Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! This is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to basketball video games, the real NBA or another area of interest to our community, either as a list of five items or in the form of a Top 5 countdown.
While we generally deal with sim oriented basketball video games in our community, several of us are also fans of the arcade style games. As I’ve said several times before, I’m an NBA Jam fan from way back in the day, and I still like the idea of having arcade basketball games as a change of pace from five-on-five simulation fare. Sometimes, you just feel like a quick game with somersault dunks from the rafters.
This week, I’m counting down my Top 5 arcade basketball games. It’s a slightly easier list to compile than the Top 5 simulation basketball games, as arcade basketball games tend not to have annual releases, thus there are fewer of them and it’s easier to pick out the best five from the cream of the crop. I might try to tackle the Top 5 sim titles in a future Five, but for now, here are my picks for the Top 5 arcade basketball games.
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! This is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to basketball video games, the real NBA or another area of interest to our community, either as a list of five items or in the form of a Top 5 countdown.
If you’ve listened to some of the recent episodes of the NLSC Podcast, you may recall us talking about mini-games and how they helped create well-rounded basketball video games, with a variety of experiences on offer. If nothing else, they provided us with something to play when we didn’t feel like diving into a full length game, or we just had a few minutes to kill.
It remains to be seen whether that kind of content will make its way back into the NBA Live and NBA 2K series, though you’ll certainly find mention of it in our Wishlists. In the meantime, we can reflect on some of the most enjoyable bonus experiences in previous releases, which is what I’m doing this week as I list what I feel are the five best mini-games in basketball video games.
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! This is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to basketball video games, the real NBA or another area of interest to our community, either as a list of five items or in the form of a Top 5 countdown.
Since I’ve previously looked at some of the most unstoppable moves in basketball video games, this week I thought I’d take a look at some of the best power-ups that we’ve seen in virtual hoops. Generally speaking, power-ups are probably not a concept that most people associate with basketball video games. However, they do have a presence in the genre, mostly in arcade-oriented titles but also in more subdued forms in certain sim releases.
As I’ve mentioned before, while I want to get a sim experience out of the NBA Live and NBA 2K series, I also enjoy arcade style basketball games for a change of pace. Having some fun and crazy power-ups certainly adds to the arcade experience, and special abilities in general make games more interesting and varied. So, without any further ado, here are my picks for the five best power-ups in basketball video games.
Following up on our post a couple of days ago about a Tweet possibly hinting at a new NBA Jam coming out at some point in the near future, it appears as though we shouldn’t get our hopes up just yet. GameSpot reached out to EA Sports and was told that the Tweet in question was “unauthorised”, with EA further stating that they “do not have any announcements to make about NBA Jam at this time”. The Tweet has since been deleted.
While EA’s description of the Tweet as “unauthorised” does invite the suggestion that the developer is perhaps conducting internal discussions about releasing another NBA Jam and will ultimately be gauging fan interest in a new game, that is merely speculation at this point. While it wouldn’t be surprising if another Jam game was released at some point due to the series’ popularity and EA owning the rights to the name, nothing appears to be imminent. Should that change, we’ll of course post any details as they emerge.
If you follow NBA Jam on Twitter, you may have seen a Tweet asking gamers for a Re-Tweet if they are ready for a new NBA Jam, seemingly hinting at the possibility of another game coming out at some point in the not too distant future. With a new generation of consoles out, it certainly wouldn’t be too surprising if EA Sports is looking to continue the popular series started by Midway back in 1993.
The most recent game in the series is the well-received NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, released digitally through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The Android version of NBA Jam also recently received a roster update, which included audio and artwork for the Brooklyn Nets and New Orleans Pelicans.
No further details are available at this time, but we’ll be sure to post them as soon as they come our way.
The Android version of NBA Jam has rather unexpectedly received an update for the 2013/2014 season. The update adds a few rookies from this season including Anthony Bennett, reflects recent trades with Luol Deng appearing on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ roster and even more surprisingly, includes logo and audio updates for the Brooklyn Nets and New Orleans Pelicans (though the replacement audio was not provided by Tim Kitzrow, longtime voice of NBA Jam).
