Xbox Addict

EA Trying to Throw it All in There for NBA Jam

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of NBA Jam, which were originally intended to be a simple pack-in with NBA Elite 11 with just a few game modes, is now being expanded to include as much as possible from from the more feature-rich Wii version. That’s according to NBA Jam creative director Trey Smith, who was talking about the additions on a radio show in Toronto yesterday.
"I’ll tell you, we’re doing everything in our power to get as much on there as possible," Smith said on the Got Game radio show, according to a transcript my NeoGAF member infinityBCRT (via Kotaku). "I mean, we had online up. It was a really basic online feature set. We’re trying to blow that out. And then you get Remix. We’re trying to throw it all in there."

Remix refers to the game’s lengthy single-player mode called Remix Tour, which was originally to be available only in the Wii version. Smith continued on and noted how the development team at EA Canada only found about the delay just recently.

"Right now, I mean, we got this bomb dropped on us just a couple of days ago as well," Smith explained. "So, we’re shuffling to get everything together, but we got a great team. We got a lot of stuff up and working. We’re going to polish it up, and we’re gonna get it out there before holidays. And it’s really up to you: If you want to hang out with your friends and use gesture controls, you got it on the Wii. If you want to go online and you want that HD experience, you go on the PS3 [or] 360."

One thing that remains decidedly unclear, at least publicly, is whether the 360 and PS3 version of NBA Jam will be a downloadable game or a disc-based retail game. The original plan was to include a voucher for a download of the less feature-rich NBA Jam game on the Xbox Live Marketplace or PlayStation Store. Now, if the game is going to be comparable to the Wii version, only with high-definition graphics and online support, it seems like it could very easily be a retail title. But with such short notice and a plan to get the game out "in time for the holidays," that might be difficult. As soon as we know more about the specifics of NBA Jam, we’ll bring them to you.