that XBLA games are required to have a trial version. So there will be a demo no matter what.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. Good news in that regard.

[Born2Ball]

Man they should have a create a player using the playstation eye and xbox kinect where players can put themselves in the game using their real faces...i think that would be a cool feature for all future basketball games

[Patr1ck]

A version of that "REAL AI" was in Elite 11 as well. It was meant to give players signature moves and styles that made them play like their real life counterparts. It is essentially a learning AI, that would record the moves you do, and could play them back with variation if needed.

[Andrew]

Man they should have a create a player using the playstation eye and xbox kinect where players can put themselves in the game using their real faces...i think that would be a cool feature for all future basketball games

Given the way they use cutout faces in NBA Jam, I reckon they could make that work. It'd probably be a bit of fun capturing the different expressions for dunking, getting knocked to the floor, etc.