It doesn’t appear as though the iOS version has been updated as yet and as of this post, NBA Jam: On Fire Edition has not received any new updates either. As such, it remains to be seen whether or not the other mobile versions of NBA Jam or On Fire Edition for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will receive the update that’s come through for Android. We’ll be sure to post further details if and when they’re available.
For those of you with Android devices who may be considering picking up NBA Jam for some arcade hoops on the go, feel free to check out my review of the game here.
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to basketball video games, the real NBA or another area of interest to our community, either as a list of five items or in the form of a Top 5 countdown.
When it comes to basketball video games, we scrutinise them as only a dedicated gaming community can. With so much to prove and several missteps over the years, the NBA Live series has certainly attracted its fair share of criticism. Most of the time, I would suggest that the criticism has been fair-handed, constructive and warranted. However, I do feel that some of the criticisms that have been directed at NBA Live and some of EA’s other NBA offerings over the years have been wide of the mark.
It’s admittedly difficult to tackle this subject without sounding like an NBA Live or EA apologist, but it’s not my intention to make excuses or dismiss all criticism. I’m also not trying to downplay the success and brilliance of the NBA 2K series, which is the yardstick for NBA sims and has produced some of my all-time favourite basketball games. With that said, here are five criticisms of EA’s NBA games that I disagree with.
We’ve arrived at another Friday here at the NLSC, which means there’s another Friday Five coming your way! If you’re checking out The Friday Five for the first time and are wondering what it’s all about, this is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to basketball video games, the real NBA or another area of interest to our community, either as a list of five items or in the form of a Top 5 countdown.
Last week, I talked about some of my favourite experiences in basketball gaming, including my most memorable Dynasty games and MyCAREER in NBA 2K13. This week, I’m going in the opposite direction and taking a look at some of my basketball video game experiences that didn’t go so well, such as seasons that ended part of the way through and ideas for Franchise games that just didn’t work out. These are my Top 5 Failed Basketball Game Endeavours.
EA Canada is apparently holding playtesting sessions on April 11th and 12th for a “New NBA Concept” and are inviting anyone in the Vancouver area to fill out a survey if they are interested in getting involved. There’s no further information on the concept at this time and anyone who participates will certainly be under a non-disclosure agreement, but if you live in the area and are interested in doing some playtesting and getting a glimpse behind the scenes, I’d encourage you to fill out the survey.
It will be interesting to see what this new concept turns out to be. It’s unlikely to be NBA Live, which is currently being developed at EA Tiburon, but could be something related to NBA Jam or NBA Street if not a new game entirely. Feel free to speculate in the comments below, as well as in this thread in the NLSC Forum.
Another Friday is upon us, so it’s time for a new edition of The Friday Five! If this is your first time reading The Friday Five and you’re wondering what it’s all about, it’s a feature that I post every Friday in which I talk about a variety of topics related to basketball video games, the real NBA and other areas of interest, providing my thoughts as either a list of five items or presenting them in Top 5 countdown format.
Last week I posted a countdown of the Top 5 Easter Eggs in basketball video games, so for this week’s Friday Five I’m taking a look at five basketball video game myths. Rumours and video games go hand in hand thanks to the presence of actual hidden content, the tendency for gaming publications to indulge in April Fools’ gags, trolls intentionally spreading misinformation and simple misunderstandings. Basketball games are no different, so let’s separate fact from fiction and debunk five basketball video games myths.
Welcome everyone to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! For those of you who are unfamiliar with The Friday Five, this is a feature that I post every Friday in which I talk about a variety of topics related to basketball video games, the real NBA and other areas of interest, providing my thoughts as either a list of five items or presenting them in Top 5 countdown format.
Although basketball video games keep our community entertained with the features advertised on the back of the box, throughout the years several Easter Eggs have served to enhance the gaming experience, facilitate modding or simply give us a bit of a laugh when we discover them. As such, these are my picks for the Top 5 Easter Eggs in Basketball Video Games.
