25 years later, it sounds like the classic game series 'NBA Jam' is coming back

pulse

January 22, 2018 4:06 PM

It's been 25 years since "NBA Jam" set arcades on fire. In 2018, it may be on the verge of a triumphant return.

The classic game series "NBA Jam" may be coming back.
The game's announcer spoke with ESPN about the project in a recent interview.
It's not clear whether the game is coming this year — it hasn't even been officially announced — or where it's headed.

Twenty-five years after the original "NBA Jam" set arcades on fire, the classic over-the-top basketball series is making a triumphant return — maybe.

A "remake" is said to be in the works at Microsoft, according to the game's original announcer, Tim Kitzrow.

"I can't speak anything to the specifics, but I can tell you there is movement in the works to get it done for the 25th year," Kitzrow told ESPN in a recent interview. "I'm hoping that we get a remake that does justice to the original."

That's confusing for a few reasons. Primary among them: Microsoft doesn't own the rights to "NBA Jam."

Longtime "NBA Jam" fans may remember a previous remake of the game — 2011's "NBA Jam: On Fire Edition" — that EA put out. This game:

It makes sense that EA put out that game, as EA owns the rights to "NBA Jam," which it acquired after Acclaim folded in 2004. The original arcade game was made by Midway, a Chicago-based game company. Microsoft isn't involved in the series — at least not that we know of.

It's possible that EA is working with Microsoft on an "NBA Jam" remake for the Xbox One, but it's more likely that such a game would come to the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch as well. The game was missing from the recent Super NES Classic Edition console — a notable exception from the Super Nintendo's library.

Thus far, though, no such "NBA Jam" remake project has been officially announced. With the game's anniversary this year, and a set of new game consoles primed for high-flying slam dunks, the timing is certainly ripe. As the game's creator, Mark Turmell, told ESPN: "There's so much more that can be done. It's really sort of an untapped category."

Microsoft and EA didn't respond to requests for comment as of publishing.

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