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Monday Tip-Off: Commercials on the Virtual Hardwood

Monday Tip-Off: Commercials on the Virtual Hardwood

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Start your week here at the NLSC with a feature that’s dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on the matter of basketball games featuring commercials.

It’s fair to say that we have mixed feelings about advertising. While we do understand that it’s a necessary part of running a business and that commercials support things we like, we find them annoying. The appeal of recording TV – either through DVR now or VCR back in the day – and watching it later instead of live, is that we can skip the ads. We consider ads intrusive, yet memorable ones become part of pop culture. One only has to look at the Super Bowl commercials and their popularity. And of course, product placement also draws scorn, as does sponsored content.

Like it or not, advertising is everywhere, and it looks like it’s coming to video games, too. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. While various developers including EA have recently signed deals with an in-game advertising platform named playerWON that will allow them to place ads in their games and incentivise gamers to watch them by offering rewards, it’s not the first time we’ve seen this mobile gaming model in Triple-A titles. That’s not to say that I approve. Like most gamers I’m sure, I rolled my eyes and grumbled at the news. It did get me thinking about the history of commercials in basketball gaming though, and previous attempts to advertise on the virtual hardwood.

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Wayback Wednesday: Adam Morrison NBA Live 07 Commercials

Wayback Wednesday: Adam Morrison NBA Live 07 Commercials

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at the commercials for NBA Live 07 featuring Adam Morrison.

Taken third overall in the 2006 Draft, Adam Morrison’s career was short, individually unspectacular, but yielded two championship rings as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010. The 2006 NCAA scoring leader, WCC Player of the Year, and NABC Co-Player of the Year didn’t quite live up to the hype in the NBA, but he did become a fan favourite and an inspiration for several memes. In that regard, he ranks up there with the likes of Brian Scalabrine and Joel Anthony. Of course, when you think about it, that’s actually a rather disrespectful practice on our part.

After all, they were players who were good enough to play professionally, and make it to the NBA. To reduce their careers to a punchline is to sell short their hard work, not to mention the fact that they’re still better at basketball than 99% of the population. A knee injury derailed Morrison’s career in just his second season, an often-overlooked factor when people label him a bust. As I said, he entered the NBA with a lot of hype, and it’s why EA Sports tapped him to appear in commercials for NBA Live 07. Those happen to be some of my favourite trailers, so let’s take a look back…way back…

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Wayback Wednesday: A Tribute to MessenjahMatt

Wayback Wednesday: A Tribute to MessenjahMatt

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m paying tribute to one of the best video makers we’ve ever seen in the basketball gaming community: MessenjahMatt.

I enjoy dusting off old games for retrospective reviews and profiles of interesting features and quirks, but every so often, I think it’s only appropriate to look back at the history of the basketball gaming community. I’ve done that a few times already in my Wayback Wednesday features, mostly focusing on memorable mods as that’s what our corner of the community is best known for. However, that’s not the only kind of content that hoops gamers have seen fit to create over the years. With the steady rise of YouTube, countless virtual hoopsters have been producing video content.

Some great producers have emerged over the years, and it’s been inspiring to see. It’s the reason I’ve tried my hand at some video content myself, and if I could make the time, I’d love to do it more often. I’m sure we all have our favourite video producers, some of whom have been at it for several years now. One of the all-time best video makers has to be MessenjahMatt, who wowed gamers and no doubt inspired many who have gone on to create their own content. His work is legendary and deserves to be spotlighted, so let’s take a look back…way back…

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