As previously announced, EA Sports’ online support for NBA Live 10 and the 2010 disc-based reboot of NBA Jam has ended as of today. The games can no longer be played online and features such as the EA Locker and screenshot/replay uploads in NBA Live 10 are no longer available. As such, if you want media from the game for a story thread or any other purpose, you’ll need to use a capture card or in a pinch, take shots and videos of your screen. This also marks the end of easily sharing custom rosters with other users.
EA made this decision due to the number of gamers still making use of the servers for these games, which has dwindled considerably. NBA Live 10 had been supported since 2009 and received Dynamic DNA updates for an additional season in the wake of NBA Elite 11’s cancellation, while NBA Jam has since been succeeded by NBA Jam: On Fire Edition. To mark the end of an era, our own JaoSming played one final online game of NBA Live 10 while offering some final thoughts on the game. Watch the video below or check it out here on his YouTube channel.
The NLSC Podcast is back with episode number twelve! Leftos and I are your hosts once again and after a brief catch-up following the holiday season, we get down to discussing the latest news and rumours surrounding NBA Live and NBA 2K, some community news and notes and the latest goings on in the real NBA. A quick overview of Episode #12 is as follows:
We’re back! We both had a nice holiday break, we hope you did too.
Arcane has stepped down from the NLSC Team and his post as a moderator on the official forums; we thank him for his contributions and wish him well.
Leftos provides an update on his latest tools for NBA 2K13 and the Stats Tracker for NBA 2K12.
NBA 2K13 received two new rosters last week, opinion is still generally lukewarm at best.
EA Sports are ending online support for NBA Live 10 and the 2010 reboot of NBA Jam. We ponder whether it means anything for NBA Live 14 and once again speculate a little on the next game.
We move on to this week’s feature discussion, the Royce White saga in Houston.
A few other NBA related topics are discussed.
I close the show by forgetting our Twitter handle. (Hey, it’s not like I maintain it or anything…)
Click the Play button below to listen to this week’s episode!
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 2:23:45 — 72.5MB)
We’re glad to be back and looking forward to continuing to bring you a new episode each week throughout 2013. We hope you enjoy the latest episode, please feel free to add your comments below or in this thread in the Forum. You can also continue to discuss the situation with Royce White here in our NBA & Basketball Talk section.
As JaoSming noted here in the NLSC Forum, a recent service update from EA Sports has confirmed that their online support for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of NBA Live 10 and the 2010 reboot of NBA Jam will cease as of January 11th, 2013. Online support for NBA Jam: On Fire Edition will continue until further notice.
Online support for NBA Live 10 has run a little longer than usual, as a result of the extended hiatus the series has been on since 2010. The game also received Dynamic DNA updates through the 2010/2011 season, following the cancellation of NBA Elite 11.
While the decision to shut down online services is the result of declined usage weighed up against the cost and effort required to maintain the servers, it’ll be interesting to see whether the shutdown of online support for NBA Live 10 is being done, at least in part, in anticipation of a release later this year. While Andrew Wilson made reference to “next year’s game” when announcing the cancellation of NBA Live 13 and EA Sports does still have the NBA license with a view to making more NBA games, an NBA Live 14 has not yet been officially confirmed or announced.
Leftos and I have taken a short break from the weekly NLSC Podcast over the holiday season, however new episodes will resume early in the new year. In the meantime, we invite you to check out the “lost” pilot episode that Pdub and I recorded a couple of years ago, in which we interviewed bigball12, who as you may recall was able to get his hands on the unreleased retail version of NBA Elite 11. In addition to getting his thoughts on the cancelled game, we also chat about the first NBA Jam reboot by EA Sports, the future of the NBA Live series as we saw it at the time and NBA 2K11.
This was our first attempt at a podcast and though it took a while to get off the ground after that initial test pilot, we’re enjoying bringing you a weekly podcast discussing basketball video games, the real NBA and more. We hope you’ve been enjoying the episodes, thank you once again to everyone who has tuned in thus far and offered feedback. Click the Play button below to listen to the show, feel free to add your thoughts here in Forum or in the comments below, and check back soon as we pick it up again with Episode #12!
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:35:06 — 87.1MB)
NLSC Your source for basketball video games.
